Strategies to Facilitate Student Engagement and Voice in the Development and Implementation of IEPs

Research supports the practice of actively including students in the development of their IEPs. Workload and staffing constraints make it difficult for special educators to intentionally learn and apply new practice methods. We share easy-to-implement tools and approaches that facilitate student access and meaningful engagement in the IEP process. Participants will be able to: 1. Immediately apply the provided IEP tools in order to increase access for students and their families while centering student voice. 2. Effectively teach (in appropriately leveled ways) the purpose, components, and application of IEPs to students across a wide range of ages and support needs. 3. Demonstrate effective use of the template as a teaching tool to support student comprehension and participation, and to make the IEP meeting process more straightforward and accessible for all participating members. 4. Support improved student outcomes and home/school collaboration through the intentional application of scaffolded presentation tools designed to meaningfully reduce barriers to access for students and their families, along with information they can apply immediately to increase authentic and meaningful collaboration and mutual respect between school and family team members.