At some point in the IEP process there is bound to be a power struggle. Sometimes they are quick and easily resolved, others can last years and cause a great deal of stress.
Teachers vs. Parents: Who is the Expert?
Groups of humans inherently form hierarchies and alliances so it makes sense that the same would happen on an IEP team. Multiple people may want to be the “expert” but in reality there is no one complete expert, instead there are several experts in different areas. Teachers and specialists are highly skilled in specific areas and parents are highly knowledgeable about their individual child. Everyone has a role and as long as each person “stays in their lane” and communicates respectfully the team should feel like a cohesive unit.
Why Issues Arise
Major issues can occur when roles are overstepped. This may have been done for practical reasons or for philosophical ones. In some cases, the typical roles have to be adjusted for practical reasons. Perhaps a teacher serves multiple roles within the team, or maybe there aren’t enough staff to fill the various roles, sometimes teachers and specialist may have too large of a caseload to properly complete their job, or a parent may be less involved for whatever reason. Any of these could cause boundaries to become blurred, leaving some team members with extra responsibilities. Those extra responsibilities impact the dynamic of overall team and falsely lead the team to feel as though that person is the only “expert”. Regardless of how many roles a person fills there are still other experts in the room whose voices are important.
Other times, philosophical ideas about each person’s role becomes the issue either due to previous experiences or personalities. If a teacher has been used to taking control of the team each year and then a highly involved parent comes along it could cause some growing pains. Within the school there could be other group dynamic issues like a classroom teacher and speech providers previous negative experiences together. And sometimes parents are used to relying on teachers to take control but they are matched with a teacher who feels a parent should be in control. Personalities are another huge factor in the IEP team cohesion. A teacher who feels they “know best” may choose not to follow the laws or a child’s IEP because they don’t feel it is necessary for some reason. Likewise, a parent who feels they “know best” may choose not to follow the laws or the child’s IEP. They may refuse to sign paperwork on time or go against the team’s plan in some way.
How to Avoid Power Struggles
The best way to avoid any power struggle is going to be open communication. As soon as a new IEP team forms, which for most children is every school year, have a meeting or email chain that defines roles and expectations. You could say “I want to make sure we are all on the same page about roles this year. Can we discuss everyone’s responsibilities as part of our introductions?” and take notes or ask for a written list to keep with your IEP binder. Throughout the year, asking questions like “who is responsible for that” is a good way to keep everyone mindful of roles. Having a detailed IEP service grid can also help avoid confusion.
Parental Roles
When writing down everyone’s roles, don’t forget yourself! Parents serve a unique role of managing their child’s case over the lifespan while teachers and specialists only work with a child for a specific amount of time. Most teachers only have a child for one year and specialists may have a child for a few years at the most, meanwhile parents have a minimum of 18 years but depending on the situation could be responsible for the child their entire lifetime. This brings two different sets of perspectives. Parents know about the child’s history in the greatest detail and they are the most aware of the child as a whole human. They are in charge of numerous aspects of the child including any medical, therapeutic, educational, social, religious, leisure and lifestyle decisions.
Parents are also responsible for any long term outcomes for a child whereas a teacher is usually only concerned with the current school year. If a child does not learn the skills needed to be successful in a first grade classroom the teacher may feel like isn’t a big deal since maybe they “aren’t that far behind” their peers, but a parent will see how each year snowballs into the adult years. Those deficits in first grade become larger in second and third grade and that child may become an adult who at one point had potential to live independently but due to all of those ineffective years snowballing now is unable to. The parents are the ones who then have to manage the effects of this for their entire life, not the teachers.
Key Takeaway
The critical message to get across to the entire team is that everyone on the IEP team is an expert in different areas and that includes the parents. While teachers and specialists are highly skilled and provide very short-term intensive services to the child, the parents are highly knowledgeable about the specific child and manage the child’s case over the entire lifespan. Both perspectives are important to the IEP process and should be incorporated fully.