IEP/ARD Meetings

34 CFR Part 300; Texas Education Code; 19 TAC Chapter 89 

ILTEXAS may not legally provide special education and related services to a child with a disability, regardless of the nature of the disability or the level of need, at any time before the child has been evaluated and determined by an Admission, Review and Dismissal Committee (ARDC) to be eligible for such services. Prior to the evaluation and ARD Committee determination, it would only be legally appropriate to provide the child with regular education support services available to all students, which could include academic and/or behavioral support services. A temporary placement made in the absence of an ARDC decision and without evaluation data runs the risk of violating LRE provisions and gives the mistaken impression that such decisions are made on the basis of the specific disability instead of the individualized educational plan (IEP).

Parent Rights/Participation (19 TAC §89.1050 TEC §29.005)

Definition of Parent: As applies to the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the term parent means (1) a biological, adoptive or foster parent of a child; (2) a guardian but not the State if the child is a ward of the State; (3) a person acting in the place of a biological or adoptive parent (grandparent, or step-parent or other relative with whom the child lives, or an individual who is legally responsible for the child’s welfare); (4) a surrogate parent who has been appointed in accordance with federal and state law.

ILTEXAS must take steps to ensure that one or both of the parents of a child with a disability are present at each ARD committee meeting or are afforded the opportunity to participate, including:

• Notifying parents of the meeting early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend; and

• Scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreed time and place.

After the first written Notice of ARD Committee Meeting (SPED Notice of IEP Meeting) is provided, if there is no response from the parent, ILTEXAS documents and sends a second written notice of ARD Committee Meeting (SPED Notice of IEP Meeting). If there is no response from the parent, a third attempt will be made to obtain parental participation. The third attempt to contact the parent may be through sending a third written Notice of ARD Committee Meeting (SPED Notice of IEP Meeting) or by documented phone call. After three documented attempts to contact the parent have taken place and no parental response has been received, ILTEXAS may proceed with the ARD committee meeting as scheduled. All dates of attempts to contact the parent must be documented on the Notice of IEP Meeting and the Communication Log in Project Education (SPED).

ILTEXAS takes seriously its duty to have good relationships with a student’s parent(s). This includes following the spirit and intent of the requirement to contact the parent at home and at work in order to arrange a mutually agreeable time and place for a meeting.

A parent has the right to request an ARD meeting. If the parent submits a written request for an ARD meeting, ILTEXAS must schedule and hold the meeting within 5 school days. If the district does not feel an ARD is appropriate, a PWN of Refusal explaining why the district refuses to hold an ARD at the parent's request is required. If this situation occurs, contact your Assistant Executive Director of Special Education Academics.

Information Provided to Parents

The parents must receive a Notice of the meeting (SPED Notice of IEP Meeting) that includes the following information:

• Indicate the purpose, time, and location of the meeting and who will be in attendance; and

• Inform the parents of the reason for the ARD meeting and what individuals will be attending.

• For a child with a disability beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the child turns 14 or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team, the notice also must indicate--

  • That a purpose of the meeting will be the consideration of the postsecondary goals and transition services for the child; and

  • That the agency will invite the student; and

  • Identifies any other agency that will be invited to send a representative.

Other Methods to Ensure Parent Participation

If neither parent can attend, ILTEXAS must use other methods to ensure parent participation, including individual or conference telephone calls, Zoom, TEAMS, or other video conferencing tools/platforms.

IEP/ARD Team Meeting Notice

ILTEXAS must take steps to ensure that one or both parents are present at each ARD committee meeting or are afforded the opportunity to participate, including notifying the parents of the meeting early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend and scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreed upon time and place. Additionally, a school district must allow parents who cannot attend an ARD committee meeting to participate in the meeting through other methods, such as telephone calls or video conferencing. 

The school district must provide the parents with written notice of the ARD committee meeting that meets the requirements in 34 CFR, §300.322, at least five school days before the meeting unless the parents agree to a shorter timeframe.

