The Individualized Education Program

The IEP Planning Process

The IEP Team

Required Participants

The Student's Parents or Guardians

Notifying parents of the meeting early enough to ensure participation.

Scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreeable time and place.

Including the following content in the notice:

The purpose, time, and location of the meeting and who will be attendance

For a transition IEP, an invitation to the student and the name of the additional agencies invited

Using alternative methods if neither parent can attend, for example

Zoom meeting

I think that this is important because sometimes the parents might be busy working or sick and hospitalized, they might not be able to attend but they can still meet through a phone call and Zoom. In that way, they will participate and be involved with the IEP, so there is no excuse not to attend and participate. I wonder if in case that a parent can meet the IEP meeting through a record or if it necessarily needs them present. Even if they approve it, and agree with it.

Phone call

Giving the parents a copy of the IEP if they request it.

A Representative of the Local Educational Agency

Must be:

Qualified to provide or supervise the provision of the special education and to ensure that the educational services specified in the IEP will be provided

Knowledgeable regarding school district resources and have the authority to commit them

Knowledgeable about the general education curriculum

The Student's Special Education Teacher

It is required to ensure that the person who will implement the IEP will be involved in its development.

The Student's General Education Teacher

They should participate in the development of the IEP, including:

the determination of appropriate behavioral interventions

strategies and supplementary aids and services

program modification

support for school personnel

A Person Who Can Interpret the Instructional Implications of the Evaluation Results

ensure that:

the IEP process begins with all members understanding the student's individual needs as determined in the evaluation

how the evaluation results affect the student's instructional needs.

The Student, When Appropriate

The parents can decide whether or not the child attends the meeting.

It should be discussed with the school too.

In some states at the age of 16, the students can become an integral part of the IEP process because of transition requirements.

If the student is unable to attend the IEP meeting, the schools district has to consider the student's preferences.

Discretionary Participants

Related Services Personnel

If the Related Services personnel cannot attend, they should provide a written recommendation to the IEP committee regarding the nature, frequency, and amount of related services to the student.

In 2004, congress added school nursing services to the list to be of potential related services required services under IDEA.

Transition Services Personnel

When the student is 16 years old, transition services must be included in his or her IEP.

IEP team must invite a representative of the agency that will be participating in transition services.

Other Individuals at the Discretion of the Parents or School

If the school invites additional persons, it must inform parents.

If the parent invite additional persons, they should be familiar with laws or the student's needs.

Content of the IEP

Measurable Annual Goals

Its purpose is to help determine whether a student is making educational progress and if the special education program is providing meaningful educational benefit.

Target Behavior

Observable, measurable, and repeatable

Conditions under which we measure the target behavior

The materials the teachers uses to measure or the environment in which the measurement occurs

The criterion for acceptable performance

What the student has to accomplish to reach the goal-the criterion for mastery

The Extent to Which Students Will Not Participate in the General Education Classroom

When choosing the setting for a student's special education, the IEP team must place the student in the least restrictive environment that is appropriate.

Student's Participation in the Administration of State- or District-Wide Assessments of Student Achievement

Because the students with disabilities may need individual accommodations to participate in these assessments, the IEP must include a statement detailing all such accommodations.

If the IEP team determines that a student cannot be accurately assessed, even with modifications, and list alternative assessments that will be used in place of the state- or district- wide assessments.

The Projected Date of Initiation and Anticipated Duration of the IEP

The IEP has to start as soon as possible after it is written.

The only exceptions are if the IEP is written during the vacation period, like over the summer, or when circumstances requires short delay.

When a student moves from another district, the delay should be more than a week.

A student must not be placed in a special education program prior to the initiation date in the IEP.

Transition Services

If student is 16 years old, the IEP must contain a statement of needed transition services to prepare for life after school.

In 1990 the Congress was concerned that many high-school-age students in special education drop out of school or leave the school setting unprepared for adult life and responsibility.

Reporting Requirements and Measurement Criteria to Determine Progress Toward the Annuals Goals

IEP must include a statement of how a student's progress toward the annual goals will be measured.

The measurement criteria and procedures must be appropriate for evaluating progress toward the particular goal.

The Congress suggested to provide an IEP report along with the student's general education report card.

Special Considerations in IEP Development

If a student's behavior impede his or her learning of others, regardless of the students disability category, the IEP team should consider the use of positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports to address the behavior problems.

If the student with limited English proficiency, the student's language needs that relate to the IEP must be considered.

If a student is visually impaired or blind, the IEP must be provided for instruction and use in Braille unless the team determines that instruction in Braille is inappropriate.

