IEP (Individualized Education Plan)

From WikEd

1 Background, Descriptions and Definitions
2 Who is Entitled to an IEP?
3 How does the IEP Process Begin?
4 The IEP Meeting
5 Sections of the IEP
6 Signed Life Experiences, Testimonies, and Stories
7 References and Other Links of Interest

[edit] Background, Descriptions and Definitions

"...in 1970, U.S. schools educated only one in five children with disabilities, and many states had laws excluding certain students, including children who were deaf, blind, emotionally disturbed, or mentally retarded." History, ED.gov

A significant change occurred in 1975 with the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142). Amended in 1997 and again in 2004, this law protecting the rights of children with disabilities and their families is currently enacted as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The U.S. Office of Special Education Programs published examples of IDEA accomplishments as of 2000:

The majority of disabled students were being educated in regular classrooms with non-disabled peers.
High school graduation and employment rates among youth with disabilities increased significantly.
Post-secondary enrollments of students receiving IDEA services increased dramatically, with incoming freshmen who reported disabilities tripling since 1978. History, ED.gov

Under IDEA, all students with disabilities are entitled to a written statement of present educational performance, measurable annual goals, and special education services and accommodations. This is known as an Individualized Education Program (IEP). History, ED.gov

As stated by the U.S. Department of Education, "an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is used to describe the goals the team has set for the child for the school year, as well as any special supports that are needed to help achieve those goals. Each IEP must be designed for one student and must be a truly individualized document. The IEP creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators, related services personnel, and students (when appropriate) to work together to improve educational results for children with disabilities. The IEP is the cornerstone of a quality education for each child with a disability."

[edit] Who is Entitled to an IEP?

Any child who has been accepted into a Special Education program who struggles in school and would benefit from support services allowing them to be taught in a variety of different methods. In general it "levels the playing field" so these students can succeed as a mainstream student would.

This is a list of disabilities that would constitute being entitled to an IEP:

Learning Disabilities
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Emotional Disorders
Mental Retardation
Autism
Hearing Impairment
Visual Impairment
Speech or Language Impairment
Developmental Delay

[edit] How does the IEP Process Begin?

The process all starts out with a referral in which either a teacher or a parent feels the student is having a difficult time in the classroom, either academically or socially/emotionally. Either person then contacts the school psychologist or counselor and informs them about the difficulty the student seems to be having. Next, the school psychologist goes about:

Interviewing the parents
Interviewing the student
Interviewing a teacher or multiple teachers
Observing the student in a classroom setting
Analyzing the student's performance

If there is suspicion of academic difficulties and if the results of the parent/student/teacher interviews and/or observations indicate that there may be a significant deficit in one or more areas, the psychologist will follow up with psychoeducational testing. A few assessments that are commonly used with secondary students are:

If the psychologist determines that there is a significant gap between the student's intelligence and the skills he/she displays, that student likely has a learning disability. If the parents agree to the eligibility for special education services, then the student would receive the diagnosis of "Learning Disabled."

On the other hand, it may be suspected that a student has social/emotional difficulties. This can be present in addition to academic difficulties. If this is the case, a similar process takes place, only different testing is administered. An example of a behavior assessment is:

BASC-2

In a school setting, the BASC-2 is typically sent to a selection of the student's teachers, and is sometimes sent to all of the teachers. This behavior rating scale is also given to the parents to complete.

[edit] The IEP Meeting

At the IEP Meeting by law (as stated by IDEA 97) their must be:

A parent
A special education teacher
A classroom teacher
A counselor
A dean
An LEA Representative
Someone from the special services they receive such as social worker, occupational therapist(OT), physical therapist(PT), or speech and language pathologist (SLP)
The student (if he or she wants to come and advocate for themselves)
A translator (if English is the second language of the family)

At the meeting this team will analyze the students educational needs and discuss their present performance in the classroom. After hearing that they will develop annual goals and short term objectives (which need to be measurable) for the student to work on for the following year. This IEP will be updated annually and can be changed at any time based on any of the team members concerns.

Recent studies, such as the one conducted by James E. Martin, et al. (2006), emphasize the importance of increasing student participation in IEP meetings. In order to prevent students from being detached from the process due to a lack of understanding and feelings of helplessness, Martin, et al. (2006), made suggestions for those involved in the IEP process:

Teachers need to instruct students on how to participate in the meeting, including self-advocacy, goal setting, and self evaluation.
Administrators need to establish the expectation of student participation and facilitate inservice training for IEP team members.
University preservice programs need to include instruction supportive to these ends.
The next revision of IDEA needs to expand the expectations for student participation, such that students begin attending and participating in their IEP meetings as early as the upper elementary years.

[edit] Sections of the IEP

Page 1

Has all the students basic information (address, parental contact, phone numbers, couselor, and dean). It also includes student's strengths and weaknesses followed by LOP (Level of Performance). This is how the student is performing with their deficit.
- Example: Currently Johnny has a great deal of trouble staying organized and as a result does not complete homework on time.

Page 2

The Transition page where a "post school vision statement" is discussed as to what the student sees himself doing in the future. Also, there is information in how long they will need special education services after high school (with employment, education, living, and future residence).

Page 3

The Objectives page. This is where the team develops annual goals and short term objectives for the student to work on. With every goal their is a place next to it for a criteria of mastery.
- At the end of one year, Johnny will develop and use strategies to improve his organizational skills and homework completion with 80% accuracy in 5/5 classes.

