School Personnel Perceptions of Video Conference Individualized Education Program Meetings

Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools in the U.S. pivoted to provide services to students using technology to mitigate the need for face-to-face interactions. In addition to providing instruction using distance technology, it was necessary for schools to conduct much of their other business in a way that limited face-to-face interactions, including Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings for students who receive special education services. This study sought to better understand the extent to which school personnel believe they will continue to use a video conference format for IEP meetings, even without the existence of school policy restricting face-to-face events. Additionally, barriers and facilitators related to video conference IEP meetings were explored. A survey was completed by school professionals ( n = 292) that included responses to Likert-scale items related to video conference IEP meetings as well as open-ended qualitative items to better understand respondent perceptions. Results suggest school personnel generally believe that video conference IEP meetings can be beneficial and should be offered as an option to IEP teams. In addition, qualitative data related to barriers and facilitators have been provided. Implications for school personnel and future research have also been described.