Yes, your neighbor, or anyone else you choose, can participate by phone. Ask the regional center to make sure there is a telephone with a “speaker” so everyone can hear each other. Ask your service coordinator to send your neighbor your last IPP and any recent changes along with any other papers, such as evaluation reports, needed for the IPP meeting.

When you call your service coordinator, you can say, “I want my neighbor, Mrs. Hill, to be at the meeting. She works and cannot be there in person. Please send her my last IPP and a copy of the reports you are bringing to the meeting so she can participate by phone.”

In fact, the whole IPP meeting can be held by remote electronic communication (such as by telephone or Zoom) if you request it. This right to request your IPP meeting be held by telephone or virtual platform will last until June 30, 2022.^[1]Section 4646(g).