Get your concerns into the IEP, in writing and on the record
Use a parent concerns letter to give the IEP team your priorities, observations, and questions before the meeting. Any parent may send one at any point before the meeting, though a letter does not guarantee its wording gets copied into the plan. You can send it today: paste it into an email, replace what sits in brackets, and write down the day the school received it; the table below says which day starts each clock.
What the rule says
“In developing each child’s IEP, the IEP Team must consider … The concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child … The academic, developmental, and functional needs of the child.”
34 CFR 300.324(a)(1)
A written list arrives as a required input rather than as something raised and then forgotten.
When to send it
- The draft IEP arrived by email this week and the parent concerns section is blank.
- You raised sleep and homework at the last meeting and neither one reached the notes.
- Your child’s reading tutor sent you a summary in March and the school has never seen it.
What happens after you send it
| What is being counted | By when | How it is counted |
|---|---|---|
| Your list gets answered | Set by your state | Whatever wait applies here comes from your state; the federal rules name none.34 CFR 300.322(a) |
| The next annual review | 12 months | The team reviews the IEP at least that often, so no concern waits longer.34 CFR 300.324(b)(1) |
What the letter has to contain
Your concerns, in a list
Numbered priorities can be checked off one by one; an unnumbered paragraph gets summarized into a single line.
Your account of what would improve your child’s schooling is a listed consideration. 34 CFR 300.324(a)(1)(ii)
The evidence under each
A concern with a date and a work sample behind it survives the meeting; a concern on its own rarely does.
The IEP describes how the disability affects progress in the general curriculum. 34 CFR 300.320(a)(1)(i)
Where each one lands
Name the section each item belongs in, or the whole list settles into the one box nobody reads afterward.
The IEP carries measurable annual goals meeting each need the disability creates. 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)(i)
A copy back afterward
Without the finished pages in hand you cannot tell which of your items made it in.
You get a copy of the finished IEP at no cost to you. 34 CFR 300.322(f)
The letter
Replace everything in brackets. The rest sends as it stands.
- To
- The case manager, before the drafting starts
- Subject
- Parent concerns for [Student name]’s [School year] IEP, sent before the draft
Dear [Case manager], I am [Child’s full name]’s parent, and I would like the three concerns below entered in the IEP for [School year], under parent concerns and anywhere else they belong. 1. [Concern, in one sentence]. What I have seen: [example, with the date]. 2. [The second concern]. Where it shows up: [the class or the time of day, and how often]. 3. [The third concern]. What the record already holds: [a report, an email, or a grade]. I am attaching [the work sample, note or outside report you are relying on]. Please tell me which section of the document each item will appear in. If the team decides one of them belongs nowhere in the IEP, I would like that in writing, with the reasons, under 34 CFR 300.503(b). Please also send the draft across before we meet, so I can read it against this list. Kind regards, [Your name] [Email] · [Daytime phone] [Date sent]
If no answer comes back
Use whatever reply window your state publishes, counting from the date your list was received.
- Forward the list again and ask which page it will sit on.
- Bring a printed copy to the meeting and read the items aloud in order.
- Ask the special education office to attach the list to the meeting record.
A no owes you prior written notice: the decision, the reason for it, and the records behind it (34 CFR 300.503).
This is a template, not legal advice: it does not replace your state’s procedures, or advice from someone qualified to read your file.
Have the pages you are writing about read back to you, free.
The review reads every page you upload, names the wording that is vague or missing, and gives you its page number.
Review my IEP — freeFree, no card. It reads your pages and contacts no one.
Where this comes from
- What the IEP team considers (34 CFR 300.324)The clause quoted above.
- What the IEP contains (34 CFR 300.320)Where each concern lands.
- Parent participation (34 CFR 300.322)Your seat at the table.
- Prior written notice (34 CFR 300.503)What a no owes you.
Response deadlines are set state by state, and the state pages carry each number with its rule.