IEP Process · Parent Participation

How to Write Parent Concerns for an IEP: Why They Matter and What to Say

Parent concerns are a legally required component of the IEP, the place where your voice formally enters the document. Most parents either skip them or write a few vague sentences. Done well, parent concerns can drive the entire IEP conversation.

Why Parent Concerns Are Required, and Why They Matter

IDEA requires the IEP to include a statement of the parents’ concerns for enhancing the education of their child. This isn’t a courtesy section, it’s a legal requirement. When parent concerns are meaningfully documented, they become part of the official IEP record. When they’re ignored or papered over with generic language, parents lose one of their most effective tools.

Parent concerns matter because:

• They create a written record of what you raised at the meeting, useful if there’s a dispute later
• They can drive evaluation requests, service additions, and goal revisions
• They document the school’s awareness of specific issues, which matters in due process
• They give you a voice in the official document, not just in the room

Before the Meeting: Write Your Concerns in Advance

Don’t wait for the meeting to articulate your concerns. Write them out in advance and submit them in writing to the case manager before the meeting. This accomplishes three things:

1. Your concerns are documented even if the meeting runs long or gets derailed
2. The school team has time to review them and prepare responses
3. The concerns become part of the official pre-meeting record

Email your written concerns to the case manager at least a few days before the meeting. Subject line: “Parent Concerns for [Child’s Name] IEP Meeting, [Date].”

What to Include in Parent Concerns

Effective parent concerns are specific, educational, and linked to your child’s current situation. They are not complaints about the school, they are documented observations about your child’s needs. Include:

1. What You Observe at Home

Describe specific observations: “My daughter comes home from school visibly exhausted and upset several days a week. She cries during homework and says she doesn’t understand what was taught in class.” Specific, observable behavior is more compelling than general statements like “she struggles.”

2. Skills That Aren’t Generalizing

Often, children make progress in therapy or in the resource room but the skills don’t carry over to the general education classroom or to daily life. Document this: “He can spell words correctly on Friday tests but cannot spell those same words correctly in his written work the following week.”

3. Services or Evaluations You’re Requesting

Parent concerns are an appropriate place to formally document requests: “We are requesting that a comprehensive assistive technology evaluation be conducted before the next IEP meeting.” Once this is in the document, the school’s response is part of the record.

4. Areas Not Addressed in the Current IEP

If you believe your child has needs that the IEP doesn’t address, social skills, executive function, self-regulation, organizational skills, name them: “We are concerned that [child’s name] has significant organizational and executive function challenges that are not addressed in the current IEP and are affecting her ability to complete assignments and manage transitions.”

5. Progress, or Lack of It

If your child isn’t making adequate progress toward IEP goals, document your concern specifically: “Progress reports indicate [child’s name] has made minimal progress toward his reading fluency goal over the past two reporting periods. We are concerned that the current instructional approach is not working and request a discussion of what will change.”

Tone and Language

Parent concerns should be factual, specific, and non-adversarial, even if you’re frustrated. The goal is to create a useful document that advances your child’s program, not to win an argument. Avoid emotionally charged language; stick to observable facts and specific requests.

You can be direct and firm without being combative: “We do not believe the current level of speech therapy is sufficient to produce meaningful progress and we are requesting that the team review the frequency at this meeting.”

What to Do If the School Misrepresents Your Concerns

Sometimes parent concerns are transcribed inaccurately or summarized in ways that dilute the original request. Always read the parent concerns section in the draft IEP before signing. If they don’t accurately reflect what you submitted, request an amendment before signing. If the team writes “parent is pleased with the program” when you raised specific concerns, that’s a misrepresentation of the record.

If you submitted written concerns before the meeting, attach them to the IEP or reference them explicitly in the parent concerns section of the document.