Pre-Meeting Planning Tool | Beyond the Benefit of the Doubt

Fill this in before the meeting. Plan what you will say, gather the evidence you will put on the table, check that the room is ready, and write down what you want to walk out with. Your entries save in this browser as you type, so you can step away and come back to them. They stay on your device and are not sent anywhere or seen by anyone else.

The meeting

Student (initials or code) and grade

Meeting date

What is this meeting deciding?

Eligibility: is the student eligible?

Services: what support is required?

Placement: where is it delivered?

Who will be at the table?

Is the meeting ready?

If a line cannot be checked, the meeting is not ready yet.

The specific concern is written down, with the data behind it attached.
Implementation fidelity is documented: who delivered support, how often, how consistently.
Supplementary aids and services in general education have been considered.
Accommodations and interventions tried are listed, with dates and duration.
The student's response to each support is summarized with evidence.
Attendance, language, and instruction match have been checked.
A contingency plan and review date are drafted in case the plan fails.

Some lines are not checked yet. The meeting is not ready.

Off agenda, but on the record

If something comes up that is not on today's agenda, capture it here instead of letting it drop.

The item

Who follows up, and by when

Evidence to bring

Clip the data points and quotes you will put on the table, each with where it comes from. Ground every claim in something you can show. Add as many as you need.

The data point or quote

Where it comes from

Plan the conversation

Decide what the room needs to hear and how you will open it before you are in the room. Borrow a sentence starter if it helps.

The one thing I want the room to hear

How I will open

Pushback I expect, and my response

Sentence starters you can borrow

Let us start with what is working for this student.
The data we already have shows...
That sounds like a benefit. Let us test whether it is a need.
What would we expect to see if this support were working?
Our goal is the least restrictive setting where the need can be met.

My notes

What I want to walk out with

Open questions and anything else

Saved on this device

Entries save in this browser on this device, not on any server. On a shared computer, clear the form when you are done.

The worksheet protects everyone. Families see the evidence, and staff walk in prepared rather than defensive.