Compassionate Counsel for Life’s Most Important Decisions

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a detailed document that outlines the educational plan for a student eligible for special education, specifying the special education and related services tailored to meet their unique needs. When parent(s)/legal guardian(s) attend an initial IEP meeting, they are (or should be) given a draft of a large document filled with information that may be new and somewhat intimidating to them. Subsequent IEPs are similarly packed with information. Given the extensive material that fills an IEP, it may be hard to know what to pay particular attention to in it. Here are my top five things to focus on in an IEP: 1. There should be two different signature pages on initial IEPs: a. Parents sign to document their attendance at IEP meeting. b. Parents sign a second page at the end of the meeting to agree to the IEP and the services to be provided under it. Note regarding the 2 nd signature page: Parents should not sign the second page until they have had all questions answered and they are in agreement with the services to be provided. If parents disagree with the IEP, they should discuss it with the IEP Team and ask for changes to be made. Special Ed. services typically will not begin until parents have signed this page. This second signature page is typically not required beyond the initial IEP. At IEP meetings with only one signature page, parents should clearly state the intent of their signature, e.g. “I am signing just to indicate that I am in attendance at the meeting, right? Not that I necessarily agree with the contents yet?” 2. Present Levels/Goals/Objectives – this is documentation of what the student can do now, what the team wants the student to be able to do over the course of a year, and how the SPED staff plan to help the student make progress toward that goal. Present Levels of Functioning (or Performance) – In reviewing these, parents should ask themselves: Does this appear accurate? Does it include the child’s strengths as well as challenges? Is there anything they’d like added? Are there other details about the students present functioning/performance that would help the IEP team to decide on appropriate goals or services? Parents are part of the IEP team, so don’t be afraid to ask that information be added or altered. Goals & Objectives -- All goals and objectives need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). Look at what is being worked on with the student and how it’s being worked on. SPECIFIC. What exact skill is being worked on in the goal? What exact requirements must the student demonstrate to meet the goal? MEASURABLE . What method(s) will be used to track the student’s progress? How will teachers and parents know when the goal is met? Make sure the methods of measurement are specific and clear and that progress is noted by some form of documentation (e.g. “as measured by teacher observation” is vague and it’s not clear if/how the teacher will keep track of the observations or if there is any structure to the observations and data collection). If the staff is not collecting data, ask how they can tell if the student is progressing toward the goals? (The answer is, they really can’t do so in a valid and reliable way that has meaning.) Ask to see the data being collected . Parents should be able to see the data collected upon request (make sure to ask for it during/throughout the school year, as schools often throw data sheets out at the end of the school year). ACHIEVABLE. Is the goal realistic for the student to reach within a year’s time? Does it seem too difficult or too easy? RELEVANT. Is the goal something that will really help the student? Is it useful to the student to learn the skill the goal addresses? TIME-BOUND. Does the goal contain a start date and end date? OTHER THINGS TO WATCH FOR: Are the goals the same (or very similar) year after year with little or no change? There should be no need to repeat the same goal over and over if it’s not working for the student (i.e. progress isn’t being made). This is a sign that the goal is not working and should be revised or scrapped for a completely new one. Do the goals address all areas of the student’s needs as identified in the evaluation report? The areas of recommended specially designed instruction – SDI -- (i.e. the goals) should be stated in the evaluation report. The IEP drafter(s) then take those recommendations and create goals from them based on the student’s specific and unique needs. If parents think a goal needs to be changed or tweaked a bit, tell the IEP Team at the meeting (or beforehand if they get an early draft of the IEP). 3. Accommodations – these are changes to the student’s learning environment that help them access the curriculum. Think of the student’s needs in completing schoolwork/tasks at home, getting through the school day, approaching challenging tasks, maintaining focus, calming down when stressed, etc. Are there any accommodations the student needs (or would benefit from) that are missing? Ask to have them added. Take note of whether each accommodation is for the classroom, testing settings, or other times/aspects of the school day. If parents think anything is missing, they should discuss it with the IEP Team and ask that it be added. Do the accommodations seem reasonable and make sense? Do you understand from the written document when and specifically how the accommodations will be provided? 4. Service matrix pages (including placement, ESY, transportation, ERP and PE). Services: This information is usually presented in a grid format in the latter part of the IEP, and it documents the various services, number of minutes the services are provided, and by whom. Note areas of SDI being provided, by whom, in what setting (General Ed. or Special Ed.), and for how many minutes in the school day/times per week. Is SPED teacher, a paraeducator/aide, or someone else providing the minutes? Any Related Services provided? In what areas and how many minutes/times per week? If they are held on a day the student often experiences particular difficulty (such as more difficulty focusing or having meltdowns, etc.) at the start of the week or the end of the week, ask if it’s possible to change to a different day. Are any Supplementary Aids and Services being provided? What are they, when, where and by whom? If the student has a 1:1 paraeducator/aide, that service will typically be listed in this area of the service matrix chart. Placement: Students need to be placed in the Least Restrictive Environment for their learning (i.e. we don’t want to overload them with services and supports they don’t really need, but we also want to provide those services in the general setting if reasonable and we do not want to underserve students). Time: Check the percentage of time the student will spend in General Ed. vs. Special Ed. classes. Does it seem like too much, too little, or just right? Transportation, ESY, PE and ERP: Notice whether the boxes providing for special transportation, extended school year (ESY), special PE, and/or an Emergency Response Protocol (ERP) for the student were checked. Are any checks missing that should be there? Are any present that shouldn’t be, or that you have questions about? Talk to the IEP team about it, ask questions, and make sure you understand why any of these boxes are/are not checked. If ERP is checked, ask for a copy of it. If school doesn’t have it in writing, it should be put in writing and parents should have a copy.