1. Effective IEP Meetings Division of Special Education Approved By Donnalyn Jaque-Anton, Associate Superintendent February 2005

2. Can You Hear Me? If you don’t hear the narration, please stop the presentation and adjust your computer settings to increase the volume.

3. Who Should View This Training?  School Site Administrators Administrators Administrator Designees Administrator Designees Staff Participating on IEP Teams, Including Related Services Personnel Staff Participating on IEP Teams, Including Related Services Personnel  Central Office Special Education Support Unit Personnel Special Education Support Unit Personnel Division of Special Education Personnel Division of Special Education Personnel

4. The Training Focus is Strategies for Effective IEP Meetings (Maintaining a Focus on the Child) The Training Focus is not Completing the IEP Document

5. PL94-142 / IDEA and LAUSD Policy  IEP Meetings Held at Least Annually Held at Least Annually Required Team Members Required Team Members Parent(s) of the StudentParent(s) of the Student General Ed TeacherGeneral Ed Teacher Special Ed TeacherSpecial Ed Teacher Administrator or Administrator DesigneeAdministrator or Administrator Designee Assessor(s)Assessor(s) Student, as appropriateStudent, as appropriate

6. A Team is… a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable

7. Characteristics of Effective IEP Teams Mutual Trust Sense of Relationship Common Base of Information Flexibility & Responsiveness Understanding & Acceptance of Roles and Responsibilities of Team Members Recognition & Mitigation of Outside Forces Team Member- ship Clearly Defined Recognition of Individual Contributions Balanced Roles Common Identity Common Tasks Sense of Empowerment

8. IEP Team Taboos  Blaming individuals  Making excuses for shortcomings or problems  Lack of participation  Arguing  Defensiveness  Offensiveness  Self Advocacy

9. Before, During and After the IEP Meeting… Are all Your Ducks in a Row? BeforeDuringAfter System Implementation PreparationCollaborationCommunicationLogisticsParticipationFeelingsPersonalitiesConsensus Dispute Resolution Follow Up Performance Analysis

10. Before the IEP Meeting Implement a Uniform System School-wide Process School-wide Process Master Calendar Master Calendar IEP Meeting Scheduling IEP Meeting Scheduling Administrator Designees Administrator Designees

11. Before the IEP Meeting  Ensure Assessor Preparation Welligent Entry of Assessor ReportsWelligent Entry of Assessor Reports Contact ParentContact Parent Provide Report Provide Report Explain results Explain results

12. Before the IEP Meeting Facilitate Collaboration & Communication  Team Building Service ProvidersService Providers General Ed Teacher General Ed Teacher Special Ed Teacher Special Ed Teacher Related Services Personnel Related Services Personnel Psychologist* (*as applicable)Psychologist* (*as applicable) ParentsParents  Identify Concerns Anticipate problems Anticipate problems Attempt to address Attempt to address Develop potential options Develop potential options

13. Before the IEP Meeting Address Logistic Elements Date/Time Date/Time Location of Meeting Location of Meeting Participants Participants Seating Seating Roles of Participants Roles of Participants Welligent Welligent Back-up Plan Back-up Plan

14. Benefits of Team Building Before the IEP Meeting  Productivity  Increased commitment to common goals  Better decision-making  Concrete action plans  Improved communication  Role clarity  Improved meetings  Negotiated leadership  “Clearing the air”

15. Visual Aides for IEP Meetings CAUTION: ONLY USE DRY ERASE MARKERS ON THE CHARTS

16. During the IEP Meeting Active & Meaningful Participation Among Team Members  Roles  Environment  Agenda  Ground Rules  Outcomes  Present Levels of Performance

17. During the IEP Meeting  Present Levels of Performance (PLP) Strengths and Needs of the Student Strengths and Needs of the Student Focus of the Meeting Focus of the Meeting Provides foundation for FAPE Provides foundation for FAPE Chart PLP Chart PLP Present in Bulleted Format Present in Bulleted Format  Click below to view forms: Present Level of Performance Domains and Service Providers Present Level of Performance Domains and Service Providers Present Level of Performance Domains and Service Providers Present Level of Performance Domains and Service Providers Present Levels of Performance Worksheet Present Levels of Performance Worksheet Present Levels of Performance Worksheet Present Levels of Performance Worksheet

18. During the IEP Meeting Example of How the IEP Chair would Address the Present Levels of Performance  Whether or Not Met Previous Goals  If Not, Reasons Why  Strengths Additional Team Members Additional Team Members Service Provider Service Provider  Needs Additional Team Members Additional Team Members Service Provider Service Provider  Current Supports and Accommodations Additional Team Members Additional Team Members Service Provider Service Provider Additional supports that may be implemented Additional supports that may be implemented

19. During the IEP Meeting Feelings are real and must be accepted, acknowledged and processed in an organized manner…

20. During the IEP Meeting  Effectively deal with various feelings and difficult personalities  Stay neutral  Respect feelings  Be sensitive  Feelings to Facts Combine, condense, define concerns Combine, condense, define concerns Refocus on student needs Refocus on student needs

21. During the IEP Meeting Common Problems Excessive Talking Excessive Talking Non Participation Non Participation Side Bars Side Bars Individual Dissent Individual Dissent

22. During the IEP Meeting  Strategies for Dealing with Challenging Behaviors  Remain calm & pleasant  Refrain from raising voice  Avoid arguing  Actively listen  Avoid words with negative connotations  Question rather than state  Look for areas of agreement

23. During the IEP Meeting Consensus What is it?  A collective opinion  Group of individuals working together  Open & supportive climate  Enabling all participants to influence & support a decision

24. During the IEP Meeting For Reaching Consensus  Avoid Arguing Arguing Conflict reducing procedures Conflict reducing procedures Perception of winners and losers Perception of winners and losers

25. During the IEP Meeting How Does Consensus Look? Each participant: understands the decision; understands the decision; has the opportunity to state position regarding the decision; has the opportunity to state position regarding the decision; consents to the decision and agrees to support it. consents to the decision and agrees to support it.

26. Development of the Implementable IEP  Collaboration  Communication  Preparation  Logistics  Agreement  Consensus  Participation  Feelings  Personalities

27. After the IEP Meeting  Encourage resolution through the Informal Dispute Resolution Process  Confirm Follow Up Actions  Analyze the effectiveness of the IEP Meeting

28. The Best IEP Meeting… Team Members don’t remember being led, Participants don’t remember individual contributions; Team Members feel positive about one another; All participants feel and would say “We did it collectively – we did it ourselves.”

29. Certification  In order to certify, make sure the computer you are using is connected to the internet, then click the link below and follow the on-screen directions  To continue with certification, please note the following information: Your LOCATION CODE Your LOCATION CODE User name is “train” (without quotes) User name is “train” (without quotes) Leave the Password field blank Leave the Password field blank Click on this link for certification Click on this link for certification Click on this link for certification Click on this link for certification