The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, most recently reauthorized in 2004, explicitly reinforces the role of parents as partners with school professionals in the education of their children with disabilities. As members of the individualized education program (IEP) team, parents participate in all decisions about their child’s educational program. Research on parents’ perceptions of their experiences in their children’s individualized education program (IEP) meetings however, documents a lack of meaningful participation and involvement in decision-making. In this study, a researcher-developed survey was utilized to investigate the perceptions of parents of children with disabilities in grades three through five. Thirty-four parents completed an online survey and were asked to rate their agreement, using a five point Likert-type scale, with a series of twelve statements about their experiences in IEP meetings. In this study, two open-ended questions provided qualitative data on parents’ descriptions of their best and worst experiences at IEP meetings. The results of this study indicate parents are not participating in decision-making about their child’s educational program. Fifty-six percent of parents disagreed with the statement that their school’s team listens and responds to the concerns the parent has about their child’s school program. In addition, fifty-nine percent of parents indicated they did not have enough time to read reports before decisions were made at IEP meetings. No significant differences in parent perceptions were found across groups of parents (including parents of boys versus girls, parents from different socioeconomic groups, parents with different educational backgrounds, parents of children in different grades or parents of children with different disabilities). The results of this study indicate that parents continue to struggle to participate meaningfully in the decision-making responsibility of the IEP team. Limitations in the sample size, representativeness of the sample, and statistical power of this study should be considered when interpreting the results.

This book offers guidance for school-based professionals participating in the special education process. It provides a foundation for effective oral communication and meeting facilitation in team meetings while highlighting methods to enhance collaboration between educators and families. School psychologists across the United States share how they structure meetings, provide examples for how to communicate educational and psychological concepts, and describe personas they present to support the meeting process. Chapters present a sequential facilitation process for school psychologist-led meetings and apply that process to problem-solving, suspicion of disability, eligibility/feedback, IEP, and manifestation determination meetings. Within each chapter, featured practitioners describe ways to address common challenges that arise. Aimed at graduate students and professionals, this text is a unique, example-based resource to enhance readers’ ability to facilitate and participate in the special education process.

Federal guidelines outline school communication with parents as a necessity throughout the special education process. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that parents have the right to participate in their children's educational involvement, including but not limited to: Individualized Education Program Meetings (IEP), due process proceedings, and any components of evaluation and individual services provided to their child. While law mandates that schools proactively communicate with parents, in many aspects, parents may often feel disconnected from aspects of the special education process, particularly eligibility meetings (Bucknavage, 2007). Further, results of the component selections within the eligibility determination for special education may complicate the relationship between school and parents, potentially leaving parents feeling isolated, frustrated, or confused (Esquivel et al., 2008; (Buckman, 1992). This study specifically will use a parent survey to improve and inform best practices for school psychologists about investigating factors that encourage parent participation in eligibility meetings. As school professionals, it is important that parents not only participate and comprehend the entire process of special education, including potential diagnoses, but also feel empowered to advocate for the welfare of their child.The goal of this study is not to provide a comprehensive evaluation of experiences of parents and families who have completed the special education experience in schools. Rather, this study shares specific, meaningful stories of participants to illustrate potential successes and difficulties that parents may face specifically within special education eligibility meetings and the implications towards the future.

Practical and forward-thinking, Developing Teacher Leaders in Special Education is the administrator's essential guide to growing special educator leadership in any school, district, or program. Special educators need to be flexible, proactive, and collaborative – qualities that make them uniquely suited to roles in school leadership – but these skills are often overlooked when choosing effective teacher leaders. Featuring helpful tips and detailed examples to demonstrate the concepts in action, this book breaks down the qualities that special educators can bring to your school leadership team and explores how you can leverage those skills to create a more inclusive and successful community.

