This article is reprinted from the A.T. Quarterly, Volume 2, Number 5 (1991).

As the end of the school year approaches, many school systems will begin their annual review of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students receiving special education and related services. IEP meetings must be conducted at least once a year to review and revise each child's IEP. Although these meetings may be held at any time during the year (including the summer), frequently schools review and revise IEPs towards the end of a school year so that they will be in effect at the beginning of the following school year.

On August 10, 1990 the federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) issued a policy letter on the right of a student with a disability to assistive technology services and devices under P.L. 94-142, the federal mandate for a free, appropriate public education. The following is intended to help parents and advocates work with school personnel to develop or revise the IEP for children based on this important policy letter.

• Parents should be included in IEP meetings as equal participants. The meeting should be held at a mutually convenient time, with sufficient notice given that it will be held.
• The IEP must be developed jointly at the meeting. Some schools prepare a draft IEP in advance of the meeting to use as a "working" document. If the school does so, request a copy of the IEP in advance so that it can be reviewed beforehand.
• Parents should not be afraid to request additions, deletions, or other changes once they get to the meeting. Better yet, parents should develop and bring their own "working" document to the meeting.
• Parents should have the right to request that certain services, such as assistive technology, be included on their child's IEP. Parents should be prepared to discuss why it is believed that A.T. is important for their child's education.
• If modifications in the regular education program are necessary to ensure that a child can participate in regular education, those modifications must also be included on the IEP. This applies to all regular education activities in which the child participates including art, music, physical education, lunchroom, recess, and of course, the regular classroom. Modifications might be as simple as minor rearranging of the desks to allow for movement of a wheelchair, or special seating arrangements for a child with vision or hearing difficulties. Or they can be more complex, including such things as a computer, specially adapted switches, modifications in how assignments are presented, or a classroom aide.
• The IEP must be individually designed to meet the needs of each child, not to fit pre-existing programs or services for administrative convenience. Just because a child has a disability does not mean that he or she must automatically be segregated from friends, from classmates without disabilities, or from the mainstream of school life.
• Lack of availability of services or sufficient funds may not be used by school personnel to deny services, or to eliminate a needed service from a child's IEP.
• All services must be provided at no cost to the child's family. The school system may ask the family to use their private insurance to pay for some of the services, such as speech or physical therapy. Parents do not have to do this! Consider the long term effects, such as lifetime limits on coverage, before agreeing to use the family's insurance.
• Parents may request an independent evaluation of their child at the school's expense if they are dissatisfied with the evaluation provided by the school system.
• Parents may bring another individual such as an advocate who is familiar with the law, or someone who conducted an independent evaluation of the child, to the IEP meeting.