IEP Team Members
FAPE/ IEP TEAM (revised 9.6.17)
*IEP Team
“Individualized education program team or IEP Team means a group of individuals consisting of an LEA representative, parent of a child with a disability, regular education teacher of the child, special education teacher of the child, and others as described in NC 1503-4.2 that is responsible for developing, reviewing, or revising an IEP for a child with a disability.”
Parent
“(a) Parent means--
(1) A biological or adoptive parent of a child;
(2) A foster parent, unless State law, regulations, or contractual obligations with a State or local entity prohibit a foster parent from acting as a parent (e.g. therapeutic foster parent);
(3) A guardian generally authorized to act as the child’s parent, or authorized to make educational decisions for the child (but not the State if the child is a ward of the State); (4) An individual acting in the place of a biological or adoptive parent (including a grandparent, stepparent, or other relative) with whom the child lives, or an individual who is legally responsible for the child’s welfare; or
(5) A surrogate parent who has been appointed in accordance with §300.519 or section 639(a)(5) of the Act.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the biological or adoptive parent, when attempting to act as the parent under this part and when more than one party is qualified under paragraph (a) of this section to act as a parent, must be presumed to be the parent for purposes of this section unless the biological or adoptive parent does not have legal authority to make educational decisions for the child.
(2) If a judicial decree or order identifies a specific person or persons under paragraphs (a)(1) through (4) of this section to act as the ‘‘parent’’ of a child or to make educational decisions on behalf of a child, then such person or persons shall be determined to be the ‘‘parent’’ for purposes of this section.”
Regular Education Teacher
Not less than one regular education teacher of the child (if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment)
Special Education Teacher/ Special Education Provider
“Not less than one special education teacher of the child, or where appropriate, not less than one special education provider of the child”
Note: For school age children, the special education teacher/ special education provider can be:the EC teacher, Hearing Impaired Teacher, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, or the Speech Therapist for students whose primary area of eligibility is Speech Impaired
LEA (Local Education Agency) Representative
“ Definition: A representative of the LEA who-- (i) Is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities; (ii) Is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; and (iii) Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency.”
The LEA (Local Education Agency) Representative must be:
qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities
qualified to provide or supervise the provisions of specially designed instruction
able to ensure that all services described in the IEP will be provided
knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; LEA must be able to discuss and answer questions about the general education, across grade levels
knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency
authorized to commit district resources
The LEA (Local Education Agency) Representative can not be:
individuals who do not have knowledge of the general curriculum (i.e., Ext. 1 teachers)
individuals who are not able to provide or supervise EC services (i.e., social workers, school psychologists, counselors etc…)
individuals who do not have the authority to commit agency sources (i.e., Regular/EC teachers, related service providers etc…)
The LEA representative is a required IEP team member who can not be excused:
if the LEA representative has to step out during the meeting, the meeting must
be stopped and resumed upon his/her return or rescheduled for a later date
Note: A denial of FAPE could be ruled in the parent's favor simply because the LEA representative did not meet the defined qualifications or participate in the IEP meeting
Other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child
“At the discretion of the parent(s) or the LEA, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate”
Note: Related service provider(s) are considered core team members and must be invited to IEP meetings for the students they serve.
Whenever appropriate, the child with a disability
Students who are/will be age 14 during the life of the IEP must be invited to attend IEP meetings.
Individual who can interpret evaluation results
IEP team member who can:
discuss instructional implications of the child’s evaluation results
assist in planning appropriate instruction to address the child’s needs
assume the role of another team member (i.e., child’s special education teacher, related service provider) if above criterion met
Note: For initial placements, should be the evaluating professional, such as school psychologist, speech/language pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, etc...).