What to say when the school asks you to sign the IEP or IPP today
By Jared Ohman · IEP, IPP, ISP, LSP and 504 meetings
When the school says
“Can you sign this today?”
You say
- “I'd like to take this home and read it before I sign. When do you need it back?”
- “Before we start, is the plan in front of us a draft we’re working on together today, or a final version?”
- “Can I get a copy of today's notes, and the name of the person I follow up with?”
Sentences 11, 2, 12 of the free Parking-Lot Script.
Why this works
Nothing in the process requires your signature in the room. Taking the plan home is normal, expected, and the single most useful thing you can do, because the meeting moves at the professionals' pace and a document reads differently at your kitchen table. The draft-or-final question matters as much. If this is a final version, you were not part of writing it, and asking makes that plain without an argument.
Then, the same day
Read the plan against your own notes. Reply by email with your edits as a numbered list. Sign when the edits are in, or when the reasons they are not are written down. Keep the version you signed.
If you are in Alberta
Alberta's standards say parents are to be consulted in developing the IPP, and the same expectation applies where a division writes an ISP or an LSP instead. Consultation is not a signature at the end of a meeting. If the plan arrives already complete, “draft or final” is how you find out whether the consultation happened.
Not in Alberta? The sentences are the same in an Ontario IEP, an IPRC, a US IEP or a 504 meeting. Only the paperwork changes.
Related guide: How to Prepare for an IPP Meeting in Alberta
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