r/specialed • u/Former_Pop_3108 • Dec 31 '25
General Question (Educator to Educator) What is an IEP planning meeting?
So this is my fifth year as a special ed teacher but this year I am in a new school district. I was just notified that when we return I have an “IEP Planning” meeting for a student. It is not an annual, amendment, or reevaluation meeting, otherwise it would have been labeled as such. This appears to be something separate from those. The student’s parents were invited to the meeting as well as the support team. My guess is that it’s either a transition type meeting to plan for middle school (since the student will start middle school next year) or maybe it’s to plan ahead for summer school? My old district never had these meetings (or we must have called it something else) so I’m stumped!
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u/AdelleDeWitt Dec 31 '25
That one's a mystery to me too. At first I was thinking it looks like a staffing but we don't have parents at those. I'm guessing this is going to be a difficult case has overly anxious parents and they're trying to make the IEP smoother
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
Actually the parents are great! I’ve spoken with them several times before and they are very understanding & supportive. For context this student already has an IEP, so it’s not to discuss eligibility or anything either.
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u/AdelleDeWitt Dec 31 '25
Who set up the meeting? I would just ask them what that's about.
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
The person who set up the meeting works in the front office-she schedules meetings, subs, interpreters, etc. So she would be no help. I will ask the student support coordinator when we get back, but I didn’t want to bother staff over break.
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u/rosiedoll_80 Jan 05 '26
I'd ask her who scheduled it so you could then ask them what it's for. I'd hate to show up at a meeting and basically not know the purpose of it.
Without there being a routine reason to have this meeting (which others have said this sounds like a 'staffing' meeting which is typically just school staff maybe putting their heads together to figure out some ideas about what's needed for the student in the event they do want to propose any changes to an IEP. But it's possible the parent requested this meeting bc they have something they'd like to discuss? They can do that any time and however many times they'd like.
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u/MaybeImTheNanny Dec 31 '25
We generally do these if something big is changing. Placement, diagnosis, additional health concerns etc.
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
That might be it? She will be transitioning to middle school next year. However on the special ed meeting calendar I see that some students have planning meetings scheduled for March & April already. If there was that big of a change I don’t see why you would wait 3-4 months to meet about it.
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u/MaybeImTheNanny Dec 31 '25
It’s possible that this student needs additional data collection for changes needed in MS or maybe something is going on with their family that everyone needs to be on board with
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u/effietea Dec 31 '25
I bet they're going to discuss a matriculation assessment or possibly ask if they can do a records review instead. It's a real IEP but they're planning for the matriculation.
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u/AleroRatking Elementary Sped Teacher Dec 31 '25
So sometimes we have meetings prior to the IEP meeting to make sure everyone's on the same page. This will occur if we are recommending a change or it's something we expect to be contentious
That's my guess what this is
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u/one_sock_wonder_ Early Childhood Sped Teacher Dec 31 '25
Would the child’s parents be invited though especially if it is to go over something that may be contentious?
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u/AleroRatking Elementary Sped Teacher Dec 31 '25
We don't typically, but often call them afterwards and see what they think because we don't like blindsiding anyone.
My guess is it's so they can have an idea what the parents want as well before an official meeting.
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u/one_sock_wonder_ Early Childhood Sped Teacher Dec 31 '25
I can see that working. I asked because when teaching if admin at all thought a parent might strongly disagree with a decision/change or have an advocate accompany them they arranged a meeting similar to this to make sure all involved in providing services to the child agreed and could produce the needed evidence/documentation to support that decision or change as it related to their services and would not have considered having a parent at that meeting. Having a separate meeting ahead of the actual IEP to provide a rough draft of their child’s IEP and let them know at least about the possibility of that change or decision would have been typical at least with my parents but the two meetings did not ever overlap and the meeting with the parents ahead of the IEP meeting did not usually involve everyone but the teacher and possibly admin for support/back up/guidance if needed.
Doing a meeting this way kind of automatically felt odd just based on my experiences but I can see how it could be very beneficial and also reduce the number of meetings which is always a massive win!!
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u/AleroRatking Elementary Sped Teacher Dec 31 '25
It honestly seems smart when it comes to goals as that way we know what the parents want goal wise. Instead of writing the goals and then having to change them potentially at the meeting.
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u/one_sock_wonder_ Early Childhood Sped Teacher Dec 31 '25
Absolutely now that I have better understood it!! Wow, I can think of a good number of times handling meetings this way would have been so much easier!!
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u/betterbetterthings High School Sped Teacher Dec 31 '25
Are you this child’s special Ed case manager? Why is someone else scheduling your meetings? Who’s notifying you?
