Navigating IEPs: A Beginner's Guide to Special Education

Demystifying the IEP process stands at the heart of educational advocacy for students with disabilities. In this comprehensive conversation with Kyla Bishop, staff attorney at Disability Rights Arkansas, we unpack the legal framework, timeline, and practical aspects of Individualized Education Plans that every parent and educator should understand.

Many families first encounter special education through a medical diagnosis or teacher recommendation, but few realize an IEP is actually a legally binding document that obligates schools to provide specially designed instruction at no cost to parents. Kyla walks us through the entire process – from initial referral (which triggers a strict timeline) to the comprehensive evaluation that assesses everything from academic achievement to adaptive functioning. 

The mechanics of IEP meetings reveal important parental rights that often go unexplained: parents can request meetings anytime, bring supporters without district permission, and should receive complete copies of all documentation. For students approaching adulthood, we explore the transition of rights at age 18 and the critical transition services that must begin at 16 to prepare students for life beyond high school – whether their path leads to college, vocational training, employment or independent living.

Perhaps most valuable is Kyla's practical guidance on navigating common challenges within the system. She emphasizes that only two circumstances allow schools to end services: when a student either receives a regular diploma or reaches age 21. Throughout our conversation, her message to parents remains consistent: stay vigilant, document everything in writing, and remember you're not alone in this journey.

Whether you're new to special education advocacy or a seasoned IEP team participant, this episode provides crucial insights to help ensure students receive the educational support they're legally entitled to receive. Connect with Disability Rights Arkansas if you need individual guidance on your specific situation.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Including You Podcast
• 1:26 What is an IEP and Legal Framework
• 4:40 The Referral and Evaluation Process
• 9:37 IEP Meetings and Team Members
• 15:42 Transition Services and Post-School Planning
• 22:40 Parent Rights and Episode Closing

Transcript

Amber: 0:00

Welcome to Including you a podcast by Disability Rights Arkansas. On this podcast, we shine a light on the real everyday experiences of people with disabilities the challenges, triumphs and all the moments in between. At Disability Rights Arkansas, we're committed to providing guidance to people with disabilities on navigating their rights, tackling everyday issues and accessing the support they need in a complex world. In this podcast, including you, we bring that information directly to you, the listener. We'll cover topics like accessibility questions, building your career, securing the care you deserve and even navigating the nuances of love and relationships as a person with a disability, because everyone has the right to know their rights Everyone, including you. So, whether you're a seasoned advocate or someone just starting to think differently about disability, you're in the right place.

Amber: 1:02

I'm your host, amber Quaid, and together we'll explore how small, meaningful changes can make a big difference. Let's dive in. Our guest joining us today is Kyla Bishop, staff Attorney with Disability Rights Arkansas. She's going to talk to us a little bit about IEP, but before we get started, kyla, would you like to introduce yourself a little bit?

Kyla: 1:25

But before we get started, kyla, would you like to introduce yourself a little bit? Sure, thanks, amber. So my name is Kyla Bishop. I'm one of the staff attorneys here at Disability Rights Arkansas. I focus primarily on education. I've been doing this for about five years now and it's been a learning experience, but thank you for allowing me the opportunity to talk about IEPs today.

Amber: 1:48

We're always excited to have someone with several years of knowledge and just sharing that wealth with us. Well, we're excited to get to talk with Kyla today, but before we do, I just want to let you know I'm not alone in hosting today's podcast. We also have Jamie with us. Jamie, you want to say hi, hey?

Jaime: 2:06

guys, it's Jamie Gardner, the marketing coordinator here at DRA.

Amber: 2:09

Today we're going to dive into this whole IEP conversation. Let's go. Let's go. All right. So say, I want an IEP or a special education related services, but I have no clue where to start. What do I do?

Kyla: 2:26

Well, the first thing that we should cover before getting into IEPs is you know what is the law governing IEPs, right? So that law would be the IDEA or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and so that law requires that each eligible child with a disability should receive a free, appropriate public education. And so that's where you know that special education and IEPs come in. So you know what is special education. You know a lot of the times when I get new parents or I'm talking, you know, with people out in the community, you know they don't really know. You know what that is, and so you know special education literally just means specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. So you know alterations in how they deliver instruction, how they set up assignments, even you know what they're working on. It's all. It's just specially designed instruction to meet the needs of that child.

Kyla: 3:39

And so related services are any of those services that are needed to achieve that requirement, that specially designed instruction. And so those can look like speech, language therapy, occupational therapy. You know physical therapy, because you know we're thinking. You know even if the child needs assistance with. You know writing and reading. You know they need to know how to, or they need to be able to, hold a pencil, so to say, and so that's where something like occupational therapy would step in and help out, you know, with those skills, and so, taken together, it's just that, like I say, that specially designed instruction to meet those needs of the child, designed instruction to meet those needs of the child, and so, a lot of times, parents aren't introduced to the concept of special education or an IEP on their own.