Page 4

The Services page
- This page is used to show if the student needs any type of social work, speech therapy, physical therapy, or occupational therapy minutes. As well every year the student needs to have his vision and hearing tested and dated as passed, failed, or uses glasses/contacts or has a hearing aid.

Page 5

This page is used to determine if the student gets any accommodations on state tests. As well it discusses the language spoken by parents and student at home.

Page 6-7

These pages are used for the Functional Behavioral Assessment and the Behavior Intervention Plan

Page 8

This page is called the "Special Factors" page. It is used to determine if the student needs any additional support of they have a hearing deficit or need any assistive technology for any part of the curriculum.

Page 9

The Placement Options page discuss the educational program which the student will partake in due to his class schedule. A student who has an IEP wouldn't be in all regular education classes because their wouldn't be enough support for them. Next, a few tabs are selected for placement if they are in 50% or less special education classes, or 50% or more special education classes. Finally, on this the students primary and secondary disabilities are written down.

Page 10

This page has all of the students regular education classes and special education classes listed. It shows the amount of minutes the student will take classes with the mainstream, and the amount of minutes the student will receive special education support.

Page 11

Lists all accommodations/modifications for Evaluation (in the classroom), Environmental, and Content that the student is entitled too.

Page 12

This page discusses if the student needs special transportation to and from school. Also included is the list of participants that attended the IEP meeting. Finally, at the end of the IEP meeting a parent vision statement is written along with all the important things that were discussed at that days meeting.

[edit] Signed Life Experiences, Testimonies, and Stories

I attend many IEP meetings each year and the most rewarding one if that of those that are graduating seniors. Some of these students came in with very long IEP's and it is great to see the progress they have made in order to earn their diploma and hopefully, go onto college. The IEP is great for those that truly do need it. However, I question sometimes if we are merely catering to pesky parents of lazy students with poor work ethics. It should be reserved for those that really need it as a tool for success. -J. Daeschler

Coming into education three years ago, I was very excited to learn that I would have a co-teacher in some of my classes. Students with IEPs are placed in those classes so that the special education teacher can help modify lessons and assignments according to individual IEPs. I will say that I had high hopes for how modifications would be made. To my surprise, most of the modifications consist of shortening assignments or giving extended time. Are these really modifications? Anonymous teacher.

As a special educator, I have written and case managed many I.E.P.s, and can honestly state that in almost all cases, the student required those goals in order to learn. In the accommodations section, the special educator often asks for shortened assignments, or for the student to be able to correct tests, or more time for tests, et al. As this student has received testing that indicated that these were shortcomings in their learning process, it is often necessary to make these accommodations in order for that student to have the same opportunities as their regular education peers. However, it should be noted that the special educator who is responsible for writing the I.E.P. be fully aware of the special needs of that student, and to monitor progress in order to be able to best serve those needs. In some cases, the I.E.P.s are not being monitored efficiently, leaving the regular education teacher to wonder if this practice is fair. Pat Johnson

Being a teacher I have dealt with many students who have an IEP. Most of them just need a little extra time for test taking or in class work. This is fine. I have a problem with students who use their IEP as an excuse for turning in work late or not coming to take a test or claiming they did not have enough time to finish. Some student try to use their IEP to get out of doing things. I find this to be a problem. We should not give IEP's to just anyone, but those who have a true documented learning disability. The students with IEP's should not use this to their advantage or to get out of doing things for class. It should be used as it is intended, to help students with learning disabilites recieve a solid education.--M. Smith

I have numerous students with IEPs, and each student requires individualized attention and services, as dictated by the IEP. For all of these students, it is extremely obvious that these IEPs are necessary for the students' academic survival. Accommodations for these students can be very tasking, however, the satisfaction of helping students with learning disabilities far outweighs any time commitments. However, one must be wary parents requesting an IEP for a student that may not be qualified. A student of mine has outstanding test scores, yet his absences are inordinately high. When he comes to school he does well, however his mother enables him to stay home frequently. It are these absences that are the source of his frustrations and failures, and as the late work piles up so does the student's misgivings about turning anything in. Now, his mother has requested an IEP, and my team is aghast. It appears to be a blatant misuse of the IEP procedure, yet we still need to complete documentation and attend a meeting regarding the issue. The bottom line, is, stick to your guns with issues like these and reserve the IEPs for those that need them. When a situation like this arises, honesty with the parent, student, and administration is the best policy. -- J. Juliano

IEPs can be complicated documents if the meaning is not clear to the teacher. We are coming to a time where more students with IEPs are being included in mainstream classrooms and it is important that the mainstream teachers understand WHY the student has an IEP (because he/she has been diagnosed with a disability, thus, the need for an IEP, which is a legal document, to be created AND FOLLOWED). It is extremely important for all teachers to understand the purpose and implement the strategies needed in order to help the student achieve their goals. If a teacher is unsure, they should contact the special educator to clarify the expectations! This has become a problem with some teachers who fail to provide accommodations, simply because they do not pay attention to the accommodations pages of the IEP. It may result in a due process, which in this case, would be difficult to defend. - J. Grady

[edit] References and Other Links of Interest

History: Twenty-Five Years of Progress in Educating Children with Disabilities Through IDEA U.S. Department of Education, 2000.

US Department of Education Home Page

Individualized Education Plans

Martin, James E., et al. (2006). Increasing Student Participation in IEP Meetings: Establishing the Self-Directed IEP as an Evidenced-Based Practice. Exceptional Children, 72(3), 299-316.