What to say when the school says “let's wait and see how the year goes”
By Jared Ohman · IEP, IPP, ISP, LSP and 504 meetings
When the school says
“Let's give it a bit more time and see how the year goes.”
You say
- “If not now, then when can we revisit it? Can we put a date on it?”
- “What would need to be true for that to be possible: funding, an assessment, something else?”
- “Can I get a copy of today's notes, and the name of the person I follow up with?”
Sentences 9, 8, 12 of the free Parking-Lot Script.
Why this works
“Let's wait and see” sounds patient and it is a decision to do nothing, made by nobody, with no end. The first sentence gives it an end: a date. The second gives it a condition: what would need to be true for the answer to change, which is usually an assessment, a referral, or a piece of data the school does not have yet. The third gives it an owner: the person you follow up with, and the notes you can read. Waiting with a date, a condition and a name is a plan. Waiting without them is how a year goes by.
Then, the same day
Email the named person that day: “Confirming we'll revisit X on DATE, and that the team will look at Y before then.” Put the date in your calendar. If the date passes with nothing, you are back at the first script, with a record that the wait was the school's choice.
If you are in Alberta
In Alberta the plan is an IPP, or in some divisions an Instructional Support Plan (ISP) or a Learner Support Plan (LSP). All three are meant to be reviewed through the year, not once. “When can we revisit it” has a ready answer: the next review, and many divisions hold those around the reporting periods. Ask for the revisit date to be written into the plan itself.
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: The School Isn't Following the IPP: What to Do in Alberta
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