Episode Details

Charles Fox, a special education attorney who represents students with disabilities, explains how to run a great IEP meeting. He says to share reports ahead of time, not spring hard results on parents, and to bring older students to the table only when they have a defined role.

Fox describes writing an IEP goal for a student to present a PowerPoint about his own needs at the meeting. He also tells how a strip of yellow electrical tape and a social story stopped a student from leaving class, and why staff need visuals too.

What you'll learn

• Have the school psychologist preview complex reports with parents an hour or a day before the IEP meeting, so no one hears hard news cold.
• Write a self-advocacy goal so a student presents a PowerPoint about needs and challenges at their own IEP meeting.
• Ask staff what visual, such as a schedule, timer or social story, they used before a behavior escalated.
• Look into a de-escalation program like CPI, whose early phases give staff tools short of physically restraining a student.
• Build a trusting, transparent relationship with parents, and keep talking even when you do not agree.

Chapters

• 0:00 Last chance for free communication cards
• 1:45 Share reports with parents before the meeting
• 4:21 Self-advocacy goals for students at IEP meetings
• 8:29 Teaching students to deal with first responders
• 12:44 What kinds of cases Fox sees most
• 19:30 What visual supports look like in practice
• 24:56 Visuals help teachers too, like CHAMPS
• 31:48 One tip: build trust and transparency with parents

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Questions this episode answers

How do you run an IEP meeting parents can follow?
Fox says to share reports ahead of time. Springing hard results on parents at the table is a big no-no. He suggests the school psychologist debrief the parent an hour or a day before, so parents can ask questions and stay part of the team.

Should students attend their own IEP meetings?
Fox says yes, under one condition: the student knows why they are there and has a defined role. He has asked schools to write a goal for the student to present a PowerPoint on their needs, what has worked and what they want next.

What visuals help students with autism or behavior challenges?
Fox lists schedules, subschedules, timers, lists and social stories. In one case a strip of yellow electrical tape at the classroom door plus a social story ended a student's elopement. A behavior analyst told him staff need the visuals too.

About Charles Fox

Special education attorney who represents students with disabilities and writes a special education law blog.

Links and resources

• Rate on Apple Podcasts
• Rate on Stitcher
• Jethro Jones on Twitter
• Transformative Principal on Twitter
• Communication Cards
• Show notes for this episode
• Paperless Principal book

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