"Our son just turned 18, and he is a junior. The school district has informed me that he will be making his own IEP decisions. We feel he's not ready to make those decisions alone. Is there anything we can do to be included in the IEP team process?"
The IDEA provides that decision making rights, sometimes called procedural safeguards or parent rights, transfer to students who reach the age of majority in their states unless the student has been found mentally incompetent or unable to make those decisions by a court of law.
However, your son can bring you to meetings with him. Alternately, he can bring another support person or advocate with him to meetings. Further, if he wants to allow you to continue making decisions on his behalf, most states will allow this as long as he states this in a signed, written statement. The statement becomes part of the child’s special education record. Parents may continue to make decisions for their adult child as long as he permits them to do so. However, it is important for you to begin teaching your son how to advocate for himself, especially if he intends to continue formal education after graduation.
More on Advocacy and Special Education Rights