The Annual IEP Review: What Happens and How to Prepare

Every IEP must be reviewed at least once a year — this is the annual IEP meeting. The team must review your child's progress on every goal, update the services and accommodations, and confirm continued eligibility. You are a required member of the IEP team, and nothing in the plan can be changed without your participation.

This is the annual IEP review. And for most parents, it is the single most important IEP meeting of the year.

The problem? Too many annual reviews turn into rubber-stamp sessions. The school presents a pre-written draft, moves through the sections quickly, and asks you to sign. If you are not prepared, you can walk out of a meeting that changed nothing — even when things desperately need to change.

This guide is about making sure that does not happen.

What Is the Annual IEP Review?

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (34 CFR 300.324(b)(1)), the IEP team must review your child's IEP at least once every 12 months. This is not optional. The school cannot skip it, delay it indefinitely, or hold the meeting without you.

The purpose of the annual review is to:

• Evaluate your child's progress toward current IEP goals
• Update present levels of performance (PLAAFP)
• Write new or revised IEP goals for the coming year
• Review and adjust services and accommodations
• Determine whether placement is still appropriate
• Address any new concerns from parents, teachers, or evaluations

The annual review produces a new IEP document. The old IEP expires. Every decision made at this meeting — new goals, changed services, adjusted minutes — goes into the next 12-month plan. That is why what happens here matters so much.

What Gets Reviewed (and What Should)

In theory, the annual review covers the entire IEP. In practice, schools often focus on goals and rush through everything else. Here is what the team is supposed to review — and what you should insist they actually discuss:

IEP Section	What to Look For
Present Levels (PLAAFP)	Are they updated with current data? Do they reflect your child today — not who they were 12 months ago?
Annual Goals	Was each goal met, partially met, or not met? What data supports that conclusion?
Services	Are the type, frequency, duration, and location of services still appropriate? Were all services actually delivered?
Accommodations	Are accommodations being used in the classroom? Are any missing that your child needs?
Placement	Is the current placement the least restrictive environment (LRE) that meets your child's needs?
Transition Plan	If your child is 16+ (or 14+ in some states), is the transition plan updated with postsecondary goals?
Behavior Plan (BIP)	If there is a BIP, is it working? Does the data support the current strategies?
Extended School Year (ESY)	Does your child qualify for ESY services? The team must consider this annually.

How to Prepare Before the Review

Preparation is the difference between a parent who shapes the IEP and a parent who signs whatever is put in front of them. Here is how to walk in ready:

1. Re-read the current IEP — the whole thing

Pull out the current IEP and read every page. Not just the goals section. Read the present levels. Read the service grid. Read the accommodations list. Read the fine print about placement and LRE. If you need help understanding the document, our IEP meeting preparation guide walks you through what to look for.

2. Review every progress report you received this year

Under IDEA, the school must provide periodic progress reports on IEP goals — usually at the same frequency as general education report cards. Pull out every progress report from the year. For each goal, ask yourself: Is my child actually making progress? Does the data match what I see at home?

3. Write down your concerns and requests

Before the meeting, write a list of everything you want to discuss. Be specific. Not "I'm concerned about reading" but "My child's reading goal baseline was Level J in September. The last progress report still shows Level J. I want to discuss why there has been no measurable progress and whether the current reading intervention is appropriate."

4. Gather outside information

If you have private evaluations, therapy reports, medical documentation, or teacher observations that are relevant, bring copies to share with the team. Outside data is part of the record — the school must consider it.

5. Know what you want changed

Do not go in hoping the school will figure out what your child needs. Go in knowing what you think should change — more service minutes, different goals, additional accommodations, a new evaluation — and be prepared to explain why.

Demanding Progress Data

This is where most annual reviews go sideways. The school describes progress in vague, qualitative terms — "She's doing great," "He's making good progress," "We're really pleased with how things are going" — without showing you the actual data.

That is not good enough.

Under 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3), every IEP goal must include a description of how progress will be measured and when periodic reports will be provided. At the annual review, the school should be able to show you:

• Baseline data — Where your child started at the beginning of the IEP period
• Current performance data — Where your child is now, measured the same way
• The trajectory — Is progress on track to meet the goal by the end of the IEP year?
• Data collection methods — How was the data collected? How often? By whom?

Questions to ask when reviewing progress data:

• "Can you show me the data sheets or charts for this goal?"
• "How often was data collected — weekly, monthly, quarterly?"
• "What does 'making progress' mean in measurable terms?"
• "If the goal was not met, what changed in the intervention?"
• "Were all service sessions actually delivered this year? Were any missed?"

If you want to go deeper into what good progress monitoring looks like, see our guide on IEP goal progress monitoring.

What to Push For

The annual review is not just a look-back — it is your chance to shape the next 12 months. Here is what to push for:

Goals that are actually measurable

If last year's goals were vague — "improve reading comprehension," "make progress in math" — push for goals with specific, measurable criteria. A good IEP goal answers: What skill? Measured how? To what level? By when? See our guide to evaluating IEP goals for the full framework.

