More Than a Meeting: Meaningful Consultation in the IEP Process

As we approach the new year, IEPs should be finalized, yet many families are discovering they were never meaningfully consulted. Families should have received a draft of their child’s Individual Education Plan outlining how the school intends to support access to learning. Across British Columbia, however, there are serious gaps in how these plans are being developed.

Some schools did not hold IEP meetings at all this year, citing staffing issues. Others relied on email requests for feedback and then developed the IEP based solely on that information. In some cases, meetings were held but felt rushed, fragmented, or limited to a small subset of staff. This is especially common in middle and high school, where release time for all teachers is rarely provided. Instead of a truly collaborative process, families are often sent a completed document and expected to accept it.

Most parents do, not because the plan is strong, but because they are led to believe this is the only option. It isn’t.

Consultation is a legal requirement, not a courtesy, and BC policy is clear about the role of parents in educational planning.

Parents are intended to be active partners in decisions about their child’s education. The School Act recognizes the right of parents to consult with the school about their child’s educational program, including the development of the IEP. This means parents should be informed, involved, and able to actively participate in shaping decisions that affect how their child is supported at school, rather than simply receiving a completed plan after the fact.

This expectation is reinforced in Inclusive Education Services: A Manual of Policies, Procedures and Guidelines (2024), which emphasizes that inclusive education programs and services should be developed through meaningful consultation with parents. Parents know their children and can contribute in substantial ways to the design of appropriate programs and supports.

Consultation is not defined as receiving a finished IEP. It is an active, ongoing process that requires time, dialogue, and responsiveness.

Students should be included, even very young students, yet this remains one of the most overlooked aspects of the IEP process.

BC policy recognizes that many students with disabilities or diverse abilities can contribute to the assessment and planning of their own educational programs. Where appropriate, students must be consulted on the development of the IEP being created for them. Inclusion is not something students age into. Even very young students should be included in age-appropriate ways, not to place adult responsibility on children, but to help them understand that their voice matters.

Early inclusion in IEP meetings builds self-advocacy, trust, and transparency. When students are excluded from conversations about their own education, plans are done to them rather than with them.

As a general rule, the Inclusive Education Manual states that students should be included in all phases of the planning process unless they are unable or unwilling to participate. This principle applies across age levels, with participation adjusted to a child’s developmental stage and communication style.

The IEP process itself is continuous, not a single meeting. The Inclusive Education Manual describes it as flexible rather than a series of disconnected steps and outlines five interconnected phases: identification and assessment; planning; program support and implementation; evaluation; and reporting.

These phases are meant to flow into one another and be embedded in the regular routines of planning, evaluation, and reporting used for all students. Supports should be adjusted as needs emerge, and access to services should occur in a timely way through the school, district, community, or provincial systems.

The process works best when there is collaboration and ongoing consultation among educators, administrators, parents, students, and relevant agencies; when parents and students are active participants who feel welcome and encouraged to contribute throughout the process; when schools have clear procedures and identified staff to support consultation and planning; and when educators have access to specialist support and professional resources.

A rushed or closed IEP process directly contradicts this framework.

If it is not written in the IEP, accountability is lost. The IEP is the primary accountability document, and students are entitled to learning activities in accordance with it. When supports, accommodations, or services are missing or vaguely written, implementation becomes inconsistent, and enforcement becomes difficult. Schools can later claim there was no obligation to provide what was never clearly documented.

This is why reviewing the IEP carefully matters. What is omitted can be just as important as what is included.

IEPs are living documents, not final verdicts. They are meant to evolve as new information becomes available or as accommodations prove insufficient. Requesting revisions is not a rejection of collaboration. It is part of responsible planning. Meeting minimum Ministry criteria does not guarantee meaningful access to education.

Accommodation is also a human rights obligation. Under the BC Human Rights Code, students with disabilities have the right to accommodation to the point of undue hardship. Accommodation is about removing barriers, not preserving convenience, and the IEP plays a central role in documenting how accommodations will occur, how they will be implemented, and how they will be reviewed. When consultation is limited or cut off, the accommodation process itself is compromised.

As a last resort, families should know there is an appeal process. Under section 11(2) of the School Act, if parents are not satisfied with decisions made by school officials that significantly affect the education, health, or safety of a student, they may appeal to the local board of education. Every board is required to establish a procedure for hearing appeals, and the Office of the Superintendent can provide information about local appeal processes.

Appeals should never be the starting point, but families deserve to know their full range of options.

If you have received your child’s IEP, take time to read it carefully. Ask whether consultation was meaningful, whether your child’s voice was included in age-appropriate ways, and whether accomodations and supports are clearly written and enforceable.

Inclusive education is not achieved through paperwork alone. It is built through collaboration, accountability, and respect for the rights and dignity of students and families.

BC policy is clear. Parents and students are not passive recipients in this process. They are essential partners.