If you work with a child in a clinic or at home, sooner or later a parent will ask you to come to the IEP meeting. Most BCBAs say yes, then spend the drive wondering what exactly they are supposed to do there.
I have been on different sides of that table as a teacher, a school-based BCBA, and a private BCBA. Here is how I think about it.
First, understand why the expectations clash
Until 2017, the common shorthand for the federal special education standard was that a school had to provide "a little more than de minimis," which means a little more than nothing. In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, the Supreme Court raised that bar. An IEP now has to be reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances.
That is a higher standard, but it is still not the one we use in ABA. The Council of Autism Service Providers practice guidelines describe ABA as treatment to develop, maintain, or restore, to the maximum extent practicable, the functioning of individuals with autism.
So parents and BCBAs often walk in expecting "maximum extent practicable," while the school is working from "reasonably calculated progress." That gap sets up a fight before anyone opens their mouth. When you know it exists, you can explain it to parents calmly and keep your own expectations realistic.
A few related terms:
FAPE (free and appropriate public education) is the right of students with disabilities to a public education and the special education and related services they need. When a school says "this is our offer of FAPE," it is describing what it is willing to provide. Anything beyond that, the school is saying it will not do.
Public schools and charter schools generally follow the same federal law and give families procedural safeguards. Private schools do not. Some parents are surprised to learn that.
The three roles
Outside BCBAs usually take one or more of these roles, and I often shift between them in one meeting.
1. Parent coach. You help the parent communicate their own concerns and priorities. Before the meeting, you prepare notes together. During the meeting, you might point to those notes or text a reminder so the parent can speak for themselves. Many parents are more comfortable with this than you would think, and some are not, so ask.
2. Expert consultant. You bring data and insights from therapy: skill acquisition, behavior reduction, FBA and BIP information. You answer questions and help problem-solve. The caution here is that you can only speak to what you know. You may have seen a child in a clinic or at home but not at school.
3. Active participant. You collaborate in developing goals and support the FBA and BIP. In my work I do this less, because I am often called into meetings that are already tense. Parents are frustrated and so is the school, and the last thing the team wants is a new voice leading. In those cases I start as a coach and consultant and help both sides understand where the other is coming from.
What to do
Focus on the child's needs.
Recognize classroom constraints and resources. A teacher with 25 students will not collect continuous duration data, but may be able to use a simple rating scale. A child with a one-to-one paraprofessional can support more.
Make sure your recommendations fit the environment.
Remember that the school's duty to provide FAPE is different from ABA's duty.
Bring recent data and graphs.
Remember you are an invited member of the team, not the main decision-maker.
What to avoid
Being confrontational or attacking the school's methods. You can explain why something is not working without being rude.
Heavy jargon.
Making specific recommendations about a classroom you have not observed.
Pushing clinic-style solutions: one-to-one aides, intensive staffing models, and clinic data collection.
Overriding a parent's decision in the meeting. If you disagree with something they said, talk with them privately afterward, or send a text.
Advocating and collaborating at the same time
The ethics code asks us to collaborate with colleagues and to compromise when we can, while always prioritizing the client's best interest. It also asks us to step in when things are not going well. Those can feel like they pull in opposite directions, but they do not. Being firm does not mean being unethical, and being kind does not mean giving everything up.
Some situations do call for more forceful advocacy: a year of trying to make things work, people getting hurt, repeated disciplinary issues. Others call for a quiet conversation after the meeting.
I have seen online threads where a BCBA gets called unethical for questioning a school plan without anyone knowing the full story. Context matters. Not every disagreement is an ethics violation, and not every school team is the villain.
Do you need to know special education law?
You do not need to be an attorney, and nothing here is legal advice. But if you are going to support parents, you should have a baseline understanding of the IEP process and parent rights so you can point them in the right direction.
We built a free IEP preparation and meeting checklist for exactly that.
If you remember one thing: you are an invited member of the team, so support the parent, share what you know, and fit your advice to the room.
If your team wants training on collaborating with schools, learn about Clinical and Agency Consulting. For families who want direct help, see IEP Advocacy. I offer a free 15-minute consultation if you want to talk it through.
Casey Gressmen, MBA, MEd, BCBA, LBA, is a licensed special education teacher and board certified behavior analyst and the founder of Phoenix Rising Behavior and Academic Consulting.