Kyla: 4:33

A lot of the times parents are introduced to IEPs through the receipt of, you know, early childhood services or if there is a recommendation from a doctor or other you know medical professional. So say, the child has been newly diagnosed. You know, in that diagnosis or evaluation, what have you you know, there may be a recommendation for, you know, an IEP that you know requires that specialized instruction. Also, you know, a teacher or other school professional can recommend an IEP as well. It doesn't have to necessarily be a professional from outside of the school, and so those are the most common situations we've had of parents, you know, being introduced to that process.

Amber: 5:26

Which makes complete sense. I know that we had talked a little bit before about IEP, so sometimes I know people misunderstand what an IEP is, but it's actually a document, isn't it?

Kyla: 5:39

Correct. So it is a legal document that basically sets out that outlines what that specially designed instruction is going to look like. Now, what do I mean? When I say it's a legal document? I mean that the school district is legally obligated to provide those services within the IEP at no cost to the parent. So it is an actual document. You know IEP stands for Individualized Education Plan, and so you know that's what it is. It is a document, it's a plan that outlines, like I said, that's specially designed instruction. However, they need it, and so parents should be given copies of the IEP. You know I always recommend bringing a copy of one to the meeting, and if they don't have that, they should and can request that from the school district.

Jaime: 6:36

So you know, I didn't know that it was actually a document. So that's kind of cool. So I guess I guess the basic idea of what an IEP is. But you know, the whole thing is still kind of confusing and, I'm sure, pretty confusing to a lot of parents and family members out there. So if I just have these documents, do I just turn them into the school or is there a type of specific referral process or what's the best way to go about that?

Kyla: 7:00

Right. So yeah, an IEP just doesn't materialize out of air, right? This you know it all has to. We have to get the ball rolling somehow. And so you know there is an actual referral process. You know a legal process to attain an IEP relevant information on the child. You know whether that be the parent, a teacher, principal. You know they can make a referral for the child to receive special education services, and so you know that referral should go to the special education director of the school, or you know your principal, but someone at admin level, and I would recommend that they send that in writing, just so that you have a copy of it, you can see who you sent it to and exactly when. And so once you submit that referral to the appropriate person, they have the district.

Kyla: 8:03

The school district has seven days to schedule a conference, and so this is where things kind of get to moving quickly. And at that referral conference, that is where the school district has to obtain a parent's consent to evaluate the child. That's a really important thing. You know they have to have your permission before they proceed with this process. So you know we have to get all our signatures and you know everything like that. But you know, once the parent has given that consent for testing, the district has 60 days to complete that evaluation, 60 days. And then within the 30 days after the last part's completed they have to schedule a conference to basically review that evaluation and, you know, look over the results to determine if the child needs special education services. So yeah, it's kind of it goes quickly but you know that's to ensure that there is no delay. Obviously we're talking about education so any delay could be the school district in their determination. Very much encourage parents to give those over at the referral conference.

Amber: 9:31

Well, it sounds like there's a lot to this process, but what happens with the initial evaluation and assessment? Is there anything I should worry about?

Kyla: 9:41

So the main thing to know about an initial evaluation is that it's going to be comprehensive.

Kyla: 9:48

We're going to be assessing all areas of suspected disability so that we don't miss anything of suspected disability, so that we don't miss anything.

Kyla: 10:00

And so an evaluation they call it a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation and that is, you know, performed by a licensed medical professional, and they're going to administer various assessments, such as achievement testing, which assesses a student's ability in academic areas, just like math, reading, written language, things like that.

Kyla: 10:22

They're also going to be testing for cognitive and intelligence testing. We're going to have behavioral testing and then adaptive testing, which includes skills such as communication, daily living skills, socialization, motor skills, things like that. So not only are we testing for to see what the child's academic needs are, but we're also going to be looking at those functional skills as well. And if the parent or the school district have a suspicion that a child needs it, they can also administer assessments for therapies such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, any of those therapies that are needed for the child to receive a know, their education, that specially designed instruction. And so, again, it's meant to be comprehensive, they're meant to do, I think, the more comprehensive the better. Again, we want an entire picture of the child, so we're not missing anything, and you know. And so we're designing an IEP that they can actually benefit from.

Jaime: 11:34

So let's say, like all of this, you know, goes well, goes, super great. Does that mean that we're like good to go? Does anything else need to happen? Do we need to do this again if we start, like the next school year, like what does that look like?

