Adapted from: Guide to the Individualized Education Program, Office of special Education and Rehabilitative, US Department of Education, July 2000.
Individualized Education Program
Clearly, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a very important document for children with disabilities and for those who are involved in educating them. Done correctly, the IEP should improve teaching, learning, and results. Each child's IEP describes, among other things, the educational program that has been designed to meet that child's unique needs.
By law, the IEP must include certain information about the child and the educational program designed to meet his or her unique needs. In a nutshell, this information is:
The IEP Team Members
By law, certain individuals must be involved in writing a child's Individualized Education Program. Note that an IEP team member may fill more than one of the team positions if properly qualified and designated. For example, the school system representative may also be the person who can interpret the child's evaluation results.
These people must work together as a team to write the child's IEP. A meeting to write the IEP must be held within 30 calendar days of deciding that the child is eligible for special education and related services.
Each team member brings important information to the IEP meeting. Members share their information and work together to write the child's Individualized Education Program. Each person's information adds to the team's understanding of the child and what services the child needs.
Parents are key members of the IEP team. They know their child very well and can talk about their child's strengths and needs as well as their ideas for enhancing their child's education. They can offer insight into how their child learns, what his or her interests are, and other aspects of the child that only a parent can know. They can listen to what the other team members think their child needs to work on at school and share their suggestions. They can also report on whether the skills the child is learning at school are being used at home.
Teachers are vital participants in the IEP meeting as well. Not less than one of the child's regular education teachers must be on the IEP team if the child is (or may be) participating in the regular education environment. The regular education teacher has a great deal to share with the team. For example, he or she might talk about:
The regular education teacher may also discuss with the IEP team the supports for school staff that are needed so that the child can:
Supports for school staff may include professional development or more training. Professional development and training are important for teachers, administrators, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and others who provide services for children with disabilities.
The child's special education teacher contributes important information and experience about how to educate children with disabilities. Because of his or her training in special education, this teacher can talk about such issues as:
Beyond helping to write the IEP, the special educator has responsibility for working with the student to carry out the IEP. He or she may:
Another important member of the IEP team is the individual who can interpret what the child's evaluation results mean in terms of designing appropriate instruction. The evaluation results are very useful in determining how the child is currently doing in school and what areas of need the child has. This IEP team member must be able to talk about the instructional implications of the child's evaluation results, which will help the team plan appropriate instruction to address the child's needs.
The individual representing the school system is also a valuable team member. This person knows a great deal about special education services and educating children with disabilities. He or she can talk about the necessary school resources. It is important that this individual have the authority to commit resources and be able to ensure that whatever services are set out in the IEP will actually be provided.
The IEP team may also include additional individuals with knowledge or special expertise about the child. The parent or the school system can invite these individuals to participate on the team. Because an important part of developing an IEP is considering a child's need for related services (see the list of related services in the next section), related service professionals are often involved as IEP team members or participants. Depending on the child's individual needs, some related service professionals attending the IEP meeting or otherwise helping to develop the IEP might include occupational or physical therapists, psychologists, or speech-language pathologists.
When an IEP is being developed for a student of transition age, representatives from transition service agencies can be important participants. Whenever a purpose of a meeting is to consider needed transition services, the school must invite a representative of any other agency that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services. This individual can help the team plan any transition services the student needs.
Related Services
A child may require any of the following related services in order to benefit from special education. Related services, as listed under IDEA, include (but are not limited to):
If a child needs a particular related service in order to benefit from special education, the related service professional should be involved in developing the IEP. He or she may be invited by the school or parent to join the IEP team as a person "with knowledge or special expertise about the child."
Also refer to Definitions of Special Education and Related Services
Transition Services
Transition refers to activities meant to prepare students with disabilities for adult life. This can include developing postsecondary education and career goals, getting work experience while still in school, setting up linkages with adult service providers such as the vocational rehabilitation agency--whatever is appropriate for the student, given his or her interests, preferences, skills, and needs. Statements about the student's transition needs must be included in the IEP.
Writing the IEP
To help decide what special education and related services the student needs, generally the IEP team will begin by looking at the child's evaluation results, such as classroom tests, individual tests given to establish the student's eligibility, and observations by teachers, parents, paraprofessionals, related service providers, administrators, and others. This information will help the team describe the student's "present levels of educational performance" -in other words, how the student is currently doing in school. Knowing how the student is currently performing in school will help the team develop annual goals to address those areas where the student has an identified educational need.
