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Virginia Department of Education

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

020-11 IEP Amendment without a Meeting – Providing Meeting Notice

If a parent and school division agree to amend an IEP without an IEP team meeting, is the school division required to provide notice of this meeting?

When making changes to a child’s IEP after the annual IEP meeting for the school year, the parent(s) and the local educational agency representatives may agree to develop a written document to amend or modify the child’s current IEP without convening an IEP meeting. 34 CFR §300.324(a)(4) and (a)(6); 8 VAC 20-81-110 B.9. The regulations also require the following:

1. If changes are made to the child’s IEP, the local educational agency shall ensure that the child’s IEP team is informed of those changes.
2. Upon request, a parent shall be provided with a revised copy of the IEP with the amendments incorporated.
3. This meeting is not a substitute for the required annual IEP meeting.

In responding to an informal inquiry from Virginia Department of Education staff on this issue, staff in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) advised that an IEP meeting notice, as outlined in 8 VAC 20-81-110 E.2 and 34 CFR §300.322 (a) and (b), is not required in this instance. OSEP stated, however, that in such cases, the prior written notice requirements of 34 CFR 300.503 still apply. (corresponding Virginia Regulations at 8 VAC 20-81-170 C) (see OSEP’s “Questions and Answers on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), Evaluations, and Reevaluations,” Revised June 2010; Question C-10).

Practice Tips:

• The changes to the child’s IEP and parent consent when there is no full IEP team meeting need to be documented. The regulations use the phrase “written document” when amending or modifying the child’s IEP in this context.  (8 VAC 20-81-110 B.9).  A school division could develop a form, or modify an existing addendum form, in which the parent’s agreement to change an IEP provision without a meeting and changes made to the IEP are documented.  This form could also include a space for the parent to provide written consent along with a statement indicating that the prior written notice is attached.  This form could also be used to advise other IEP team members of the change.
• If a significant change is contemplated, it may be more beneficial for the full IEP team to be convened to discuss the relevant issues.
• We recommend that the prior written notice indicate that an amendment was made without a meeting of the IEP team, what the amendment included, as well as all of the other required components of the prior written notice.