IEP Meeting Norms: Good Rules to Follow

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Meeting norms help establish a respectful, safe environment that everyone can participate. IEP teams often break-down with dysfunctional communication. Below are the meeting norms I uses to help IEP teams function more effectively.

Meeting Norms

  • We work hard to start the meeting on time, people come as soon as they can and they will inform the group if they need to leave early at the beginning of the meeting.
  • We allow people to finish speaking.
  • We take personal breaks as needed.
  • We are respectful of one another in discussions of students, their families and the professionals, programs, schools and agencies that work with them.
  • We actively solicit diverse ways of looking at things.
  • We use person first language (e.g., child with autism versus, autistic child).
  • We recognize when more information is needed before a discussion can proceed.
  • We clarify actions that need to be taken, by whom and when.
  • We collaboratively determine agenda items for a meeting and important topics that should be discussed as a group