Create Opportunities for Authentic Student Participation in IEP Meetings

Centering neurodivergent students in the IEP (individualized education program) process seems intuitive, but often adult voices, perspectives, and interpretations of students’ needs take center stage, leaving students on the sidelines.

While the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires students to be invited to their IEP meetings starting at age 14, experts have pointed out the benefits of inviting younger students to these meetings as well. However, these benefits are only felt when students actually attend the meeting and are given authentic opportunities to engage. Special education teachers can use the following three strategies to center their students during IEP meetings, empowering students to understand and communicate their strengths and needs, assess and build their support systems, and develop confidence and lifelong advocacy skills.

1. Honor Students’ Preference for Participation

Planning is one of the most important steps in centering students in the IEP process. This is the phase where teachers should explicitly invite students to the meeting and begin gauging how students want to participate, which will vary depending on needs, experience, age, and communication preferences.

Teachers should let students know that they are welcome to come as observers or as more active participants. One of my students prepared a presentation with guided notes to speak to their performance, while another brought a curated portfolio of work and used an AAC device to actively participate. Another student recorded a video, as they wanted to share their voice but didn’t want to do so in front of everyone during the meeting.

Depending on the pathway of participation, students may facilitate their meeting, start the meeting with their prepared materials, or answer facilitated prompts. Students may also choose to just observe and may take written or digital notes during the meeting. Teachers serve as one of the student’s biggest advocates and have the ability to ensure that inclusive dialogue happens, redirecting adult-dominated conversations back to the student and their priorities.

2. Center Student Choice During the IEP Meeting

Once students have decided how they want to participate, teachers can invite students to further determine what they want the meeting to look and feel like—identifying the best location and proactively setting up the environment to meet their needs. For example, I had one student who wanted to hold their meeting in the sensory room because the lights were more comforting and they had access to their fidgets, headphones, and other sensory-based tools.

Another one of my students wanted to meet in the principal’s office and chose to bring their flexible seating down to the meeting room. I even had a student conduct a mini-tour of their classroom when sharing their accommodations, explaining where different tools lived in the space. Cocreating the space for the meeting could be as simple as the student deciding where they would like each participant to sit.

Beyond the space, cocreating an agenda can help students feel more prepared for the discussion, fostering a sense of predictability and centering the student’s narrative. While preparing the agenda, teachers can break down the components of the IEP into manageable and digestible steps. For some students, it might be difficult to talk about their disability and identify the accommodations that help them learn. But by working through the parts of the IEP in advance and making notes to guide a student through the agenda, teachers can better set their students up to actively participate with confidence.

Finally, it is also helpful to cocreate a plan for what to do if the student becomes overwhelmed or needs to leave the space. Teachers may create a signal or pause the meeting to take a moment to check in with the student on the agenda, ensuring that the student knows how to excuse themselves from the space if needed.

3. Plan for Student Ownership Beyond the IEP Meeting

Once the IEP meeting has happened, it’s important to continue to empower the student. Teachers should reserve time to check in with the student, inviting them to reflect on the experience. Students can share what went well and what they would like to focus on for next time. Teachers should either take notes or help students to collect these thoughts and reference them during the planning process for the following IEP meeting.

Additionally, teachers can work together with students to create simplified versions of the IEP that the student can use for reference, centering their accommodations and goals. Not only can this help the student feel ownership over their progress, but also it serves as a reminder that the IEP is a living document that doesn’t just disappear after the meeting. When teachers check in with students throughout the school year, they can reference this one-pager and use it to ground discussions about goals and needs, reminding students to consider anything they may want to discuss or change at a future meeting.

This one-pager can also be shared with adults working with and supporting the student to provide a more easily referenced document.

When educators take the time to center students in the IEP process, students feel a larger sense of ownership over their education, which makes them more likely to engage with their plan and strive to achieve their IEP goals.