North Dakota IEP Meeting Checklist: How to Prepare and What to Say

The IEP meeting is where decisions get made — and where parents who haven't prepared often walk out having agreed to things they didn't fully understand. In North Dakota, where IEP meetings may be run by coordinators who serve multiple districts and where rural scheduling pressures can push meetings to feel rushed, preparation is your most important tool.

This checklist is organized around the three phases of every IEP meeting: before, during, and after.

Before the Meeting

Gather your documents.

• Your child's current IEP (the version you'll be reviewing and updating)
• The most recent evaluation report
• Progress monitoring reports from the current IEP period
• Any outside assessments, therapy notes, or medical reports you want the team to consider
• Your child's most recent report card and any standardized test results

Review the current IEP critically. Before the meeting, read through every section of your child's IEP. Note:

• Which goals has your child made progress on? Which ones haven't moved?
• Are the services listed (type, frequency, duration) actually what your child is receiving?
• Does the PLAAFP (present levels section) accurately describe your child's current functioning?
• Are there areas of need that aren't addressed anywhere in the document?

Write your questions down. If you arrive at the meeting without written questions, the pace and structure of the meeting will push you past your concerns before you remember to raise them.

Request the draft IEP in advance. You are entitled to review proposed changes before the meeting. Ask the special education coordinator to send you the draft IEP at least several days before the meeting. If they say they don't have a draft, ask them to share any proposed goals or changes in advance.

Request the meeting agenda. Ask what topics will be covered and in what order. This helps you prepare specific questions for each section.

Know who will be in the room. The school should tell you which staff members will attend. The required team includes: you (the parent), a general education teacher, a special education teacher, and an LEA representative with authority to commit district resources. If your child has a speech therapist, OT, school psychologist, or behavioral specialist, ask whether they will be present.

Decide whether to bring support. Under IDEA, you can bring any person with knowledge or special expertise regarding your child — an advocate, a friend who can take notes, a private therapist, or an attorney. You don't need prior approval to bring support. Notify the school as a courtesy.

Prepare a brief written summary of your priorities. What are the top 3 things you want to achieve in this meeting? What concerns about your child's progress are most important? Having this on paper helps you stay on track when the meeting moves fast.

During the Meeting

Use your written questions. Don't rely on memory. Check off questions as they're answered. If a question gets skipped over, raise it before the meeting ends.

Ask about PLAAFP accuracy. The PLAAFP is the foundation of the entire IEP. Ask: "Does this accurately reflect my child's current performance and how their disability affects their learning? Are there areas I see at home that aren't reflected here?"

Ask about progress data — specifically. "Can you show me the data collected on each goal? Not a narrative summary — the actual measurement data?" If a goal shows little or no progress, ask: is the goal wrong, or is the instruction not working?

Ask about service delivery. "For each related service listed in the IEP — speech therapy, OT, behavioral support — can you confirm how many minutes per week are being provided, by whom, and where?" In rural North Dakota, itinerant providers often cover multiple districts. Confirm your child is actually receiving the IEP-specified minutes, not a reduced schedule due to travel or staffing constraints.

Ask about the REA or itinerant schedule if you're in a rural district. "How often does the [speech therapist / OT / behavioral support staff] visit this school? Who provides services on days when they're not physically here?" If the answer reveals a significant gap between what's in the IEP and what's actually available, document that in writing.

Push back on vague goals. If a proposed goal doesn't include a specific measurable criterion, ask: "How will we know when my child has achieved this goal? What data will be collected and how often?" A goal without a clear measurement method cannot be monitored or enforced.

Slow down for decisions. If the team is moving quickly through significant changes — reducing services, changing placement, removing a related service — it is completely appropriate to say: "I'd like to take more time to review this change before I agree to it. Can we schedule a follow-up meeting?" You are never required to sign an IEP at the meeting.

Note anything you disagree with out loud. "I want the record to reflect that I disagree with this recommendation because..." This should also be followed up in writing.

Ask about ESY. At annual reviews, ask: "Has the team considered whether my child needs Extended School Year services? What data was used to make that decision?" ESY must be considered at annual reviews — it is not optional for the team to address.

Request a copy of the draft before signing. Never sign an IEP under time pressure. Take it home if you need to. Read it. Make sure it matches what was discussed.

After the Meeting

Send a written follow-up within 24-48 hours. Email the special education coordinator summarizing your understanding of what was decided: "I wanted to confirm the decisions made at today's IEP meeting. My understanding is that..." This creates a record of what was agreed to and surfaces any misunderstandings before the document is finalized.

Review the finalized IEP when you receive it. Compare it to your notes from the meeting. If anything was changed from what you agreed to, or if something was omitted, contact the coordinator immediately in writing.

Track service delivery from day one. Create a simple log: date, service (speech, OT, etc.), minutes provided, any notes. Ask your child each week about therapy sessions. Discrepancies between what's in the IEP and what's being provided should be raised in writing as soon as you notice them.

Request progress reports on schedule. North Dakota schools must report IEP goal progress at least as often as they report grades to parents of non-disabled students. If you're not receiving progress updates, request them in writing.

Know when the next review is due. Mark your calendar for the annual review date. If you have concerns before then, you can request a mid-year IEP meeting in writing at any time.

The North Dakota IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a detailed pre-meeting preparation system, question scripts for every section of the IEP, and templates for the written follow-up communications that protect your position and hold the school accountable after the meeting.

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