Debra

The bottom line is nothing should change for your student. The principal and the teachers are required to continue to follow the IEP unless the team meets to make adjustments. Whenever you are in a meeting you should ask who is acting as the LEA and if you will be discussing topics which require the allocation of resources, confirm that individual is authorized to "spend money." If there is no one at the meeting to authorized to spend money it can not be considered an IEP meeting because the team can not make decisions at the meeting. If you are meeting and no additional resources need to be allocated, then it does not really matter.

A variety of people can serve as the school's (LEA) representative. It is not imperative for there to be a director of special education. Often the principal will serves as the school's representative. It is important that whoever is representing the school be authorized to allocate resources. Sometimes a school counselor or a special education case manager will "act" as the representative however often these individuals are often not able to authorize spending and as a result, the can not act as the school's representative. Here is a good article that describes the role of the LEA representative: https://awsa.memberclicks.net/update-article--role-of-lea-representative-in-iep-meetings--supporting-ccr-ieps The Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) 2004 identifies the LEA representative as someone who; (i) is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities; (ii) is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; and (iii) is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency. (34 CFR 300.321(a)(4))