Mississippi IEP Meeting Checklist: What to Do Before, During, and After

Walking into an IEP meeting unprepared is the most common mistake Mississippi parents make. You're outnumbered by professionals who do this every week, and the meeting often moves faster than you can process. By the time you have a question about something in the document, the team has moved on.

This checklist is designed to change that dynamic. Preparation doesn't just make you feel more confident — it changes what the school is willing to put in the IEP.

Before the Meeting: What to Request and Review

At least 5 business days before the meeting:

Send a written email to the special education coordinator requesting:

• The draft IEP (or the prior IEP if this is an annual review) before the meeting
• All current progress monitoring data for each goal
• Any recent evaluation reports or assessments that will be discussed
• A copy of the meeting agenda

You should not be reviewing these documents for the first time at the meeting table. If the district says it doesn't send draft IEPs before meetings, push back: you are a required team member and you need time to prepare. Arriving informed is your right.

Review the current IEP or prior year's IEP:

• Check the projected annual review date — if it's been passed, the district is in violation
• Review each goal and its progress code (A, B, C, or D)
• For any "B" (Insufficient Progress) goals, prepare to ask what changed and why
• Check service minutes — are they what was agreed upon? Are they what was delivered?

Write your Parent Concern Statement:

Mississippi's IEP form includes a dedicated "Parent/Student Input" section in the PLAAFP. You can submit a written statement in advance or read it at the meeting. Don't rely on memory under pressure. Write it down beforehand.

Your statement should be specific and data-driven, not emotional:

• Document specific incidents or regressions you've observed at home
• Cite any private evaluations or therapy reports that contradict the school's data
• Formalize specific requests ("I am requesting that the team consider an assistive technology evaluation for written expression")

Prepare your questions:

Write them down. At minimum, ask:

• What is the specific data behind each goal's progress rating?
• How are services being delivered? By whom? How often?
• What happened during the weeks services weren't delivered (if applicable)?
• Has the team considered [specific related service or accommodation you want]?

The Day Before: Notify If You're Recording

If you plan to audio record the meeting, Mississippi law requires you to notify all IEP team members at least 24 hours before the meeting. Send a written notification by email the day before. Keep that email.

Recording protects both parties. It also tends to encourage more careful, considered statements from school personnel.

At the Meeting: What to Watch For

The "Jiffy Lube" IEP: If the team presents a pre-written, complete IEP and asks you to sign at the end, that is a procedural problem. IEPs must be developed with you, not presented to you. You are allowed to slow the meeting down, ask for changes, and decline to sign anything you haven't had time to review.

Vague goal language: Goals that say "will improve" or "will make progress" are not measurable. Ask how each goal will be measured and what data will be used. See Mississippi IEP Goals for Autism for examples of what measurable goals look like.

Short-term objectives: Every goal in a Mississippi IEP must have Short-Term Instructional Objectives and Benchmarks (STIO/Bs). If you don't see them in the draft, ask where they are.

LRE justification: If the proposed placement removes your child from the general education setting, the team must explain why each less-restrictive option was considered and rejected. Ask them to walk through that reasoning.

Exit options for secondary students: If your child is in secondary school, watch the "Exit Options" section carefully. A "Certificate of Completion" is NOT equivalent to a standard high school diploma. It permanently limits military enlistment and post-secondary university enrollment. If that option is being checked, ask detailed questions.

Service delivery: Confirm who will deliver each service, how many minutes per week, and in what setting. Get specifics — "speech therapy once a week" is not enough. "45 minutes of individual speech therapy delivered by a licensed SLP in the special education resource room every Tuesday" is specific enough to verify compliance.

Do Not Sign Under Pressure

You never have to sign the IEP on the day of the meeting. If you need time to review, say so. Your signature indicates attendance and participation — not necessarily agreement.

If you disagree with specific sections, you can:

• Sign with a written notation: "Signature indicates attendance only. Parent does not agree with [specific section]."
• Request a follow-up meeting to resolve the disagreement
• Submit written Parent Input after the meeting with your concerns formally documented

After the Meeting: Follow Up in Writing

Within 24-48 hours of the meeting, send an email summarizing key decisions, commitments made, and any outstanding questions. Something like: "Thank you for the meeting on [date]. To confirm, the team agreed that [specific service] will begin [date], delivered by [person] for [minutes] weekly..."

This creates a written record of what was agreed upon. If implementation falls short later, you have documentation of what was committed.

Also confirm the start date for any new services. Under Mississippi law, services must begin implementation immediately — not at the start of the next quarter.

The Mississippi IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a printable pre-meeting checklist, a Parent Concern Statement template, a post-meeting follow-up email template, and the specific language for requesting changes you want in the IEP before signing.

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