Kyla: 11:46

Right. So, basically, at the end of the referral process, we're going to have this meeting it's an evaluation conference to, you know, review the results, right? And so the IEP team, which is going to consist of a group of district staff and the parents, this team is going to ask two questions. First, we're going to ask, you know, does the child have a disability? Because you know, in order to receive an IEP, you have to have a disability. So that would be the first question. And then the second question is does this child need specially designed instruction? Because not every child with a disability is going to need an IEP. Just you can't get an IEP just by virtue of the fact you have a disability. It's. Do you have a disability and need that specially designed instruction?

Kyla: 12:38

And so a lot of parents, you know, they ask what does that look like? Well, it's different for each child. You know there's no like one specific set of criteria such as like oh, you have to score this, this, or you know it's not, it's very individualized. It's going to be, you know, different for each one. But you know what they will do at that meeting is they're going to review the evaluation, you know, any input or evaluation documentation given by the parent. They're going to get input, you know, from the teacher, and so it's going to be a thorough discussion. But at that point if they do decide that you know the child needs that, then you know we actually move into forming and creating the actual IEP document.

Amber: 13:30

Well, I was just wondering does my kid need to be a part of this meeting?

Kyla: 13:34

They are not required to attend IEP meetings. You know, when they're younger they may not necessarily need to attend these meetings. You know, they're kind of obviously, you know, higher level, kind of dealing with things a little more advanced than you know, like what a second grader can understand, and so it's up to the parents, it's up to the team. But if we have an older student, you know, like maybe say someone in middle school or high school, at that point it may be more beneficial to invite them to, you know, the IEP meetings.

Amber: 14:10

My kid doesn't need to attend the meetings, but should I bring anyone else to these meetings, especially if my kid's younger? But just the initial start of IEP meetings. Should I be bringing anyone else to these meetings?

Kyla: 14:23

Yeah, so the parent can bring any individual that's knowledgeable about the child's disability with them to the IEP meeting. So in practice that looks like you know a mental health therapist, maybe the child's BCBA, the board certified behavioral analyst, or the RBP registered behavior technician, or a PASS coordinator, even you know anyone who might have knowledge about the child's disability the parent can bring with them. They don't have to receive permission from the school district to do that. That is their right.

Jaime: 15:01

Based on these results, you know that this team, you know, finds and whatever they end up deciding, the child would be, I guess, officially enrolled or have an IEP.

Kyla: 15:12

Yeah. So once we reach, you know, that decision that the child needs that special instruction, the entire team is going to sit down. This will be at the same meeting. They're going to sit down and actually, you know, make the IEP. Each IEP has to have a set of goals and those goals have to be designed to meet the child's educational needs. And those educational needs are going to be those that were defined or revealed as part of the evaluation process. And so these goals have to be designed to meet the child's educational needs.

Kyla: 15:47

And an important thing for parents to remember is that that includes academic and functional goals. So behavioral skills, adaptive living skills, et cetera, anything that you know the child or the teen determines the child needs to, you know, receive that instruction. So they're actually going to sit down after, you know, at the same meeting where they determine from the evaluations that they need the instruction, they need an IEP, they're going to, you know, make the document, establish these goals. And so then those goals are, you know, implemented in the classroom. You know that's what they work on. You know, for example, I've seen some like math IEP goals that say, you know the student will work on you know, multiples of three or something like that, and that will be measured every nine weeks typically, and that's how they keep track of the progress.

Amber: 16:51

What if I'm noticing that my child is struggling? Can I just go ahead and set up an IEP meeting to have a conversation?

Kyla: 16:59

Oh yeah, so a parent can request an IEP meeting at any time. You know, often we have parents that come to us saying you know, the school told me I only get three IEP meetings a year. No, you know, the parent can request a meeting at any time. You know I always say this put your request in writing, so you know who you sent it to and exactly when you sent it. But the parent can request a meeting. You know you sent it to and exactly when you sent it. But the parent can request a meeting verbally if they want to.

Kyla: 17:29

There is a 14-day notice requirement. We can't just have an IEP meeting tomorrow. If we want one, there's a 14-day notice requirement. That's just to allow everyone time to be able to be there and stuff. But the parent can waive that if they want to. If there's a need to have an IEP meeting sooner than that, you know that's totally up to the parent. There's also, you know, at IEP meetings, all required team members have to be there too, and so we've kind of been talking about it throughout this conversation.

Kyla: 18:03

But specifically, the IEP team is made up of the parent, a regular education teacher, a special education teacher, a representative from the school district who is, you know, knowledgeable about services and the special education provided by the district. And then someone who can interpret the evaluation results. And you know, sometimes one staff member can fill more than one role. So if you don't have, you know, exactly five people at every meeting, just ask the scheduler. You know who's serving what role. And then also, you know, just as a parent can invite individuals to IEP meetings, the school district can do that as well. They can choose, you know, to invite. You know like a dean of student services, or you know dean of academic services, or you know the principal of the alternative learning environment. You know, just as the parent has that right, the school district has that as well. So that's just some things to remember when calling IEP meetings.

