IEP Party: Beginning of the year special education meeting with campus staff

You might be asking yourself, “What is an IEP Party?” Let me be the first to tell you I am so glad you asked!

First, lets start with the basics. An IEP (Individual Education Program) is a legal document for a child that receives special education services. This document provides vital information about the child and their academic plan for success.

An IEP party is a made up term that I have used over the years to make distributing IEP’s to general education teachers and school staff more fun. By law, it is required that every staff member working directly with a special education student has a copy of their IEP. This means, they have not only received a copy, but they have read it and it has been explained to them by a special education staff member. In my opinion this process should be done in a inviting, fun and safe atmosphere. Building a positive relationship with general education and special education teachers is imperative to student success. This is why I created an IEP Party! It gets teachers excited to come to a meeting and learn about their upcoming special education students and receive copies of their IEPs.

When conducting your IEP party, set it up like a real party by decorating and providing snacks. Within the IEP party product you will find tons of things to use at your IEP party. Some of these items include; IEP party banner, item labels, printable invitations, welcome signs, sign in, teacher IEP binder covers, tons of handouts and information, printable party favor sign and much more.

The main item to tackle at your party is sharing information about current special education students and their IEPs. I have found that creating each teacher a binder and prefilling it with important special education handouts and their specific students IEPs is most effective. I created and IEP party to do list that walks your through everything you need to do before your IEP party so it is seamless. You will also found a detailed agenda of what to do at your IEP party. No stress!

There is no shame in turning a task that could be viewed as overwhelming and making it into an informative PARTY! Have fun with your IEP party and show your staff the great special education team!

Leave me a comment below on how you plan to knock out your first IEP party!