IEP/IFSP Question-Curious

[jmski]

I am a special education teacher in KY and a mom to a son with an IEP. I keep hearing about parents waiting to sign their child's IEP until they are sure they agree, BUT in Ky there is no such thing. We do not have parents sign IEPs/IFSPs here. Parents sign the conference summary after hearing the notes read back. They are signing that they had the meeting in their native language and received a copy of their parent rights, but they are not signing that they agree to everything in the IEP.
  So-- do you have to sign the IEP/IFSP before it begins where you live? What states do this?

[spooko]

I'm in WI, and my experience has been closer to what you describe. I'm not sure what the official answer is, though, because I've always been on really great terms with everyone involved and I don't know if that leads to anyone doing things more informally or if that's how it's done for everyone.

[namastebiotches]

I'm in Ohio & I'm 99% sure we did have to sign the IEP. They also did ask if we agreed as we reviewed it and/or had input in everything so we were pretty involved.

[BostonKisses]

In PA, we had to sign the actual IFSP, but we made sure everything was good to go while building it. I'm not sure how the IEPs or our 504 will eventually work.

[mrsbuttinski]

I've never heard of such a thing. I guess my friends around the country don't include anyone in KY.

Parents generally sign 3 times- once when they concsent to the evaluation by the LEA and recieve a copy of the procedural safeguard outlining their rights to accommodations for language or disability, IEEs and due process. They also sign in at the start of the actual IEP meeting as a present member of the Committee for Special Education (Child Study Team or IEP team) and finally on delivery of actual document.

IDEA is federal law, it supercedes any local agency except where the state or LEA has more stringent laws in place. Federal law does not require parents to sign the IEP in order for it to be implemented but many states do require it of parents.

www.wrightslaw.com/blog/?p=3924

[megara4]

I think that we have to sign the IEP agreeing to what's in it. I also know that I've always been told by other SN moms to never sign the IEP unless you are happy with what's in it. I think sometimes though, they do things through verbal agreement, but I assume they are then documenting it in some way, as when they decided to get my DD an associate again (they took hers away the year before b/c bad teacher/associate combo for her and they claimed she didn't need one anymore and that she never responded to/listened to the one she had anyways...it was a clusterfuck) the sp.ed teacher called me and said she had to get my permission before doing so. I never had to sign something, though.

[salemkitty]

I'm also a special education teacher. In our state everyone present at the meeting signs at the beginning (record access) and end (IEP) of the meeting. Signatures are there to show who attended the meeting not approval of the IEP. However, lawyers in our area advise parents not to sign IEPs unless they are 100% happy with it.

[jmski]

To clarify - parents do sign for consent to eval and to give consent for special education. They just don't really "sign the IEP". Parent concerns and disagreements are documented in the conference summary notes.

[jmski]

Jan 19, 2015 14:51:11 GMT -5 megara4 said:

I think that we have to sign the IEP agreeing to what's in it. I also know that I've always been told by other SN moms to never sign the IEP unless you are happy with what's in it. I think sometimes though, they do things through verbal agreement, but I assume they are then documenting it in some way, as when they decided to get my DD an associate again (they took hers away the year before b/c bad teacher/associate combo for her and they claimed she didn't need one anymore and that she never responded to/listened to the one she had anyways...it was a clusterfuck) the sp.ed teacher called me and said she had to get my permission before doing so. I never had to sign something, though.

megara4- associate must mean an assistant? Here we use teacher assistant a lot, but officially use para educator. Interesting. Where are you located?

[megara4]

Yes, they call them teacher associates at our school. I am in Iowa.  I try to work really hard to use associate, as I grew up calling them aides.  I know lots just use TA also.

[pipsqueak]

I've done IEPs in DODDS schools overseas, NM, AZ, and NE.....all of them only have parent sign as present for the meeting and maybe receipt of a copy of the IEP. I did once add a "note of disagreement" regarding a detail on ds1's IEP before signing for attendance/receipt.

[mack]

In VA we sign it for it to be implemented. That said, I am pretty sure it's more just a courtesy. Because they are only going to do what they are going to do.