The IEP team must also discuss specific information about the child. This includes:
It is important that the discussion of what the child needs be framed around how to help the child:
Based on the above discussion, the IEP team will then write the child's IEP. This includes the services and supports the school will provide for the child. If the IEP team decides that a child needs a particular device or service (including an intervention, accommodation, or other program modification), the IEP team must write this information in the IEP. As an example, consider a child whose behavior interferes with learning. The IEP team would need to consider positive and effective ways to address that behavior. The team would discuss the positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports that the child needs in order to learn how to control or manage his or her behavior. If the team decides that the child needs a particular service (including an intervention, accommodation, or other program modification), they must include a statement to that effect in the child's IEP.
Deciding Placement
In addition, the child's placement (where the IEP will be carried out) must be decided. The placement decision is made by a group of people, including the parents and others who know about the child, what the evaluation results mean, and what types of placements are appropriate. In Worcester County, the IEP team serves as the group making the placement decision. In all cases, the parents have the right to be members of the group that decides the educational placement of the child.
Placement decisions must be made according to IDEA's least restrictive environment requirements-commonly known as LRE. These requirements state that, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities must be educated with children who do not have disabilities.
The law also clearly states that special classes, separate schools, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment may occur only if the nature or severity of the child's disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
What type of placements are there? Depending on the needs of the child, his or her IEP may be carried out in the regular class (with supplementary aids and services, as needed), in a special class (where every student in the class is receiving special education services for some or all of the day), in a special school, at home, in a hospital or institution, or in another setting. A school system may meet its obligation to ensure that the child has an appropriate placement available by:
The IEP team will base its decision on the IEP and which placement option is appropriate for the child. Can the child be educated in the regular classroom, with proper aids and supports? If the child cannot be educated in the regular classroom, even with appropriate aids and supports, then the IEP team will talk about other placements for the child.
After the IEP is Written
When the IEP has been written, parents must receive a copy at no cost to themselves. The IDEA also stresses that everyone who will be involved in implementing the IEP must have access to the document. This includes the child's:
Each of these individuals needs to know what his or her specific responsibilities are for carrying out the child's IEP. This includes the specific accommodations, modifications, and supports that the child must receive, according to the IEP.
Parents' Permission
Before the school can provide a child with special education and related services for the first time, the child's parents must give their written permission.
Implementing the IEP
Once the IEP is written, it is time to carry it out-in other words, to provide the student with the special education and related services as listed in the IEP. This includes all supplementary aids and services based on peer-reviewed research to the extend practicable and program modifications that the IEP team has identified as necessary for the student to advance appropriately toward his or her IEP goals, to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum, and participate in other school activities. The following suggestions are offered regarding the many issues involved in implementing a student's IEP:
Reviewing and Revising the IEP
The IEP team must review the child's IEP at least once a year. One purpose of this review is to see whether the child is achieving his or her annual goals. The team must revise the child's Individualized Education Program, if necessary, to address:
Although the IDEA requires this IEP review at least once a year, in fact the team may review and revise the IEP more often. Either the parents or the school can ask to hold an IEP meeting to revise the child's IEP. For example, the child may not be making progress toward his or her IEP goals, and his or her teacher or parents may become concerned. On the other hand, the child may have met most or all of the goals in the IEP, and new ones need to be written. In either case, the IEP team would meet to revise the IEP.
Partners for Success
Additional information and resources are available for teachers and parents at the Partners for Success Center in Snow Hill. Contact the Parent Coordinator at 410-632-5234.
What If Parents Don't Agree With the IEP?
There are times when parents may not agree with the school's recommendations about their child's education. Conflict, misunderstandings, and poor communications do some times occur. In the child's best interest it is very important that these situations be resolved in a positive and productive manner. The first step in resolving concerns and conflicts is to address them with the staff member who is most directly involved. In most cases, this will be your child's general education or special education teacher. A parent may want to request a conference and follow up with a note identifying specific concerns. Of course, the school principal may be contacted at any time regarding concerns.
When disputes arise that cannot be resolved between parents and school-based personnel, the parents and school staff members are encouraged to contact the Supervisor of special Education for the Worcester County Public Schools at 410-632-5034.
