First, to fully understand the purpose of an ARD and how to prepare you need some important background. Congress thought an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for a child with a disability was too important to be developed by any one person. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) regulations require that the IEP be developed by a committee composed of, at a minimum, a teacher certified in the child’s area of disability, at least one regular education teacher (if the child is, or may be, in the regular education environment), an administrator (someone who can ensure that the services provided in the IEP will be provided), and the parent (which includes a guardian, a person acting as a parent of the child or a surrogate parent as appointed in accordance with law). In Texas these teams are called Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committees.

Follow up:

What do ARD committees do?

The main functions of ARD Committees are to:
▪ Admit - Determine whether your child is eligible for special education services;
▪ Review - Develop an IEP for your child and review it at least once a year; ▪ Dismissal - Determine whether your child is no longer eligible for special education services.

You, as a parent and as an ARD committee member, play a very important role in making these decisions! The school must give you written notice of a scheduled ARD committee meeting at least five school days before the meeting, unless you agree otherwise. The notice must state the purpose, time, and place for the meeting, and who will attend. The meeting must take place at a time and place agreed upon by you and the school. The school must make reasonable efforts to find a time that you are able to meet; however, after reasonable attempts by the school to reschedule, the school may hold the meeting without you. Parents can bring anyone they want to an ARD meeting, including attorneys, parent advocates, interpreters, and friends; however, if you are planning on bringing an attorney, you should notify the school as they will have to secure their attorney’s attendance.

ARD committees spend most of their time reviewing, modifying, and fine-tuning your child’s IEP. The ARD committee will explain assessment data to you, coordinate delivery of services, and generally make all decisions regarding your child’s educational program. You should be actively involved in the committee meeting! The ARD committee works by consensus NOT votes. You are an equal participant in the ARD committee process under law!
When do ARD committees meet?

The ARD committee must meet at least once a year and must have an IEP for your child in effect by the beginning of each school year. The ARD committee will meet whenever (1) changes to any part of the IEP are considered, (2) major discipline is being considered, (3) new assessment data must be discussed, (4) the child is transferring to another school within the District, (5) eligibility is in question, (6) the IEP must be developed for the next school year, (7) changes in related services are being considered, (8) changes in a behavior management plan are being considered, or (9) whenever the parent wants to have a meeting. If you call the ARD meeting, the school must either hold the meeting or ask for help through the Texas Education Agency (TEA) mediation process.

While the majority of ARD meeting go smoothly, it’s always helpful for parents to be prepared. The keys to any successful meeting is organizing, preparing and knowing how to present your requests and an ARD meeting is no different! You should start by familiarizing yourself with the procedural safeguards designed to protect the rights of children with disabilities and their parents. The school will give you a copy of these procedural safeguards, you can download a pamphlet from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/explansaf/ or the safeguards can be found in Section 1415 of IDEA 2004. These procedural safeguards address many more issues and situations than this paper will attempt to cover.

Be prepared for your ARD — identify the needs of your child, clarify your concerns, anticipate any problems and make requests. Take time before the meeting to think about, and answer the following questions:

▪ What do I want for my child?
▪ What does the school want for my child?
▪ What action do you want the school to take?
▪ What facts support my request?
▪ How motivated are the committee members to give you what you want?
▪ What will prevent the school from giving you what you want?
▪ How can you alleviate the other members’ concerns?

Organize your child’s file and take the file to the meeting. This will convey a message that you expect to work with the school as a partner. Review your child’s file—do you have all recent test data? Review all test results, including state and district testing on your child. If your child has an IEP, review the goals of the IEP. Compare current test data to earlier data—is your child making progress? Is the progress acceptable? Do you have concerns about your child’s IEP or progress? What accommodations is my child receiving? Are there other accommodations that my child needs? You may want to prepare a chart or graph to give visual life to your statements. You may wish to use an agenda that states any frustrations that you or your child may have and what your child needs, BUT always, always begin with at least one positive/good news item. As parents, we don’t want to hear all negatives about our children, and I am sure that the other committee members would appreciate hearing some positives about them or their school as well before proceeding to list your frustrations, if any. If you use handouts or agendas, you may want to send them to team members before the meeting, but also take copies with you to the meeting. Practice stating your problems or concerns clearly and offering suggestions about how you want the problem to be resolved. You may wish to role-play or rehearse what you plan to say with your spouse or a friend.

The day of the ARD Committee meeting, arrive early for the meeting. Give yourself time to relax and focus on what you want to accomplish. Take pencil, paper and, if possible, another person. If you take someone with you be sure and introduce them at the beginning of the meeting. Ask questions if you do not understand something! Rather than say “I want” say “My child needs.” Participate in the meeting by giving the information that you prepared. Ask about alternatives if you are not satisfied with current plans, or present options that you may have in mind.

Make sure that all important information and agreements are documented in the minutes—if it is not in writing it is the same as never happening. Have the minutes read and make sure that you agree with them. If the meeting is lasting too long, you have the right to ask for a continuance, but be respectful of other members’ time and availability.
If you are not in agreement with any of the conclusions of the meeting, say so and ask that the meeting be recessed for no more than ten days. During the recess, collect information and evidence that supports your opinion. Whether or not in agreement, at the end of the meeting always remember to thank everyone for their time and for anything positive that is occurring with your child. After you go home, review your notes from the meeting and be sure to follow up with your child’s progress. Keep all copies of the IEP/ARD meetings, and any communications between you and the teachers, etc. If the IEP is not functioning well, ask for another ARD. Do NOT wait if you have a concern— YOUR Child’s success in his/her educational journey may be at risk.