[Music] according to the law every child who receives special education services must have a written IEP how that IEP is created is the responsibility of an IEP team the purpose of the team is to design an education program that meets your child's individual needs so who makes up the IEP team and what are their roles first let's meet the required members of the team you the parent are an essential member of the IEP team because you know your child better than anyone and are an expert on your child's background strengths and needs the law requires that all students including those with disabilities have access to the general education curriculum so at least one regular education teacher is needed on the team also needed on the team is a special education teacher who understands disabilities and specialized instruction and it's important to know that each of your child's teachers must be highly qualified to teach your child another required team member is a Local School District representative who will supervise your child's special education program is familiar with resources available in your school district and can authorize their use the IEP team also must include a member who understands and can explain evaluation results often the school psychologist or other qualified staff member no matter how old your child is it's a good idea to include them whenever appropriate in the IEP meeting the student is an important member of the team and knows their own preferences interests and experiences in fact the Federal Law requires that the student must be invited to the IEP meeting when transition to adulthood issues will be discussed who else can participate in the IEP meeting others who know your child or have special expertise in areas related to your child's needs may be invited to the meeting by you or someone at your child's school for instance you as the parent may want to invite a private therapist a care provider a family friend or someone who can provide you with Assistance or support the school district might invite an expert in reading Behavior or some other area in some cases with the parent written permission a team member may be excused from attending the meeting and have their information submitted in writing when necessary a team member may take on more than one role but only if they are qualified to do so IEPs are usually written to cover a 12month period per however you or your child's teachers can request an additional IEP meeting at any time during the year to discuss concerns or changes that need to be made to your child's educational program most IEP meetings will be held in your child's School the team can also meet in other locations such as a more conveniently located School in your District a community setting like a library or even in your home when parents can't be there in person idea and state law make it possible for parents to participate in alternate ways such as video and audio conference calls remember that you are an equal and critical member of the IEP team as an equal member you must be prepared to participate effectively during the meeting but before you get ready to participate in the meeting you must know what's included in an IEP that's what we'll talk about next in chapter 3 what's included in the IEP