December 2025: 

The MLO Minute: “Preparing for Parent-Teacher Conferences for Your Student with Special Education Needs” — 

By Rachel Rosenberg, Esq., Attorney in the Special Education Department —

Parent-teacher conferences are an opportunity for all parents to meet with their students’ teachers and gather invaluable information on how students are progressing. But for parents of children with special education needs in particular, parent-teacher conferences may be one of the only opportunities to meet with your child’s teachers and gather information on your student’s accommodations and progress in a more intimate setting, aside from the annual IEP meeting. As such, here are our top tips to help you prepare to make the most of this opportunity:

1. Get input from your child ahead of time: The teacher may know how your child is doing academically, but you have a different perspective on your child that can help the teacher in the classroom. We recommend you talk to your child to get their thoughts on how the year is going and how they are progressing. See if they have any concerns about school, related to their classes, their social/emotional functioning, and anything else, and then bring a clear snapshot of your child with you to the conference.

1. Prepare questions: Meetings can sometimes be overwhelming, so it can be helpful to write down questions that you can be sure to hit during the meeting. It is helpful to review your child’s IEP or 504 plan, if there is one, to guide your questions.

1. Set goals for the meeting: Similarly, writing down goals for the conference is a way for you to guide the meeting. When the meeting is concluding, you can review these goals and see if there is anything else you wanted to cover at the meeting. If your list of goals is long and you are concerned you may not be able to cover them all in the limited time you may have, put them in order of priority so you can make sure you address your most important concerns first.

1. Remain open-minded and go in with an eye toward collaboration: You and your child’s teacher are on the same team, so you should plan to go into the meeting with that mindset. This is a good opportunity for you to support your child’s teacher in best educating and accommodating your child, and maintaining positive communication goes a long way.

If you prepare accordingly, you can be sure you did everything in your power to help your child’s teacher accommodate your child’s special education needs. That said, if you have concerns about your child’s progress or the implementation of your child’s accommodations following a conference, please feel free to reach out to our office for a free consultation. Click here to contact us today!