New Brunswick PLP Meeting Checklist: What to Bring and Ask

Walking into a Personalized Learning Plan meeting unprepared puts you at an immediate disadvantage. The school staff know the system, have conducted dozens of these meetings, and have already formed opinions about what your child needs. Your job is to arrive as an equal partner — which requires knowing what the process should look like, what questions to ask, and what red flags to watch for.

This checklist is designed for New Brunswick parents attending any PLP meeting — whether it's the first one or an annual review.

Before the Meeting

Documents to gather and bring:

• A copy of any previous PLP your child has had
• Any private psychological or medical assessment reports you hold
• Report cards from the current and previous year
• Any written communications you've had with the school about your child's needs
• A list of your concerns in plain language (write them out in advance — you'll think more clearly than in the room)

Questions to ask before the meeting:

• Who will be at the meeting? Ask for a list of attendees in advance. You need to know whether the classroom teacher, resource teacher, and administrator will all be present.
• Will an interpreter be available if needed?
• Can you bring a support person? (Yes, you can — this is your legal right under district policy.)
• Will you receive a draft of the proposed PLP in advance of the meeting to review?

If you want a support person or advocate: Contact Inclusion NB at least a week before your meeting. Their Social Inclusion Coordinators attend PLP meetings for free. Alternatively, bring a trusted family member or friend to take notes.

At the Meeting: Questions to Ask

About your child's current performance:

• What does my child's current assessment data show? (Not "how is she doing" — ask for actual data.)
• What specific classroom strategies have been tried, and what does the data show about their effectiveness?
• Has a formal Tier 2 intervention been documented and evaluated?

About the proposed PLP:

• Is this an accommodated, adjusted, or individualized plan — and why?
• For each goal: What is the baseline? What is the target? How will progress be measured? By whom?
• What specific supports are allocated? (EA hours per day, speech therapy schedule, assistive technology access — exact amounts, not vague references.)
• Who is responsible for each support listed?

About the curriculum tier (critical for adjusted plans):

• Which specific course outcomes are being changed or removed?
• How will these changes appear on my child's high school transcript?
• Will this affect my child's ability to meet university entrance requirements?

About signatures and consent:

• Am I entitled to take this document home to review before signing?
• If I have concerns or want to request changes, how do I submit them?

If there is an Educational Assistant:

• How many hours per day of EA support is my child receiving?
• What is the EA's role specifically (personal care, behavioral support, academic task support)?
• What happens when the assigned EA is absent?

Red Flags to Watch For

Vague goals: If goals say "will improve in reading" or "will work on social skills" without specifying baseline, target, measurement method, or timeline — these are placeholders, not goals. Request rewriting before signing.

Pressure to sign immediately: You are not required to sign the PLP on the day of the meeting. If the team pressures you to sign before you've had time to review, this is inappropriate. Ask for the document in writing and take 48 hours.

Absence of the classroom teacher: The classroom teacher holds primary responsibility for the student's educational progress under Section 27 of the Education Act. If they're not present or not represented, the meeting is incomplete.

Adjusting curriculum without explaining consequences: If the team is recommending an adjusted PLP without explaining that this changes graduation pathways, ask explicitly. This is one of the most consequential decisions in the document.

"We've done everything we can" language: This phrase, when the student is still struggling, often means the team has exhausted their budget — not their legal obligations. The duty to accommodate under the NB Human Rights Act is higher than what district budget allows.

No progress data from the previous PLP period: If this is a review meeting and the team cannot show you data on progress toward last year's goals, the plan was not being monitored properly. Ask how progress was tracked and why it wasn't shared with you.

After the Meeting

• Request a written copy of the signed PLP immediately
• Confirm with the resource teacher how and when progress will be communicated to you (progress reports must be provided simultaneously with the standard report card under Policy 322)
• Note the date of the next scheduled review
• If supports are not being implemented within the first 30 days, request a follow-up meeting

If you leave a meeting feeling unsure about what was decided, send an email to the school within 24 hours summarizing your understanding: "Following today's PLP meeting, I understand that X will happen by Y date. Please confirm this is correct or let me know if I've misunderstood." This creates a written record.

The New Brunswick IEP & Support Plan Blueprint includes a full meeting preparation guide alongside copy-and-paste communication templates for before, during, and after PLP meetings — so you're not figuring out the right words in the moment.

See more Canada homeschool guides →