This may be intimidating at first, but they can be held like any other IEP meeting we would be holding in brick and mortar K-12 schools. Each district has its own policies regarding IEP meetings that are extremely important to review before holding online IEP meetings. Therefore, districts still need to provide IEP services and continue holding IEP meetings as if school was being held normally. Just days ago, the United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVoss, stated no waivers would be provided to amend the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) during this time (Note: IDEA is the federal law that specifies federal mandates that must occur related to IEP’s in their creation and implementation). Thus, the IEP document is the basis of all K-12 education services in the United States.

There are federally mandated timelines and procedures that must take place to ensure the IEP meeting is conducted, written, and implemented. Each year, annual IEP meetings must be held, which are meetings of service providers, parents, and stakeholders in a student’s education meet to determine how the student is doing and how to adjust their IEP to best facilitate their learning. For those that may not be involved in Special Education or how the United States provides services for students with disabilities, Individualized Education Plans (IEP) are documents that summarize a student’s Special Education services, goals, and information. Districts and Special Education teachers have scrambled to ensure students are receiving services and supports.

For all districts around the country that did not completely close, Special Education has not stopped.

Scriptcase for students