Parents play a central role in their child's development and learning. Parents of children with developmental disabilities have the added challenge of wading through additional services and engaging with professionals to support this process. As families navigate the educational system, this journey includes engaging with a team of people to develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Over the years, parents have described the daunting nature of this process while also providing insights on ways the process can be improved. Differences have also been noted in how families from different racial backgrounds experience the development of the IEP. My dissertation aims to examine how shared decision-making (SDM) has been used to support collaborative processes when creating an IEP by summarizing the current literature through a scoping review and using surveys and interviews to see how SDM is currently being applied within the IEP process. The scoping review included both qualitative and quantitative literature in peer-reviewed articles to gauge how parents and educational professionals have engaged in SDM practices and what interventions are being used to support collaboration. In this review, 72 articles met inclusion criteria, with the majority being qualitative. A range of IDEA eligibility categories were represented throughout the articles with the largest percentage including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Scoping analysis of the articles indicated IEP collaboration primarily centered around seeking parent participation, with little emphasis on other components of the SDM process. To better understand the collaborative experience, a mixed methods study was conducted to look at how parents of children with ASD engage with the IEP team using the lens of activation (parent understanding, knowledge, and confidence) and SDM as a guide while also considering how race impacts these constructs. Qualitative findings, resulting from structured interviews, showed themes associated with managing opposition, standing up for their child, gathering material and communication, with differences in themes based on racial group of the parent. Survey results showed that SDM predicted parental IEP satisfaction, while activation was associated with IEP goal quality. In summary, this dissertation provides research-based recommendations to inform educational providers on the function of SDM in the IEP process. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]