The Individualized Education Program

The Individualized Education Program

The IEP is the most important legal document in a child's file. It outlines the goals and objectives for the next year—or multiple years—in states that allow multi-year IEPs. The IEP requires input from many individuals, such as teachers, parents, school psychologist, speech-language pathologist, and related services personnel such as occupational therapists or physical therapists. A multidisciplinary approach is important because it allows different perspectives about which goals and objectives are appropriate for the child.

Development of the IEP

Although IEP forms vary from district to district, each contains the same basic information. This section provides you with important information about each of the essential parts of an IEP.

Present Level of Performance   An IEP describes a child's current progress in the classroom. Teacher input, homework and class assignments, tests, and observations all help to answer the question "How is the child doing?" Any ways in which a child is not meeting the goals of the general curriculum will be noted, especially if the lack of progress is caused by the disability.

Annual Goals   Annual goals set targets for a child's progress during the next twelve months. Goals may address academics, behavior, physical needs, or socialization. IEP goals should be very clear, and they must be measurable, which means that the desired results can be counted or observed. While all goals should be achievable, a parent or the IEP team can call a meeting at any time to adjust the annual goals. Such an adjustment is likely to occur if a child falls far behind and it is inconceivable that she will meet a particular goal or if she is progressing at a faster rate than was expected and has already met a goal.

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004), short-term objectives are no longer mandatory unless a child is considered severely disabled. This mandate includes students with severe cognitive disabilities. Many of them take alternative assessments, which are created by the IEP team and used in place of national standardized achievement tests such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or the Stanford Achievement Test. The alternative achievement standards created for severely disabled children benefit from short-term objectives because they may need to be reviewed and revised rather frequently. These students may make incremental progress toward their goals and may need short-term objectives that can be updated regularly as they meet their goals.

Another change under IDEA 2004 was to allow fifteen states to participate in a pilot paperwork reduction program. This change allowed states to give parents and school districts (local educational agencies) the opportunity for long-term planning by offering them the option of developing a comprehensive multi-year IEP (for a term not to exceed three years) rather than a yearly IEP. Parents retain the right to request a yearly IEP if they prefer that option. Changes to IEPs can be made via videoconferences or conference calls if all IEP team members agree on the proposed changes.

Special Education, Related Services, and Supplementary Aids and Services An IEP describes the special education services a child will receive. Decisions will also be made about issues such as whether a child needs an extended school year and what types of physical education or vocational education are needed. Physical therapy and occupational therapy are considered related services. The frequency and duration of physical therapy or occupational therapy visits will be specified in the IEP. Other related services might include speech therapy or counseling. Some children may need help from a teacher assistant, a person to take notes, or access to a time-out room; these types of items are referred to as supplementary aids and services. In addition, any program modifications or supports for school personnel, such as computer software and hardware or a training workshop on autism for the regular education teacher, are included as supplementary aids and services.

Participation with Nondisabled Students   As part of the IEP, a determination will be made about the amount of time a child may spend in the regular education classroom. The goal is always to keep a child in the least restrictive environment to the maximum extent possible. For most students, the least restrictive environment is a regular education classroom. If a child's behavior is so severe that making transitions back and forth between special education and regular education settings would be too upsetting, his participation in regular education may be minimized for his benefit. An IEP also addresses whether a student will participate with his regular education peers in physical education, computer lab, art or music classes, recess, meals in the lunchroom, or extracurricular activities.

Participation in State and District Testing   An IEP addresses whether a child will take state and district tests. Such tests are not given to children in every grade; however, if an IEP is being written in May when a child is in second grade and state tests are completed by third graders each spring, the IEP must address this future testing, which falls within the term of the IEP. Any modifications—such as allowing a child to work with a small group while taking the test, extended time, or reading the test to a child (that is, all sections other than reading comprehension)—must be included in the IEP. These modifications can be changed as needed, based on teacher and parent feedback on what works best for the child, given that it is sometimes difficult to know a year in advance what modifications will be needed. If a child will not participate in state or district tests, perhaps because of a severe cognitive disability, her IEP will state why these tests are not appropriate and will specify a different way of assessing her.