This study focused on the emotional responses of parents of school-aged children who read a vignette describing an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting. The vignette used either specific or generic language to label the participants' relationship to the child who meets the eligibility criteria for Specific Learning Disability. The label used was either a specific "Your Child" description or a generic description of "A Child." Further, the vignettes were presented either with or without technical professional jargon commonly used in an IEP setting.In a pilot study, parents provided emotional response ratings for the 13 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) eligibility categories. Eligibility categories were rated more negatively in the Your Child condition compared to the Control condition, demonstrating the impact of label on parents' perception of IEP categories. Specific Learning Disability (SLD) was chosen as the IDEA eligibility category for use in Study 2 vignette because it is common in schools and it was not rated as emotionally negative as other eligibility categories, thus allowing a realistic but not overly negative context within which to examine the effects of label type and professional jargon on emotional reactivity and feelings of collaboration.In Study 2, four vignettes describing a child with a SLD in reading (i.e., dyslexia) were created by manipulating Label ("Your Child" vs. "A Child") and Jargon (Yes vs. No) and were divided into five blocks: (1) Identifying Concerns, outlining the reading concerns; (2) Labeling the Problem, using the name of the suspected disorder, dyslexia; (3) Assessment Methods, either specific validated and normed copywritten assessment methods in the jargon condition vs. nonspecific generic methods in the no jargon condition; (4) Qualifying for IEP, stating eligibility for an IEP because of SLD; and (5) Accommodations Proposed, describing the help to be provided. Participants rated their emotional response after each block. Participants then rated their feelings of collaboration with school personnel using a 12-item scale developed for this study. I hypothesized that parents in the "Your Child" group would report more negative emotions and lower feelings of cooperation compared to those in the "A Child" group. Further, I hypothesized that the presence of Jargon would have an impact on both emotional reactivity and feelings of cooperation relative to an IEP meeting described using everyday language.The Jargon and Label manipulations had different effects depending on the type of information in the vignette. When considering Assessment Methods, parents' emotional responses were more positive when Jargon was used compared to everyday language. The effects of jargon were evident with respect to feelings of collaboration. Parents who read vignettes without jargon reported greater feelings of collaboration than those who read vignettes with jargon. Parent reactions were also influence by whether or not they already had a child with an IEP or 504 Plan. Those with an IEP/504 Plan background reported more negative emotions and lower feelings of collaboration when presented with jargon. Participants who reported they had an immediate family history of dyslexia also responded more negatively to jargon and reported lower feelings of collaboration. Implications for practice are outlined.

Nationally, research on special education has emphasized the importance of involving parents in the individual educational plan (IEP) process (Al-Herz, 2008; Angel, Stoner, & Shelden, 2009; Hebel & Persitz, 2014; Hobbs & Silla, 2008; Hui-Chen & Mason, 2008). The IEP is a blueprint for special education and related special education services in the United States and other countries (Alquraini, 2013; Hebel & Persitz, 2014; Martin et al., 2006; Tal, 2009; Yell, Katsiyannis, Ennis, & Losinki, 2013). Development and implementation of effective educational programs for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involve collaboration with parents (Hebel & Persitz, 2014). However, the participation of parents in the IEP process continues to challenge schools (Hebel & Persitz, 2014). It is essential for teachers and school personnel to understand the experiences of families of children with autism, the interventions they access, and the important role that schools play in their lives (Hebel & Persitz, 2014; Martin et al., 2006; Tal, 2009; Yell et al., 2013). With these insights and a commitment to collaborate, parents and teachers can work together to create positive and effective educational programs for students. The purpose of this qualitative study is to achieve an understanding of the perceptions and experiences of the IEP process of a sample of Saudi and U.S. parents of students with ASD by: (a) comparing their experiences and identifying factors influencing their participation to infer whether the parents were involved in the IEP process; (b) assessing the similarities and differences between the two countries in the factors that affected parents' involvement in the IEP process; and (b) exploring the participants' perceptions of the IEP process to determine the best strategies that may have an impact on parental involvement in the IEP process in the context of the two different cultures. Data collection in this study involved interviewing twelve parents representing ten cases of students with autism who have IEPs. Through analysis of parents' responses, five main themes related to the involvement of parents in the IEP process became apparent: (A) IEP as defined by parents, (B) factors influencing parents' involvement in the IEP, (C) parents' description of the IEP process, (D) barriers to parent involvement in the IEP, and (E) recommended strategies to increase parents' involvement. Research findings indicate that parents in the U.S. tend to be more involved and more knowledgeable of the IEP process compared to Saudi parents. The results of this study also show that Saudi parents continue to struggle to participate meaningfully in the IEP due to the lack of communication with school personnel and the limitation of IEP meetings in the school. All parents further revealed that having ongoing communication, building positive relationships with educators, and being involved in different support groups are essential factors that influenced their participation in the IEP. Finally, findings highlight the need for more parental training and more public education in subjects related to IEP and special education procedures.