Yukon IEP Meeting Checklist: What to Bring, Ask, and Follow Up On

Walking into a Yukon School-Based Team (SBT) meeting unprepared is one of the most avoidable ways to lose ground in your child's IEP. The meeting tends to move fast. The professionals across the table have done dozens of these. The IEP is often already partially drafted before you arrive. Without preparation, you'll find yourself nodding at goals you don't fully understand and leaving with commitments that were never clarified.

This checklist is organized around the three phases that matter most: what to do before the meeting, what to address during it, and what to do in the 48 hours after.

What Yukon Parents Are Entitled to at IEP Meetings

Before the checklist, understand your procedural rights. The Yukon Education Act and Student Support Services framework mandate:

• Three face-to-face meetings per year dedicated to the IEP (these are not optional)
• Three formal written progress reports per year evaluating progress against IEP goals
• Active participation as a core team member — you are not a guest at this meeting; you are a required participant

If the school is scheduling perfunctory 15-minute meetings with pre-filled documents, that's not what the process requires. You're entitled to a meaningful collaborative process with adequate time to discuss, question, and revise.

Before the Meeting

Request the draft IEP or agenda at least 3 days before. Send an email: "Could you please send me a copy of the draft IEP and any assessment reports that will be discussed at the meeting on [date]? I want to prepare specific questions in advance." This is entirely reasonable and gives you time to review rather than react.

Gather your documentation:

• Previous IEPs and progress reports (compare what was promised vs. what was delivered)
• Report cards from the current and previous year
• Any private assessments or external diagnoses (pediatric ADHD/ASD/LD reports)
• Your own notes on what you've observed — specific incidents, patterns, academic concerns
• Any communications you've received from teachers about behavior or progress

Write down your specific concerns before the meeting. Don't bring a vague sense that things aren't working. Bring specific observations: "In three of four report cards, the teacher has noted [specific behavior]. At home I'm observing [specific challenge]. I want the IEP to address this directly." Specific concerns are harder to dismiss than general frustration.

Know what you want the IEP to achieve this term. Before the meeting, write down your priority goals. What does your child need most to succeed? Reduce it to two or three concrete outcomes. When the conversation drifts to administrative language, you can return to your priorities.

If this is your first SBT meeting: Read the Yukon Department of Education's Student Support Services Parent Handbook (available on yukon.ca) so you're familiar with the basic terminology. Also familiarize yourself with the three support plan types: IEP, SSP (Student Support Plan), and BSP (Behaviour Support Plan). Knowing the difference prevents schools from presenting a less legally binding plan as equivalent to an IEP.

During the Meeting: What to Ask

About goals:

• "What is the baseline for this goal — what does [child's name] currently do?"
• "How will we measure whether this goal has been met?"
• "Who is responsible for measuring progress on this goal, and how often?"
• "How does this goal connect to what the assessment identified as the primary challenge?"

Watch for goals that can't be measured. "The student will improve focus" has no measurable baseline or target. Push for specific, observable behaviors: "The student will remain on task for [X] minutes on [Y] type of activity, as measured by [method]."

About services:

• "What specialist services are included in this IEP? Please name them specifically."
• "How often will [SLP/OT/EA] provide this service — frequency per week and duration per session?"
• "Who is delivering these services, and what qualifications do they have?"
• "When will the first scheduled delivery of this service occur?"

Vague service commitments ("specialist support as available") are not enforceable. Every service should have a frequency, a duration, and a named or identified provider.

About Educational Assistant support:

• "How many EA hours per day/week is this IEP authorizing?"
• "What specific tasks is the EA responsible for?"
• "Is this EA dedicated to my child, or shared across multiple students?"

The Yukon's EA allocation system has been in political flux since 2024. If your child's IEP requires specific EA support, it must be documented with enough specificity to be enforceable.

About the graduation pathway:

• "Does this IEP include curriculum modifications, or only adaptations?"
• "What does this plan mean for [child's name]'s graduation pathway — Dogwood or Evergreen?"
• "If modifications are being recommended, can you explain specifically what outcomes are being changed and why?"

This conversation matters most in secondary school, but it's worth understanding from the time curriculum modifications first appear in IEP language.

About the CB-IEP transition (for 2025-26):

• "How are you framing [child's name]'s goals under the new Competency-Based IEP format?"
• "Has the Core Competency framework changed any of the goals from last year's IEP?"
• "How will the new format change how progress is reported to me?"

If your child receives services from FNSB or community organizations:

• "How are [LDAY/Autism Yukon/YFNED/other service] contributions coordinated with the school-based IEP?"
• "Who is the primary case manager if questions arise between school and external services?"

During the Meeting: Red Flags

The plan is presented as finalized before the meeting. An IEP should be developed collaboratively. If the document is already fully written and you're being asked to sign, slow down. You have the right to request revisions.

The school proposes moving your child from an IEP to an SSP or SLP. An IEP carries statutory legal obligations under the Yukon Education Act. An SSP has lighter obligations, and a Student Learning Plan (SLP) is non-statutory. If the school recommends this change, ask for the specific reasons in writing and don't agree until you understand the implications for your child's legal protections.

Goals are vague or unmeasurable. Don't sign goals you can't evaluate. Ask "how will we know this goal has been met?" until you get a specific answer.

Services are referenced loosely. "Support will be available" is not a service commitment. Request names, frequencies, and durations.

The meeting is being rushed. You have the right to table items for a follow-up meeting rather than agree to something you haven't had time to consider. "I need to think about that — can we schedule a follow-up meeting in two weeks to finalize these goals?" is a legitimate request.

After the Meeting: The Follow-Up Email

This is possibly the most important single action you can take after any school meeting. Within 48 hours, send a written email summarizing what was discussed and agreed.

Format:

"Thank you for meeting on [date]. I want to confirm my understanding of what was agreed:

1. [Goal 1] — to be measured by [method] with [frequency], review at next meeting on [approximate date]
2. [Service commitment] — to be delivered by [provider] at [frequency/duration], starting [date]
3. [EA support] — [specific task list] for [hours/week]
4. [Any next steps] — [who is responsible, by when]

Please let me know if I've misunderstood anything."

This email creates a dated, documented record of what was committed. If the school fails to follow through, you have a written record of the agreement that can support escalation.

If the SBT members respond to say you've misunderstood something, their clarification is also in writing. If they don't respond to correct anything, the email stands as an unchallenged record.

Small Community Dynamics

Many Yukon families outside Whitehorse navigate IEP meetings where the principal, LAT, and classroom teacher are neighbors, relatives, or social acquaintances. The dual relationship can make assertive questioning feel socially risky.

The written follow-up email is particularly valuable here because it allows you to confirm agreements professionally without requiring a confrontational moment in the meeting itself. You can be collegial in the room and precise in writing. The goal isn't to be combative — it's to ensure that informal, community-level conversations become documented professional commitments.

The Yukon IEP & Support Plan Blueprint includes a ready-to-use IEP meeting preparation checklist, question scripts for each phase of the meeting, the follow-up email template, and specific guidance for small-community dynamics where the personal relationships at the table complicate the advocacy process.

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