Steps in the IEP Process (continued)

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Step 5: Development of the IEP

After thorough completion of the pre-referral, referral, evaluation, and eligibility steps of the IEP process, it is time to develop the actual individualized program plan—an individualized family service plan (IFSP) for infants and toddlers or an IEP for preschoolers and schoolchildren and a transition component of the IEP for those students with disabilities who are 16 years or older. For those students who qualify for special education, the next step requires that parents and the IEP Team make decisions about appropriate education, services, and placement. The assessment results are used to help make these decisions. It is at this point that the IEP Team begins its work to outline the individualized education needed by the student of concern. Collectively, the team members—including parents and the individual (if appropriate)—now use the knowledge they have gained to identify resources needed for that student to access the general education curriculum, determine the appropriate goals for that individual, and then turn all of that knowledge into a good educational program for the student. Of course, goals must reflect having greater success with the general education curriculum or preparing for independence and a community presence later in life. Now is the time when the constellation of services and supports that become part of the student's appropriate education are determined.

Step 6: Implementation of the IEP

Once the IEP is developed, the student's services and individualized program begin. The IEP now lays out what constitutes an appropriate education for the student, the extent to which the student participates in the general education curriculum, the accommodations the student receives both for instruction and for testing, and the array of multidisciplinary services from related service providers that support the student's educational program. For students who are participating in a different curriculum or whose goals differ from those of the general education curriculum, the IEP has specified alternate assessment procedures as well.

Minor adjustments in students' goals or in the benchmarks that indicate their attainment do not signal a need for a new IEP or another IEP meeting. Services continue. However, major changes in goals, services, or placement do require parents to be notified in writing. Some changes, particularly if they involve a more restrictive placement, may necessitate a meeting of the IEP Team and the family. Most often, this situation arises when issues surrounding discipline are the reason for the change in placement or services. Later in this chapter you will learn more about behavioral intervention plans, which must be developed as part of students' IEPs when serious behavioral infractions (e.g., bringing guns or drugs to school, fighting, being "out of control") occur. You will also learn about the rules that must be followed when such infractions cause students' placements to be changed, even for a relatively short period of time. Even under these circumstances, however, educators and students are to persist in their progress toward attainment of the goals specified in the students' IEPs. Special services, as indicated in the IEP developed during Step 5, must continue.