Jaime: 19:12

So what happens if my child turns 18 during the school year? Does that mean like my rights as like a parent or a guardian get transferred to my child? Do they go completely away? What does that look like?

Kyla: 19:25

Oh, yes, at the age of 18, the rights of the parent under the IDEA transfer over to the student. Yes, in short, it does go away, but a lot of the times parents still stay involved and a lot of the times the students want that. So just because you know those rights transfer doesn't mean you know parents are going to be completely cut out and barred from being involved. That's not typically the case.

Kyla: 19:58

And then what about, you know, whenever they turn 16, that's when the school or the IEP team have to start implementing transition services. Okay, so what are transition services? They are, specifically they're a coordinated set of activities that facilitate the child's transition from school to whatever post-school activities they're interested in doing, you know, college or university or vocational education, integrated employment, independent living, anything like that. A coordinated set of activities to prepare them from that move from school to whatever comes next. And so, as they are, well, first, you know what are those activities? That can include instruction, certain areas. It can include the receipt of any related services, like the ones we've talked about before. It can be community experiences I've seen students shadowing a business owner if they're interested in opening or, you know, doing any sort of business things. And then that also includes the acquisition of any functional living skills.

Kyla: 21:18

So if the child is going to be with supported or, you know, independent living, learning how to, you know, live by themselves, maintain a home, upkeep themselves and et cetera, but whatever it is, you know we have to take into account the child's needs and interests. We don't get to pick for them. They get to pick, and you know, I'd encourage, you know, iep teams and parents to. You know talk about this with their kids, you know, before 16. I mean you can start having these conversations with the IEP team as early as 14. But you know we would have goals and transition services geared towards going to college, learning to live alone, you know, learning. If they struggle with this learning like timeliness or you know anything like that it's those activities that are going to set the child up for success.

Amber: 22:26

It's those activities that are going to set the child up for success. All of the parts you're talking about is while the child is still in high school, but what happens when they graduate? Does this whole IEP team become no longer necessary? If so, then what happens to my child's services? What if they don't graduate when they're 18? Can they age out of services? How does all that part work?

Kyla: 22:46

Yes, a child can age out of services. So, no matter what, under Arkansas law, once the child reaches the age of 21, the school district is no longer obligated to provide special education services obligated to provide special education services. And then you know, in the second instance, the school is no longer obligated to provide services if the child receives a regular education diploma. Students on IEPs can achieve regular diplomas if they complete their graduation requirements set by the state. You know that's a common misconception from parents. You know, is my child going to be able to walk? And yes, that is available for them.

Kyla: 23:32

Another thing, and this is unique for Arkansas, we also have the Arkansas alternate pathway to graduation for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. And so, you know, the graduation requirements for that look a lot similar to the regular diploma requirements but just amended as appropriate. And then you know, students, they can also earn a GED, though that doesn't necessarily mean a school district can stop special education services. So you know, in the two instances where a school district can absolutely stop is when the student ages out or they graduate with a regular diploma.

Amber: 24:16

Okay, I was like I feel like this has been some excellent information. How about you, Jamie?

Jaime: 24:23

Oh yeah, no, I've definitely learned some stuff, for sure, that I didn't know beforehand.

Amber: 24:27

Right, I've been taking notes this whole time. Well, thank you, kyla, for being on the show here with us today and sharing all this information Before we go. Is there anything that you feel that people should take away, or something we missed, or just any last notes you have for us?

Kyla: 24:45

I'll just say, you know, stay vigilant. A lot of this, you know it is a lot to absorb. You know, if your child is very young, you know you're probably going to be dealing with IEPs for a while. So, you know, do your research. You know, review your IEPs and just stay on top of it. And you know that's going to be the best way to get through this process. You're not alone. If you have any, you know parent groups in your area definitely reach out to them. And if you have any questions or any concerns, please reach out to us.

Amber: 25:18

That was wonderful. That was perfect. Thank you so much, kyla, for being on the show today. No problem. Thank you for joining us on Including you. We hope today's conversation has sparked ideas, offered guidance or inspired you to take action in your own life and community. At Disability Rights, we believe advocacy isn't always about sweeping reforms. Sweeping reforms, it's about the small, everyday actions like asking the right questions, standing up when something feels wrong or helping to create a space where everyone feels included. If today's episode resonated with you, visit us at disabilityrightsarorg to learn more about your rights, access resources and find ways to get involved. But don't forget to follow us on social media for updates, tips and stories from the disability community. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, leave us a review or start a conversation, because that's where change begins. Remember everyone deserves to know their rights. Remember, everyone deserves to know their rights Everyone, including you. Until next time, I'm Amber Quaid and we'll talk with you again soon.