Excuse Invitation Letter Conference - Download as PDF

							                                         HORRY COUNTY SCHOOLS
                                          Office of Special Education
                                PO Box 260005, Conway, SC 29528 843-488-6933
  Updated July 1, 2010                 Special Education Procedures


                             Excusing a Member of the IEP Team
 IDEA ’04 allows for the excusal of IEP team members from an IEP/Staffing meeting for two
 (2) reasons:
       1. A member of the IEP team is not required to attend an IEP team meeting in whole
          or in part if the parent of a child with a disability and the District agree in writing that
          the attendance of the member is not necessary because the allocation of
          resources and/or a member’s area of the curriculum or related services is not
          being modified or discussed in the meeting, or
       2. A member of the IEP team may be excused from attending an IEP team meeting,
          in whole or in part, when a meeting involves a modification to or discussion of the
          member’s area of the curriculum or related services;
              a. if the parent, in writing, and the District consent to the excusal, and
              b. the member submits, in writing, to the parent and the IEP team, input into
                   the development of the IEP prior to the meeting.
Written parental consent must be obtained prior to the meeting whenever an IEP team
member is being excused from attending a meeting (34 C.F.R. 300.321).

The excusal of IEP team members applies to all IEP meetings other than the Initial
Staffing/IEP development meeting and the Annual Review. Allowing IEP team members to
be excused from IEP meetings is intended to provide additional flexibility to parents in
scheduling IEP team meetings and to avoid delays in holding meetings when a team member
cannot attend due to a scheduling conflict. The requirements that must be met in order to
excuse a member of the team depend upon whether or not the member’s area of expertise is
going to be discussed at the meeting. An LEA representative must always be in attendance
at the IEP Team meetings and may not be an excused IEP team member.

Allocation of resources, area of curriculum or related services not being modified or
discussed:
When a member of the IEP team’s area of expertise is not being modified or discussed, the
member may be excused from attending the meeting if:
 the parents and the District agree that the member’s attendance is not necessary, and
 the parents’ and District’s agreement is in writing.

Agreement is typically obtained through the letter of invitation. The letter is sent notifying the
parent of the team members that will be attending as well as those members that will be
excused. Additionally, the invitation will ask for the parent to agree, in writing, that those IEP
team members may be excused. Members may not be excused if the parent does not
agree in writing to their excusal prior to the meeting.

If no invitation letter is sent or the parent does not respond to the letter of invitation, but
attends the meeting, the person completing the IEP/Staffing Meeting Summary (IEP-10) will
complete Section A and indicate the members that have been excused from the meeting
and will ask the parent to indicate agreement on this form. If the parent does not agree to
the excusal, then the person must attend or the meeting must be rescheduled. If the parent

                                                          Horry County Schools Special Education Procedures
                                         HORRY COUNTY SCHOOLS
                                          Office of Special Education
                                PO Box 260005, Conway, SC 29528 843-488-6933
  Updated July 1, 2010                 Special Education Procedures

does not attend the meeting, then no agreement can be reached and either all IEP team members
must attend the meeting or the meeting must be rescheduled. Remember - the purpose of the
meeting is to gather team members input, including the parent.

If a member is excused by written agreement and it becomes evident during the IEP meeting that
the absence of the excused member inhibits the development of the IEP, the team must reconvene
after the needed information is obtained either by having the member attend or by having the
member submit the information in writing as long as the IEP is developed in a timely manner.

If the parent returns the letter indicating that they will attend and has agreed for members to be
excused, but the parent doesn’t attend the meeting, then the team may meet without the parent in
attendance. Remember - purpose of the meeting is to gather team members input, including the
parent. It is strongly recommended that the team call the parent to determine the status of their
attendance and/or to volunteer to connect them to the team meeting via conference call.

All attempts to gather parental input and attendance at the meeting must be made in the Parent
Contact Log in EXCENT.

Modification to or discussion of the member’s area of the curriculum or related services:
When a member of the IEP team’s area of expertise is being modified or discussed, the member
may be excused from attending the meeting if (1) the parent and District consent to excuse the
member, and (2) the member submits, in writing to the parent and the team, input into the
development of the IEP before the meeting.

Documentation of the team members’ excusal will be made on the letter of invitation and on the
IEP/Staffing Meeting Summary form (IEP-10) as previously described. Input will be submitted to the
parent and the team using the In Lieu of IEP Team Attendance Report (IEP-9).

Agreement to excuse members of the IEP/Staffing team is typically obtained through the letter of
invitation. The letter of invitation is sent to the parent notifying them of the persons that will be
attending, as well as those persons that will be excused. The invitation will also inform the parent
that members whose curricular area or related service will be discussed will provide a written
summary for consideration in developing the IEP. Additionally, the invitation will ask for the parent
to agree, in writing, that those IEP team members may be excused. Persons may not be
excused if the parent does not agree in writing to their excusal prior to the meeting.

If no invitation letter is sent to the parent or the parent does not respond to the letter of invitation,
but attends the meeting, the person completing the IEP/Staffing Meeting Summary (IEP-10) will
complete Section A and indicate the members that have been excused from the meeting and will
ask the parent to indicate agreement on this form. If the parent does not agree, then the person
must attend or the meeting must be rescheduled. If the parent does not attend the meeting, then no
agreement can be reached and either all IEP team members must attend the meeting or the
meeting must be rescheduled. Remember that the purpose of the meeting is to gather team
members input, including the parent.
Forms: Letter of Invitation (IEP-1)
       IEP/Staffing Meeting Summary (IEP-10)
       In Lieu of IEP Attendance (IEP-9)