IEP Team Participants

The IEP team for a student with a disability includes:

1.  The parents of the student;
2.  Not less than one regular education teacher of the student, if the student is, or may be participating in the regular education environment;
3.  Not less than one special education teacher, or not less than one special education provider of the student;
4.  A representative of the public agency who is:
     -Qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of specially designed instruction to meet the   unique needs of students with disabilities, and
     -Knowledgeable about the general curriculum and is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency;
5.  An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of the team described in Numbers 2 – 4 above;
6.  Other individuals, at the discretion of the parent or public agency, who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the student, including related service personnel, as appropriate; and
7.  The student, if appropriate.

If a student does not have a regular teacher, or is younger than school age, the regular educator shall be an individual qualified to teach a student of the student’s age.

NOTE:
The parent or public agency may invite other individuals to attend and participate as a member of an IEP team. The determination of the knowledge or special expertise of an individual is made by the party who invited the individual.

[34 C.F.R. §300.321(a); COMAR 13A.05.01.07A]

Transition from Part C to Part B

For parents of a child possibly transitioning from the Part C early intervention services provided by an Infants and Toddlers Program to Preschool Special Education Services, a Part C early intervention services representative is a required team member at the IEP team meeting where a child’s eligibility for preschool special education i.e. determined.  A Part C early intervention services representative may be invited to attend the IEP team meeting for the development of a child’s IEP, at the request of the family.

[34 C.F.R. §300.321(f); COMAR 13A.13.01.09B]

Additional IEP Team Members for Determination of an SLD

The determination of whether the student suspected of having a specific learning disability is a student with a disability as defined in § 300.8, must be made by the student's parents and a team of qualified professionals, which must include:

1. The student’s regular teacher; or
2. If the student does not have a regular teacher, a regular classroom teacher qualified to teach a student of his or her age; or
3. For a student of less than school age, an individual qualified by the SEA to teach a student of his or her age; and
4. At least one person qualified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations of children, such as a school psychologist, speech-language pathologist, or remedial reading teacher.

[34 C.F.R. §300.308; COMAR 13A.05.01.06D]

Secondary Transition

The public agency must invite the student with a disability to attend the student's IEP team meeting if a purpose of the meeting will be the consideration of the postsecondary goals for the student and the transition services needed to assist the student in reaching those goals under § 300.320(b). If the student does not attend the IEP team meeting, the public agency must take other steps to ensure that the student's preferences and interests are considered.

To implement the requirements for post-secondary transition, the public agency must invite a representative of any participating agency that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services, with the consent of the student's parent, or student, if applicable.

[34 C.F.R. §300.321(b); COMAR 13A.05.01.07]

Nonpublic School Placements by Public Agencies

Before a local school system places a student with a disability in, or refers a student to, a nonpublic school of facility, the local school system must initiate and conduct a meeting to develop an IEP for the student. The agency must ensure that a representative of the private school or facility attends the meeting. If the representative cannot attend, the agency must use other methods to ensure participation by the nonpublic school or facility, including individual or conference telephone calls. A nonpublic school must contact the fiscally responsible local school system to request IEP team meetings to review the student’s IEP, as appropriate. The fiscally responsible local school system remains responsible for compliance with federal and State regulations.

[34 C.F.R. §300.325; COMAR 13A.05.01.16A]

Parentally Placed Private School Service Plan Meeting

Each parentally placed private school student with a disability who has been designated to receive services must have a services plan that describes the specific special education and related services that the local school system will provide to the student in light of the services that the local school system has determined it will make available to parentally-placed private school students with disabilities.

The services plan must, to the extent appropriate:

     a.  Meet the requirements of the IEP with respect to the services provided; and
     b.  Be developed, reviewed, and revised consistent with requirements for IEP team membership, Parent     Participation, In Effect, and Development Review, and Revision of the IEP.

If a student with a disability is enrolled in a religious or other private school by the student's parents and will receive special education or related services from a local school system, the local school system must:

1. Initiate and conduct meetings to develop, review, and revise a services plan for the student; and
2. Ensure that a representative of the religious or other private school attends each meeting. If the representative cannot attend, the LEA shall use other methods to ensure participation by the religious or other private school, including individual or conference telephone calls.

[34 C.F.R. §§300.137(c); 300.138(b); COMAR 13A.05.01.16B]