Services that match the need

If your child did not meet goals this year, the answer is not just to write the same goal again. Ask whether the services were sufficient. Does your child need more minutes? A different methodology? A different provider? More frequency? The IEP team must address why progress was not made — and "keep trying the same thing" is not an acceptable answer when data shows it is not working.

Updated present levels based on current data

The present levels section should reflect your child right now — not a copy-paste from last year. If the present levels have not changed significantly from the prior IEP, ask why. Either your child has not made progress (which is a problem) or the school did not bother to update this section (which is also a problem).

Accountability for service delivery

Ask whether all IEP services were delivered as written. If your child was supposed to receive 120 minutes per week of specialized instruction and the school had staffing gaps, sub shortages, or scheduling conflicts, that is a compliance issue. You have the right to know — and to request compensatory services for what was missed.

Common Mistakes Parents Make

Even prepared parents can fall into traps at the annual review. Here are the most common mistakes:

1. Treating it as a formality

"We're just reviewing the IEP." No. You are deciding what your child's education will look like for the next 12 months. If you treat it like a box-checking exercise, the school will too — and the IEP will not improve.

2. Accepting "making progress" without data

Progress is a number, a level, a percentage — not a feeling. If the school tells you your child is "making progress" and cannot show you data to back it up, that is an opinion, not a fact. Do not accept it.

3. Signing the IEP at the meeting

You are never required to sign the IEP on the spot. Take it home. Read every word. Compare it to what was discussed. If something is missing or different from what was agreed upon, send a follow-up email before signing. Once you sign, that document governs the next 12 months.

4. Focusing only on goals

Goals matter, but services, accommodations, placement, and present levels matter just as much. A beautifully written goal means nothing if the services to support it are inadequate or the accommodations are not being implemented.

5. Not bringing documentation

If you have concerns, bring evidence. Work samples, report cards, private evaluations, emails from teachers, your own observations — anything that supports what you are asking for. The team is more likely to take your requests seriously when they are backed by documentation.

When to Request a Review Before the Annual Date

You do not have to wait 12 months. Under IDEA, parents can request an IEP team meeting at any time. Here are situations where you should not wait for the annual review:

• Your child is not making progress — If progress reports show stagnation or regression, request a meeting now. Waiting until the annual review means months of lost time.
• Services are not being delivered — If the school is not providing the services written in the IEP, that is a compliance issue that needs to be addressed immediately.
• Your child's needs have changed — A new diagnosis, a medical event, a behavioral crisis, a family change — anything that significantly affects your child's needs warrants a meeting.
• The school wants to change placement — If the school is talking about moving your child to a different classroom or setting, that requires an IEP meeting and your participation — not a unilateral decision.
• You have new evaluation data — If you obtained a private evaluation that reveals new information, request a meeting to have the team review it and consider whether the IEP needs to be revised.
• Your child is being disciplined repeatedly — Frequent suspensions, removals from class, or behavioral incidents may indicate the IEP is not addressing your child's needs. Request a meeting and ask about a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA).

Your Annual Review Checklist

Use this checklist to prepare for and evaluate your child's annual IEP review:

Before the Meeting

• Re-read the entire current IEP — goals, services, accommodations, present levels, placement, and any addenda
• Collect all progress reports — compare reported progress to what you observe at home
• Request a draft IEP — ask the school to send you their proposed draft 3-5 days before the meeting
• Write your concerns list — specific, measurable, tied to data wherever possible
• Gather outside documentation — private evaluations, medical reports, therapy notes, work samples
• Identify what you want changed — specific goals, services, accommodations, or evaluations you want to request

At the Meeting

• Ask for progress data on every goal — not summaries, actual data
• Verify services were delivered — ask for a service log showing sessions delivered vs. sessions written in the IEP
• Compare new present levels to last year's — has the language actually been updated?
• Review every proposed new goal — is it measurable? Is the baseline accurate? Is the target ambitious enough?
• Check accommodations — are current accommodations being used? Do any need to be added or revised?
• Ask about ESY — has the team considered Extended School Year eligibility?
• Take notes — write down decisions, commitments, and action items

After the Meeting

• Do not sign immediately — take the IEP home to review
• Send a follow-up email — summarize what was discussed and agreed upon
• Request PWN — for any proposals or refusals made at the meeting
• Compare the final IEP to meeting notes — make sure what was discussed actually made it into the document
• Mark your calendar — note the next annual review date (no more than 12 months away) and set reminders to check progress throughout the year

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Sources

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) — U.S. Department of Education
• 34 CFR 300.324 — Development, Review, and Revision of IEP — Code of Federal Regulations
• 34 CFR 300.320 — Definition of Individualized Education Program — Code of Federal Regulations
• 34 CFR 300.321 — IEP Team — Code of Federal Regulations
• 34 CFR 300.114 — LRE Requirements — Code of Federal Regulations