I used to run SpEd eligibility meetings, and I love to have students at the conference. Upper El, middle school students, it's often a matter of maturity whether we can get the student to be there. I was once in a meeting with 22 adults, which was intimidating for the child, but that particular child needed 22 adults on his case.
I've been in several meetings where the student was in the room for part of the meeting and out of the meeting for the rest. Once, we were talking about finding a student ineligible for Special Education. When the student came into the meeting, I said, "We're talking about taking you out of Special Education." The student's face lit up and nobody was going to argue against it after that.
The second best thing to having the student in person is having a statement from the child. I have new students write a page in their composition books on the topic "What my teachers should know about me," and sharing that page often changes the whole tone of the meeting.
As a teacher, I want the child's voice at a meeting whenever we can get it.
