How do parental experiences during the IEP process impact or inform education plans for their children and education leaders to improve IEP processes?

Abstract

The primary focus in this study was to capture the experiences of parents who have participated in the IEP process. Specifically, the research expounded on how parental experiences during the IEP process impacted or informed education plans for their children and informed education leaders seeking to improve the IEP process experience. This study seeks to better understand the interactions of parents, educators, and school leaders in the collective effort to focus on who should be at the center of the concern: the “student.” Using a transformative qualitative methodology, this study drew upon interview data from parents and school leaders to examine how parents felt in IEP meetings and became empowered as active change agents as they advocated for their children. Five major concerns that could pose challenges to the practice and implementation of special education programing in varying schools were identified. The goal of this research was to assist school leaders in their efforts to improve the IEP process by establishing a process that welcomes fruitful input from parents while supporting them in understanding the process, educational language, timelines of actions, and legal notices that outline their rights and responsibilities. The purpose of the study was to help cultivate a relationship that both the school community and parents could engage in, in support of the child that is at the center of the process.