Dates and Places   An IEP specifies when services start, how long they will last, how often they will be provided, and where they will take place. Most services will last for one year, but services such as physical therapy or occupational therapy may be provided for a specified period of time at one frequency (for example, thirty minutes weekly for the first three months) and then at a decreased frequency (for example, thirty minutes monthly for the remaining nine months) for the duration of the IEP. The actual frequency will depend on the child's needs.

Transition Services   Transition services are designed to help a child move from school to activities such as postsecondary education (college), vocational training, employment, and independent living. When a child turns fourteen, the IEP committee must begin to discuss her future plans. The committee will be interested in knowing her desires and abilities in regard to education, employment, and independent living. The idea is to identify her interests and goals and provide her with the skills needed to meet these goals after she is finished with high school. For example, if a student has lower ability functioning and is not going to attend college, but wants to live on his own, the committee may help him locate supported employment and other community resources that offer independent living. The student may participate in community-based instruction (CBI) while in high school in an effort to gain supervised work experience.

Needed Transition Services   When a student is sixteen, her IEP committee will confirm her interests and goals and will assess the services, programs, or supports that are needed to help her achieve those goals. Those transition services will ensure that she is prepared for education, employment, or independent living after she leaves high school. The IEP must list any needed transition services and may include future possibilities in regard to community agencies that can provide the student with training or assistance in finding employment.

Age of Majority   At least a year before the age of majority (eighteen, in most states), the student's IEP must include a statement that says she's been informed that her rights will transfer to her once she reaches the age of majority. Once rights have been transferred, the student—not the parent—must agree to any testing, changes in eligibility, or changes in placement.

Measuring Progress   Measuring a child's progress is an important part of his education, and an IEP will specify the ways in which his progress will be measured. Parental updates on progress might be notes in a daily journal, a weekly summary, or a monthly report card. We advocate for more frequent progress reports, perhaps weekly or, in most instances, biweekly, although we do see the benefit of weekly reports, especially right after special education services are first initiated.

The IEP Meeting

Who will attend the IEP meeting? Most likely the parents, regular education teachers, special education teachers, a school administrator, school psychologist, and others who may have been involved in the assessment of a child (such as a speech-language pathologist, physical therapist, or occupational therapist). We always recommend that both parents attend the meeting, if at all possible; an IEP is extremely important and requires input from both parents.

During the creation of the IEP, input from parents and school personnel will be requested. This is the opportunity for parents to suggest goals they would like to see added to the IEP. Some schools may create a draft of the IEP and present it at the meeting in an effort to save time, but anything can be changed during the IEP meeting. Parents can request changes, though they may not be incorporated into the document if the committee does not feel these changes are appropriate. If parents want to make any changes at a later date, they have the right to call an IEP meeting and ask that the IEP be reviewed and amended, if necessary.

Once the IEP meeting is over, parents will receive a copy of the IEP. Typically, they are given a copy right away; occasionally, it is sent to the home the next day or a few days later. We advocate for obtaining a copy of the IEP immediately after the meeting in order to give parents the opportunity to review it or to share it with the parent who could not attend. When the meeting is scheduled, we encourage parents to tell the school that they would like a copy of the IEP before leaving the meeting. Parents, it is important that you understand the contents of an IEP so that you can advocate for your child. If you don't understand something, just ask. You have a right to a clear explanation of everything discussed during the meeting. You may wish to bring this book with you in case you wish to look up any of the acronyms in Appendix A.

Implementation of the IEP

Writing an IEP is only part of the story. The other part involves its implementation. All persons who will provide services to a child must receive a copy of her IEP. The IEP spells out the types of services, their frequency and duration, and the setting in which they will be provided, all of which are very important information for the service providers.

Parents' feedback to the IEP committee is helpful, important, and appreciated at any time. The committee will want to know whether the child's behavior is improving, if he finds it easier to complete his homework, or if he socializes better with his neighborhood peers. This kind of information gives the committee members an idea of what's going on in the child's home and, in conjunction with teacher feedback, provides a good sense of a child's progress and how he is meeting his goals. It is to a child's advantage for parents and teachers to work together. Next, we will discuss ways for parents and teachers to initiate and maintain communication with one another.