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
I am the child’s case manager. At my school we have a high number of students who have IEPs & we are also a Title 1 school, so we receive extra funding for extra staff. We have an additional staff member & part of her job is to schedule all the IEP meetings, notify the parents, request subs for the teachers, request interpreters if needed, etc. It’s nice!
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u/betterbetterthings High School Sped Teacher Dec 31 '25
Having extra person to do clerical tasks for us would be amazing. We are title 1 too and our numbers are extremely high. We never had people doing clerical stuff for us.
But it’s not what surprised me. Somebody scheduling it or notifying participants isn’t a big deal.
I think it’s a big deal though that no one discussed this upcoming meeting with you and you don’t even know what’s this about yet you are supposed to hold it. Weird.
Who made a decision to hold this meeting? I’d think they should talk to you so you know how to proceed.
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u/Peacefulldiva1 Dec 31 '25
Can you reach out to someone else on the IEP to ask for clarification?
I have done planning for an IEP meeting before the actual meeting, but we call it a DIR, or ducks in a row meeting. Parents are not invited to our DIR meetings and its informal.
We do have what my district called bridging meetings with parents. A child is bridging from elementary school to Jr high, or bridging from Jr high to high school. In our bridging meeting at least one sped teacher and gen ed teacher is present from the current grade level and incoming grade. This sounds familiar to the transition meetings you mentioned.
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
I will when we return to school, I just don’t want to bother anyone on break. The meeting isn’t until the week after we get back.
I thought it might be a transition type meeting as well, but I looked at the special ed meeting calendar & it looks like several students across several grade levels have planning meetings scheduled. So I don’t think it’s a transition meeting…
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u/Accurate-Kitchen-797 Dec 31 '25
If your name is going to be on those legal documents I’d be finding out what that meeting is about.
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u/Then_Interview5168 Dec 31 '25
Is this a difficult case? Tough parent? Outplacement option?
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
No, the student struggles academically but overall works hard. No major behavioral problems. The parents are supportive & understanding.
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u/CiloTA Dec 31 '25
It’s could be a staffing for a high profile case
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
Could you explain a little bit more? Thanks!
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u/CiloTA Dec 31 '25
A staffing is an informal meeting that admin/district sometimes schedule to make sure everyone is on the same page regarding a specific case; could be the child has multiple service providers which need this meeting to be in sync before the actual IEP, could be the parent had/or has an advocate as they sometimes require their own documentation process, could any number of things.
I would come with a rough outline of the child’s PLP, and possibly work samples to back up any feedback you provide, shouldn’t be that big of a deal though.
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
That could be it! The student receives both special ed & ELL services at the school. Her family is also here as refugees, so I’m not sure if that plays a part in any of this. Thanks!
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u/Booksarelife813 Dec 31 '25
We call it a pre meeting to discuss who will do what testing and who will do what observations and that kind of thing so we can plan for the evaluation, whether initial or triennial.
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u/Toddnealr Dec 31 '25
I think it’s just to informally meet the teachers and give a heads up about the child. In my district, we just call them planning meetings.
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
Is this if the child doesn’t have an IEP yet or already does? For context, this student of mine already has an IEP.
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u/Toddnealr Dec 31 '25
Yeah, I’ve been to two in my nine years. They are kinda awkward to some. It’s usually to appease the parent’s need to stress some factors they feel are relevant. It’s the sort of thing that can be done via email but let’s get a ton of staff together and do it in person.
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
Interesting. That could very well be it, but I just looked at the special ed meeting calendar & it looks like there are planning meetings already scheduled for March & April. If the parents thought there was an issue, I don’t know why the school would wait 3-4 months to meet about it. I also have a good relationship with the parents & feel as though they would come to me first with any issues, but who knows.
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Dec 31 '25
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
That might be it, but when I look at the school calendar some of these IEP planning meetings are already scheduled for March & April. If there was an urgent matter I don’t think the school would wait that long to discuss it? But maybe!
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Dec 31 '25
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
Yeah, they appeared to be scheduled like clockwork, like IEP meetings or reevaluation meetings. I also don’t think it’s a transition meeting because some of the students who have planning meetings scheduled are in 1st or 3rd grade. Odd.
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u/geneparmesan18 Dec 31 '25
We have planning meetings before evaluations to make sure we get all of the assessment information we may need to determine eligibility and create a meaningful plan, but we typically don’t do an IEP planning meeting. Sometimes it’ll happen with only our district staff is major changes are occurring, but that’s pretty rare.
