Illinois IEP Meeting Checklist: What to Bring, Ask, and Review

An IEP meeting where you arrive unprepared looks very different from one where you arrive with documents, questions, and a plan. Illinois gives parents real procedural rights in these meetings — but only parents who know what they're entitled to can use them. This checklist covers everything from pre-meeting preparation through progress monitoring after the meeting ends.

Before the Meeting: Documents to Review

You should receive the draft IEP (or at minimum the evaluation reports, if this is an eligibility meeting) before the meeting. For evaluation meetings, Illinois requires you receive draft reports at least 3 school days before the EDC. For annual reviews, you should request the draft IEP in advance — most districts will share it if you ask, though it's not always proactively provided.

Review these documents before you walk in:

Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)

• Does it describe specific, current data — not just "struggles with reading" but actual scores and observations?
• Does it accurately reflect what you see at home and what teachers have told you informally?
• Does it identify the impact of the disability on involvement in general education?

Annual goals

• Is each goal measurable? Does it have a specific skill, conditions, criterion, and timeframe?
• Is each goal directly tied to a gap identified in the PLAAFP?
• Are there enough goals to address all areas of need, or is the list suspiciously short?

Services

• Are all services listed with frequency (how many times per week), duration (how long each session), location (pull-out, push-in, separate classroom), and start/end dates?
• Are the service amounts sufficient to realistically achieve the goals?
• Are related services (speech, OT, PT, social work, counseling) listed if your child needs them?

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) statement

• If your child is removed from general education for any portion of the day, the IEP must include a statement explaining why the nature or severity of the disability prevents services in a general education setting with supplementary aids and supports.
• Is that explanation specific to your child, or does it read like boilerplate?

Transition plan (if age 14.5 or older)

• Illinois requires transition planning by age 14.5.
• Does the IEP include postsecondary goals in education/training, employment, and independent living?
• Are transition services and activities included, not just goals?

What to Bring to the Meeting

• Copy of the current IEP (or draft) with your notes and questions written in the margins
• Any outside evaluations, therapy reports, or medical documentation
• Your own notes on what you've observed at home — specific examples of struggles and strengths
• Prior progress reports — do they show actual data or just "making progress / not making progress"?
• A notepad to document what's said and agreed to
• A written list of your concerns and questions (pre-meeting, write them down — it's easy to forget under pressure)

If you want to bring an advocate, you have the right to do so. Notify the district in advance so they're not caught off guard.

Recording note: Illinois is a two-party consent state (720 ILCS 5/14-2). If you want to record the meeting, you must notify the district in advance and get their agreement in writing before the meeting begins. Showing up with a recording device without notice is a legal risk, not a strategy.

Questions to Ask During the Meeting

On goals:

• How will this goal be measured — what data collection method will be used?
• Who is responsible for collecting data on this goal?
• How often will I receive a progress report, and what will it include?

On services:

• Who specifically will be providing this service — what's their caseload and training?
• Where will the service be delivered and in what group size?
• What happens if the service provider is absent — is there a substitute plan?

On placement:

• Why is this placement recommended over a more integrated setting? (or: Why isn't a more integrated setting being considered?)
• What supplementary aids and services are being provided in the general education setting?

On implementation:

• Will all of [child's] teachers receive a copy of the IEP or at least the accommodations page?
• Who is the primary contact for IEP questions at the school?
• How should I report concerns if services aren't being implemented?

On anything you disagree with:

• Before you sign, you can say: "I'd like to take time to review this before signing. Can I have a copy to take home?"
• You can sign the IEP indicating "I attended the meeting" without signing the section that indicates consent to the proposed placement — consult the specific signature pages carefully.

Your Rights at the Meeting

You are a full member of the IEP team, not a guest. You have the right to:

• Bring anyone with knowledge of your child, including an outside advocate, therapist, or family friend
• Contribute information from outside evaluations, which the team must consider
• Consent to some parts of the IEP and refuse others
• Request a recording of the meeting (with advance notice and district agreement)
• Receive a copy of the finalized IEP within a reasonable timeframe after the meeting
• Reconvene the IEP team at any point during the year by submitting a written request

If the meeting ends without resolution on a disputed issue, you don't have to sign anything that day. You can request a follow-up meeting, bring in additional documentation, or consult with an advocate or attorney before signing.

After the Meeting: Progress Monitoring

IEP progress reports must be sent to you as often as report cards are sent to general education parents — typically quarterly. But the law requires more than a checkbox. Progress reports must describe whether the child is making sufficient progress to meet the annual goal by year end.

Watch for these red flags in progress reports:

• "Making progress" with no data — what was the baseline, what is the current level?
• Goals marked "not yet assessed" quarter after quarter
• Progress that started strong and plateaued — which may indicate the goal was met early and should be revised upward
• No progress across multiple quarters — which may indicate the goal is wrong, the services are inadequate, or the services aren't being provided

When a goal isn't being met, ask for a meeting. Request data. Ask whether the service frequency is sufficient, whether the methodology is appropriate, and whether the goal itself needs revision.

Under Illinois law, you can request an IEP meeting at any time by contacting the school in writing. You don't have to wait for the annual review.

Illinois-Specific Reminders

• Districts must respond to your written IEP meeting request within a reasonable time and schedule the meeting at a mutually agreed time and place
• You can request that meetings be held after school hours or via video conference if in-person is difficult
• For CPS families: your Local Case Manager schedules the meeting, but the ODLSS District Representative must attend to commit services
• Transfer IEPs: if your family moves to a new Illinois district, the new district has 10 days to notify you of a new IEP meeting; the transfer IEP must be honored in the interim

The Illinois IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a complete pre-meeting preparation checklist, a progress monitoring tracking sheet, a guide to reading IEP documents critically, and templates for requesting meetings and disputing decisions in writing — everything you need before, during, and after an IEP meeting.

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