As every school administrator knows, the IEP is an integral part of meeting the needs of students with disabilities (Wright & Wright, 1999). It is the primary device through which communication takes place among parents, students, administrators, teachers, and other related service personnel regarding how the school plans to meet the requirements set forth in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004). Although principals or their designees attend IEP meetings and sign numerous IEPs during a school year, they still must be aware of the many pitfalls that can plague them if IEPs are treated in a perfunctory, routine manner, or if certain sections of the documents are not clearly understood. It also should be emphasized that because the IEP is a written contract, it is incumbent upon school administrators to know what each IEP contains before signing it. There are parts of the IEP that can be more problematic than others, and if they are not understood or not taken seriously, they can create problems--including lawsuits--for a school or district. In this article, the authors discuss four key areas of the IEP that cause a number of common problems: (1) participants; (2) least restrictive environment; (3) instruction; and (4) statewide assessments.