IEP Facilitation Fact Sheet
- What is a facilitated IEP meeting?
- Facilitated IEP meetings are meetings run by a person who does not work for the school system. A facilitator is an impartial person who organizes and leads the IEP meeting.
- The facilitator is paid by the Department of Public Instruction. They are free to you, the parent, and the school system.
- Once the facilitator is assigned to your child's IEP meeting, that person:
- Contacts you and the school folks to plan the meeting. The facilitator will come into the meeting with an agenda to follow and a list of outcomes that the team wants to achieve.
- Sets a positive tone for the meeting.
- Sets ground rules for the meeting.
- Keeps the discussion focused on your child during the meeting.
- Makes sure everyone has a voice in the meeting.
- The facilitator does not give his or her opinion on whether a specific program is a good idea for your child or whether an IEP looks alright. The facilitator makes sure everyone keeps talking and keeps focused, but doesn’t offer his or her opinion on the actual IEP content.
- When should you ask for facilitated IEP meeting?
- Usually, IEP teams can reach agreement without the help of people like facilitators, but sometimes, the team needs some help.
- A facilitator is helpful when the school staff and the parents are not getting along and cannot see eye to eye. They help everyone in the room get back to the purpose of the meeting, which is your child.
- How do you request a facilitated IEP meeting?
- If you have a computer, go online to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/ec/policy/dispute/meeting/. Fill out the form and e-mail it in. If you do not have a computer, refer to Parents Together Chapter 24. There you will find the form to fill out and fax to Pollye Pruitt at the Department of Public Instruction at (919) 807-3755.
- Any Questions?
- Pollye Pruitt runs this program for DPI. You can call her at (919) 807-4024.
