Individualized Education Plans

After the special education evaluation, if your child is found to meet the eligibility criteria for any of the identified educational disabilities the evaluation team will develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

The Individual Education Plan (IEP) documents how students with disabilities will be served in special education. The IEP is designed annually by an IEP team, yet can be adjusted at any point during the school year via the review/revise process. An IEP is designed to explain how the student's disability affects his or her learning, state the student's present level of academic and functional performance, identify annual goals for improving the present level of performance, and describe the services that the student needs in order to achieve the stated goals. Language support and interpretation is available for families whose native language is other than English. See a guide to the contents of an IEP from the Center for Parent Information and Resources.

If your child does not qualify for special education and still struggles in school, there are other options that may be available to him or her. General education supports are provided through a Multi-Layered System of Supports (MLSS). They could include:

informal measures of academic achievement
direct observations from student services staff
medical services
building support plans to monitor supports put in place
mental wellness supports

title services for reading
student mentoring
school counselors
504 Plans
reading/math interventionists

Development of the IEP Team

The first step in the development of an IEP is the identification of the IEP Team. IDEA-97 emphasizes the importance of working cooperatively as a team. The team is facilitated by the school district. The team brings together parents, the student, general educators, special educators and administrators.

An IEP Team consists of:

Parents/Guardians
Student (if appropriate)
Other individuals requested by parent
*Local Education Agency Representative (LEA)
*Special Education Teacher (or Speech/Language clinician if child is S/L only)
*Regular Education Teacher
Other staff requested by district, including:

Related services staff
Staff for oral translation during meeting (should be listed on invitation, under "other people invited by parent or school district to attend the meeting")

*Legally required participants of the IEP team . All required members of the team must be included on the invitation to the meeting. They must then be listed on the Cover Sheet, as appropriate. As long as all required roles are invited, the person fulfilling the role can change, as long as someone is present to represent each role at the meeting. The person who actually attends should be listed on the cover sheet.

What is the Role of the IEP Team?

The IEP team process has important, integrated steps. Under IDEA-2004, the IEP process is a focal point for reaching improved outcomes for students with disabilities. This process is critically important for children with disabilities and must be carefully managed to ensure that the unique needs of the student are addressed. An appropriate evaluation, development of the IEP, appropriate services and periodic progress reports are crucial.

The team process is a collaborative process between parents, school staff members and other professionals involved with your child. As a parent, you have a unique and critically important perspective on the child’s learning style, strengths and needs. The school staff should ensure you feel comfortable throughout the process and identify specific contact people for you to connect with throughout the year.

You have the right to be involved in ALL meetings that discuss the identification, evaluation, IEP development and educational placement of your children. The law ensures you and school personnel are equal partners in all steps during the team process.

Student participation is important and students are considered important members of the team. As students get older, they should become more and more active at team meetings, and their interests and preferences should determine the direction for the identified goals and services in the IEP. Supporting active student participation in the team process assists students in developing self-determination skills, which are necessary in adult life. If the student does not attend the meeting, the district must take other steps to ensure the student’s preferences and interests are considered. It is not mandatory for the student to attend. The decision to attend is up to the student and his or her parents.

Contents of an IEP

By law, there are certain things an IEP must include about the student and the educational program designed to meet his or her needs. This information includes:

Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)

Goals and Objectives/Benchmarks

Special Education and Related Services

This area lists all services the district has agreed to provide. This is where direct and indirect services would be defined.

Direct services are provided directly to the student by a special education teacher, interventionist, or related service professional.
"Indirect service" means special education services which include ongoing progress reviews; cooperative planning; consultation; demonstration teaching; modification and adaptation of the environment, curriculum, materials, or equipment; and direct contact with the pupil to monitor and observe. Indirect services may be provided by a teacher or related services professional to another regular education, special education teacher, related services professional, paraprofessional, support staff, and public and nonpublic agencies to the extent that the services are written in the pupil's IEP.
This section also defines what the special education service is, where the child will receive services, the amount of time, the frequency of the service, when they are to begin and how long they will continue.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Explanation

Course of Study

Transition Activities and Services

Transfer of Rights at Age of Majority

Progress Reporting

Program Placement Decisions

Once all the elements of the IEP are determined, including services and supports, a placement decision must be made.

The first placement option considered for each student with a disability must be the general education classroom with the provision of needed supplementary aids and services.
The law requires that students not be placed outside of the general education classroom unless their disability requires services that cannot meet their needs in a setting with their peers.
The team must always consider the educational needs of the student before making the final placement

While the goal is to have children taught in their neighborhood school, this is not always appropriate. A student with specific needs may be placed in a program that best addresses his or her needs.

Accommodations and Modifications

Some students with disabilities may be able to participate in the general classroom and be successful with the use of accommodations or modifications.

An accommodation allows students to do the same work as the other students but with a change that allows them to be more successful.
A modification lowers the rigor of the material and changes what a test or assignment measures, as compared to the rest of the class.
Needed accommodations and modifications should be written into a student’s IEP.
It is important to involve the student, as appropriate, in this process to get his or her ideas on what changes would be helpful.
Only accommodations that are needed are written on the IEP.

Participation in State and District-Wide Tests

Extended School Year

School districts are required to provide extended school year services (ESY) to students if the IEP team determines the services are necessary during a break in instruction in order to provide a free appropriate public education.

The criteria used to determine ESY eligibility should be reviewed with the student’s case manager annually. A student qualifies for ESY if any of the following criteria are met:

Evidence of significant regression of a skill or acquired knowledge from the student’s level of performance on an annual goal that requires more than the length of the break to rebound.
Services are necessary to attain and maintain self-sufficiency goals on the IEP.
The IEP team determines that given a unique situation affecting the student’s progress toward goals, the student needs ESY.

The team ultimately decides eligibility for ESY using information from prior observation of the student’s regression and recoupment over breaks, either summer break or scheduled breaks in the school year. The team also may look at the student’s degree of impairment and rate of progress, among other things.