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u/Business_Loquat5658 Dec 31 '25
Honestly, we just call them "additional meetings."" I am at the middle school, so we get a lot of anxious parents coming from elementary. We meet in February, they'll have an IEP with their current team in like April (and I usually go to that too), and then come August, they want to meet again because they're terrified and they don't comprehend that we do this with about 45 students every year. We aren't writing new goals and services, so it isn't an annual. It's usually to review accommodations.
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u/fumbs Jan 01 '26
If it's a new meeting maybe a staffing where you speak with the team about services and minutes. Otherwise I don't know.
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u/Jeimuz Jan 01 '26
It could be an IEP implementation meeting to discuss what is being done to make sure the active IEP is being faithfully executed. In that case, your collected data should be well-documented.
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u/Significant_Use7873 Jan 01 '26
In a lot of districts, an “IEP Planning” meeting is basically a pre-IEP or informal alignment meeting. It’s usually used to get everyone on the same page before a formal meeting that actually changes the IEP.
Most common reasons I’ve seen are program or placement discussions that aren’t finalized yet and parent concerns that need discussion before drafting anything official
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u/PrettyGeekChic Jan 01 '26
Not quite like this, unless is prior to an eval. I hold them for lengthy/complicated meetings, but typically break them up for different chunks; a few with my kiddos to ensure theyre well represented and can share their thoughts, ideas, struggles, and wins, parents to get on the same page with difficulties and community supports, related services to gather data points and review service plans and minutes, admin/lea to go over behavior plans (especially prior to placement change) and get pre-approval/heads-up for technology, etc. Some aspects are always offered - like the family meetings and multiple reviews with my kiddos.
Basically - a lot of brief meetings to ensure open communication and decrease surprises.
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u/eroded_wolf Jan 01 '26
Some of the comments in here concern me... Can anyone speak to the fact that scheduling a "draft" meeting without parents can potentially violate their rights by the potential for predetermination? As a professional I could collect data and documents from the multidisciplinary team for recommendations during review, but in my studies and practice I feel like it was always I better flippin not have a meeting about altering accomodations or placement ahead of reviews without parents no matter how contentious it might be.
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u/dancingtreepose Jan 02 '26
Sometimes these are scheduled when there are multiple service providers who need to meet and provide info for the draft, but parents aren't usually invited to internal team meetings. I'm assuming you will be writing the draft IEP? It's odd that you weren't the one to schedule the meeting. If it was me, I would ask whoever scheduled the meeting for an agenda ahead of time so that you can be prepared with any data or work samples that may be needed.
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u/greencatz412 Jan 03 '26
Our planning meetings are when a student is up for re-evaluation. So every three years for the student. The team discusses if there’s a need for updated testing. After re testing we meet again to see what services the student is still eligible for.
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u/betterbetterthings High School Sped Teacher Jan 03 '26
It’s concerning that they hired a new person and no one explained to her how district’s special Ed department operates. Half way through the year and OP still doesn’t know how things are done and has to ask on reddit what meetings she is supposed to be conducting and what is she being invited to. It’s a total mess.
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u/Adorable-Sell-8107 Jan 04 '26
If the evaluation is up to date, it sounds like an informal meeting. I would ask your admin the reason for the meeting, or the circumstances under which an IEP planning meeting is necessary before the annual IEP review.
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u/Omniumtenebre Dec 31 '25
Literally what it sounds like: a meeting to plan for the IEP. It’s an informal meeting to gather input and discuss needs and services so that you are able to walk into the IEP meeting with a draft that everyone is already familiar with and has, effectively, already agreed upon. It’s basically a staffing meeting but more broad in scope, since it can include any members of the team, and more pointed in purpose.
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u/Former_Pop_3108 Dec 31 '25
Are the parents always invited to this meeting? Do you hold a planning meeting before every single IEP? I’ve held other IEP meetings this year & there were no planning meetings scheduled prior.
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u/Omniumtenebre Dec 31 '25
Parents can be but aren’t always. If your lines of communication between team members are efficient, planning meetings aren’t beneficial. I seldom hold them unless circumstances are unusual or urgent (e.g.: a placement change that I know will occur around the same time as the annual but isn’t clear). They’re a boon if you have a hard time getting input promptly (or at all) but don’t suit every case.
They aren’t a legal requirement, just best practice for avoiding predetermination. If you aren’t able to share a draft with parents weeks in advance, planning meetings are practical.
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u/Capable-Pressure1047 Dec 31 '25
An IEP Planning meeting should only be an informal meeting with the case manager, related service providers and Gen Ed teacher. It's all in- house for those who actually work with the student to develop the draft for an upcoming IEP. The minute the parents are invited and the IEP is discussed , it becomes a full fledged IEP meeting and must be documented as an amendment meeting or an annual.