Outlook Calendar Invites (ILTexas Employees who are NOT the student's parent/guardian)

Send a meeting request to set up a time to meet with others and to track who accepts the request.

1. In Calendar, click "New event".

2. In the "Add a title" subject box, tell your recipients what the meeting is about (Student Grade Level—Type of ARD)

3. In the  "Search for a room or location" box, tell your recipients where this meeting will be held.

4. In the Start time and End time lists, click the meeting start and end times. If you check the day event box, the event shows as a full 24-hour event,  

lasting from midnight to midnight.

5. In the meeting request, type any information you want to share with the recipients (Type “This is an [insert ARD type] for [insert student name]). Also, 

indicate any parent requests or translator requests in the body of the invite. 

6. Click "Invite attendees," and then type the recipients' names, email addresses, or resource names (separated by semicolons)

Below you will find an example of an Outlook Invite: 

*Please DO NOT send email invites to parents, EVEN IF they work for ILTEXAS. 

Parent Attendance 

ILTEXAS must take steps to ensure that one or both parents are present at each ARD committee meeting or are afforded the opportunity to participate, including: 

• notifying the parents of the meeting early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend and 

• scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreed upon time and place and 

• allowing parents who cannot attend an ARD committee meeting to participate in the meeting through other methods, such as through telephone calls or video conferencing.

ILTEXAS is committed to ensuring that every effort is made to ensure parent participation in ARD meetings. 

If the parent cannot be convinced to attend, the ARD meeting may be held if 3 attempts to arrange a mutually agreed upon time and place have been made. Examples:

• Record of phone calls made and details of the phone calls. 

• Copies of all email and postal communications, certified mail signature receipts, and responses.

• Record and results of home visits and/or place of employment visit and the results of visits. 

At least 2 written notifications of ARD and 1 phone call are required before holding the ARD without the parent will be considered. 

When considering holding an ARD meeting without the parent present, notify the district Special Education Department, even if all required notices and attempts have been made. 

Translation

If the parent is unable to speak English, the school district must provide the parent with a written notice in the parent's native language unless it is clearly not feasible to do so. If the parent's native language is not a written language, the school district must take steps to ensure that the notice is translated orally or by other means to the parent in his or her native language or another mode of communication so that the parent understands the content of the notice.

If the student's parent is unable to speak English and the parent's native language is Spanish, the school district must provide a written copy or audio recording of the student's IEP translated into Spanish. If the student's parent is unable to speak English and the parent's native language is a language other than Spanish, the school district must make a good faith effort to provide a written copy or audio recording of the student's IEP translated into the parent's native language.

Missed ARD timelines

34 Code of Federal Regulations § 300.324  Development, review, and revision of IEP.   

. . . 

(b) Review and revision of IEPs— 

    (1) General. Each public agency must ensure that, subject to paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3) of this section, the IEP Team—   

       (i) Reviews the child’s IEP periodically, but not less than annually, to determine whether the annual goals for the child are being achieved; and    

If an annual ARD timeline is missed, you must complete the Missed Timeline form and submit to you Area Director and HQ. Once the ARD is scheduled, you must address the following, and document in the deliberations:

Due to the FIIE/Initial ARD/Annual ARD not being held within timelines, was STUDENT denied FAPE? Due to the timeline issue, compensatory services are needed.    

OR

Due to the FIIE/Initial ARD/Annual ARD not being held within timelines, was STUDENT denied FAPE? Even though the FIIE/Initial ARD/Annual ARD timeline was missed, the ARD agreed that there was not a break in when services would have started.

OR

Due to the FIIE/Initial ARD/Annual ARD not being held within timelines, was STUDENT denied FAPE? Even though the FIIE/Initial ARD/Annual ARD timeline was missed, and after reviewing the data, the ARD agreed that compensatory services are not needed.

….if yes…… Compensatory services will be provided INSERT PLAN (Click here to review guidance and copy compensatory tracker)

….if no…….Compensatory services are not needed at this time. GIVE AN EXPLANATION