How to Write Your Parent Input for an IEP in Illinois

Most parents walk into an IEP meeting with a head full of concerns and a blank notebook. The school team asks if there's anything you'd like to add, you mention a few things, someone writes a summary at the bottom of the IEP, and the meeting moves on. Two months later, none of what you said shows up in your child's IEP in any meaningful way.

Parent input into the IEP is a legal right under IDEA and Illinois law — not a courtesy the school extends to you. Here's how to use it strategically.

Why Parent Input Matters Legally

Under IDEA (34 CFR §300.322) and 23 Illinois Administrative Code Part 226, parents are required members of the IEP team. That membership isn't ceremonial. The law requires that parents have the opportunity to meaningfully participate in developing the IEP, including the goals, services, and placement.

Meaningful participation requires that the team actually consider what you bring. If you submit a parent concern statement before the meeting, the IEP team is required to address it. It becomes part of the IEP document's record. If the team ignores it entirely — doesn't reference it in the present levels of performance, doesn't write goals that address your stated concerns, doesn't respond to your questions — that's a procedural failure that you can document and potentially escalate.

Parent input also matters at the due process stage. If you ever file a due process complaint or ISBE State Complaint, your written record of what you raised at meetings and when is part of your paper trail. A school team that documented "parent has no concerns" when you had documented concerns is in a difficult position.

What to Include in Your Parent Concern Statement

Write your parent input statement before the meeting — not during it. Submit it in writing to the case manager at least a few days before the IEP meeting. You can bring printed copies to the meeting and request that it be attached to the IEP.

A strong parent concern statement includes:

1. What you observe at home that isn't captured in school data. Schools only see your child in school. Your observations of homework struggles, emotional dysregulation, social difficulties, sensory issues, and skill regression over breaks are information the school doesn't have. Describe specific behaviors and situations, not impressions. "Maria spends 2-3 hours on reading assignments that take her classmates 20 minutes" is more useful than "Maria struggles with reading."

2. Your child's strengths, interests, and what motivates them. The Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) in the IEP is supposed to reflect a complete picture of the student, including strengths. If the school's PLAAFP only describes deficits, add the counterweight. Teachers who know what motivates a student write better goals and manage classrooms better.

3. Specific concerns about current IEP goals or services. If you believe a goal is too low, too vague, or in the wrong area, say so explicitly. "I am concerned that Goal 2 sets the target at 40% accuracy, which is below grade-level performance for typically developing 3rd graders. I would like to discuss whether this goal is ambitious enough to close the gap." That's far more actionable than "I think his goals could be higher."

4. Specific services you believe are needed. If you believe your child needs speech therapy and it's not currently in the IEP, say so. If you think OT minutes should be increased, say so. Put your request in writing before the meeting rather than raising it verbally for the first time in the room.

5. Questions you want answered at the meeting. "I would like the team to explain what data was used to determine that speech services should be reduced from 60 to 30 minutes." Framing questions in advance signals that you expect answers, not deflection.

Sample Parent Concern Language

Here's an example of language that is specific, documented, and legally useful:

"My son, James, has continued to struggle with reading fluency at home despite the 30 minutes of reading support written into his current IEP. During the second semester, I observed that he is reading at a pace of approximately 40 words per minute on grade-level texts at home, while his progress report indicates 65 words per minute. I would like the team to share the specific data used to generate the 65 words per minute figure, including the date and setting of that measurement.

I am also concerned that James has not received his full 30 minutes of speech therapy this semester. I was notified twice by the speech therapist that sessions were canceled due to scheduling conflicts, but I have not received makeup sessions or an explanation of how the missed time will be compensated.

At this meeting, I am requesting that the team (1) share raw reading fluency data from the past quarter, (2) explain how missed speech sessions will be made up, and (3) discuss whether the current IEP is sufficient to close the gap between James and his grade-level peers."

This kind of statement is specific, cites data, asks concrete questions, and makes clear what you expect from the meeting. It's very different from "I just want him to succeed."

Getting It Into the IEP

When you arrive at the meeting, hand the case manager a copy of your parent concern statement and say: "I'd like this attached to the IEP as my parent input statement." Most districts have a specific section for parent concerns in the IEP document. If the person writing the IEP in real time is summarizing your concerns in ways that soften or misrepresent them, correct it at the meeting. You can say: "That summary doesn't accurately reflect what I said. I'd like my written statement attached verbatim so the record is accurate."

After the meeting, send a follow-up email to the case manager with the key points you raised and any verbal commitments the team made. The email is your record of the meeting. Your written concerns plus the follow-up email create the paper trail that matters if you later need to escalate.

The Illinois IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook at /us/illinois/advocacy/ includes a parent concern statement template and a post-meeting summary email template, both formatted to create a legally useful paper trail. You don't need to figure out the right language from scratch.

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