Moving from Agony to Ecstasy with IEP Facilitation

IEP meetings pose a number of challenges to parents and school/district personnel alike. Successful IEP meetings require effective communication, organization, and collaboration. This presentation will focus on how the South Carolina Department of Education, Office of Exceptional Children, is helping IEP teams across the state build consensus by way of facilitation while expanding the state’s early conflict resolution repertoire. Facilitators are third-party neutrals who assist the IEP team to be student-focused, maintain open communication, and reach agreement. Facilitation is offered at no cost to interested parties. In 2008, the OEC hired a facilitator and convened a broad stakeholder group to solicit recommendations for policies and procedures as well as the recruitment, training, and evaluation of IEP meeting facilitators. Initiated three years ago in six local education agencies (LEAs) via a partnership with the State’s parent training center, PRO-Parents, the project has evolved into a state level activity available in thirty-one LEAs and one state operated program. The project boasts a diverse cadre of facilitators including parents, retired special education administrators, mediators, and special education professors. Facilitators receive annual training and participate in focus groups to share their experiences and make suggestions to the OEC for continuous improvement. The presentation will highlight the successes, challenges, and “lessons learned” of one state’s foray into a facilitation project which has seen an exciting and steady increase in requests and successful meetings.