Kelley Baker
Karen Haase
Steve Williams
Bobby Truhe
kbaker@hslegalfirm.com
khaase@hslegalfirm.com @KarenHaase
swilliams@hslegalfirm.com @SteveisEsteban
btruhe@hslegalfirm.com @btruhe
May General Education Teachers Leave an IEP Meeting Early? It is inevitable in Nebraska in the fall. The IEP team is meeting and making good but slow progress when the volleyball coach, who is also the student's regular education teacher, looks at the clock and announces that she has to leave for practice. Before allowing any member of an IEP team to leave an IEP meeting early, schools must be sure to follow specific procedural steps. The recent case of Charlotte County Sch. Dist. shows what can happen when a school fails to take these steps. In Charlotte County, general education teachers left a Florida student's IEP after their class assessments were complete. At the time, the parents had no further questions and no objections to the teachers leaving early. After the teachers left, the remaining team members discussed the annual goals portion of the IEP. The parents filed a complaint alleging that the district violated the IDEA because no general education teachers were present during the annual goals portion of the IEP meeting. The Florida Department of Education concluded that a required IEP team member may be excused from an IEP meeting, in whole or part, as long as the parent and district consent to the excusal in writing and the team member submits written input prior to the IEP meeting. In Charlotte County, the district's meeting notice did not disclose the fact that the teachers would be absent for the last half of the IEP meeting. Further, the district did not notify the parents before the meeting that the teachers would be leaving early, and the parents were not given any opportunity to consent in writing before the meeting started. If a team member needs to leave an IEP meeting early, the district should notify the parents or guardians before the meeting and obtain written consent. If an emergency arises requiring a team member to leave during the meeting, the district should seek a written consent from the parents or consider reconvening the meeting at a later time. In any event, the teacher or other team member should also submit all information that may be missed due to the absence. If you have questions about IEP meetings or any other special education issue, it is always better to find out the answer before the meeting. Feel free to
contact Kelley, Karen, Steve or Bobby or your school district's attorney to be sure that your district is complying with IDEA and Rule 51 of the Nebraska Department of Education.
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