Excusal of IEP Team Members under IDEA'04 Provision

I'm presenting a poster session at the conference of the Council for Exceptional Children in Boston next week. My topic is Will the Circle Be Unbroken: The Role of the Teacher in the IEP Team Meeting.

With all due apologies to the Carter family, the title hints at the new provision in IDEA'04 permitting IEP team members to skip an IEP team meeting. There are actually two provisions:

IEP TEAM ATTENDANCE-
`(i) ATTENDANCE NOT NECESSARY- A member of the IEP Team shall not be required to attend an IEP meeting, in whole or in part, if the parent of a child with a disability and the local educational agency agree that the attendance of such member is not necessary because the member's area of the curriculum or related services is not being modified or discussed in the meeting.
`(ii) EXCUSAL- A member of the IEP Team may be excused from attending an IEP meeting, in whole or in part, when the meeting involves a modification to or discussion of the member's area of the curriculum or related services, if--
`(I) the parent and the local educational agency consent to the excusal; and
`(II) the member submits, in writing to the parent and the IEP Team, input into the development of the IEP prior to the meeting.
`(iii) WRITTEN AGREEMENT AND CONSENT REQUIRED- A parent's agreement under clause (i) and consent under clause (ii) shall be in writing.
IDEA, Section 614(d)(1)(C). See also, 34 CFR Section 300.321(e).

Thus, an IEP Team member is not required to attend an IEP Team meeting if the parent and the school district agree that the attendance of the Team member is not necessary because the member’s area of curriculum expertise or area of related services expertise is not being discussed or modified at the meeting. Section 614 (d)(1)(C)(i). Even where the Team member’s area of expertise is going to be discussed or modified at the meeting, an IEP Team member may be excused from attending an IEP Meeting if the parent and the school district consent to the excusal and the member submits written input into the development of the IEP to the parent and the IEP Team prior to the meeting. Section 614 (d)(1)(C)(ii) (I) and (II). In both cases the agreement or consent of the parent to the nonattendance or excusal must be documented in writing. Section 614 (d)(1)(C)(iii).

I worry that the provisions may undo the benefits of rich discussion by a multi-disciplinary team which underlie the concept of the team meeting. Also, I question how you know who isn't needed before the team discusses a topic.

There have not been many reported cases about the new provisions, and they seem to go off in every direction, which is about what you would expect for interpretations of brand new law. I'm wondering whether any readers have heard from actual IEP team members as to whether there has been abuse of these provisions. I have heard from the NEA that some teachers are reporting that they are not being allowed to attend meetings they want to attend. On the other hand, I have heard from the AASA that administrators are not reporting problems with the new provisions and that they are creating more flexibility with regard to scheduling.

So what have you heard about these new provisions. I won't quote you unless you ask me to do so. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.