If a student is deaf or hearing impaired, the IEP team must consider:

the student's language and communication needs

opportunities for direct communications with peers and professionals in the student's language and communication mode

academic level

full range needs

including opportunities for direct instruction in the student's language and communication mode.

The IEP team should consider whether the student requires assistive technology devices and services.

Placement Decisions

A student's placement must be made at least annually and be made by a group of persons, including the student's parents, as long as these persons are knowledgeable about:

the student

the meaning of the evaluation data

the various placement options

Making pre-placement decisions or final placement determinations outside the proper forum is a serious mistake and can lead to a denial of a FAPE.x

Communication and Collaboration

The IEP serves as a communication vehicle between parents and school personnel, they are equal in the IEP planning.

Collaboration is the key principle of the IDEA.

During this week we had the court case and since we were also reading this chapter, it came to my mind that the case's main problem was the lack of collaboration from both sides. So I wondered how the school can always make sure to have real communication with the parents for the student's IEP. Also, how the school can make the parents feel more confident and comfortable to ask questions about the IEP.

The IEP meeting can also be a forum for resolving differences that may arise regarding a student's educational needs.

If differences cannot be resolved at the IEP meeting, procedural safeguards are available to either party.

Management

IDEA sets forth procedures that govern how a school will determine the special education and related services that will provide a FAPE.

The IEP document lists of resources the IEP team determines are necessary for the student to receive an appropriate education.

IEP is a written commitment that the school will provide a student the special education and related services designed to meet the student's unique needs.

The IEP is like a contract because it obligates the school district to provide a FAPE by delivering specified special education and related services listed in the IEP.

Accountability

The IEP is a legally constituted mechanism that commits the school to provide the students with an appropriate special education program.

Schools are accountable

for implementing the IEP, including

supplementary aids and services.

special education services

related services

for revising and rewriting the IEP when necessary.

IEP is not, however, a performance contact that imposes:

liability on a teacher

the IEP team members

school officials if a student does not meet the IEP goals

IEP is not a guarantee that the student will accomplish all goals and objectives within the stated time period.

However, commit the school district to providing the special education and related services and to making a good-faith efforts to carry out its provisions.

If parents believe that good-faith are not being made to properly implement the IEP, they may ask for revisions in the program or invoke due process procedures.

Compliance and Monitoring

IEP may be used by state or federal governmental agencies to monitor the special education services by schools.

The courts may use an IEP to assess a school's compliance with the FAPE mandate of the IDEA.

The IEP may be inspected to:

ensure that a student is receiving an appropriate special education

that the school is meeting all of the legal requirements as agreed to by school personnel and parents in the IEP process.

Evaluation

IEP is an evaluational tool

Annual goals in the document are measured using the criteria listed in the IEP to determine the extent of the student's progress:

To evaluate student progress toward meeting goals.

The IEP must contain goals that are measurable.

The appropriate school personnel must that the goals will be measured.

IEP must describe:

how a student's annual goals will be measured

include a schedule for reporting on a student's progress toward his or her goals.

Is created in a planning process in which school personnel and parents work together to develop of special education and related services that will result in meaningful education benefit for the student for whom it is developed.

Is the foundation of a student's FAPE,

it must be:

individualized

developed to meet the unique needs of a student

Schools cannot use standard IEPs, nor can IEPs be based on available services.

Is a written statement for a student with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised with the requirements of the IDEA.

This process:

An IEP team develops an appropriate program

Written document delineating the special education

Related services to be provided to an eligible students

Parental Participation

They must be:

equal participants in the IEP process

collaborate on the development of the IEP

When the parents cannot be located, surrogate parents must be appointed to represent the interests of the student.

The school should provide:

detailed records of telephone calls made or attempted

copies of correspondence and any responses received

detailed records of visits made to the parents' home and place of employment, and results of those visits

I think that the parent should be very involved with the student's education progress, but to do that the parents with the school have to build a strong communicative relationship where they both can make progress together towards the student's needs. For example, as I was reading this week's chapter 10 I noticed that in most of the cases, like Rowley and Endrew, made the mistake of not having a lack of communication with the parents which lead them to proceed without the parent's consent. I believe that as long as the parents and the school personnel can have frequent phone calls or even text messages during school and after even during summer about the student's needs, that will help more than 100% of how to progress.

If no agreement is reached, the last a fundamental issue, such a placement, the school should reming the parents of their right to call a due process hearing and attempt to develop an interim educational program.

Communicating the Requirements of the IEP and Implementing the IEP

IDEA require that the school district officials ensure that every student's IEP is accessible to a:

regular education teacher

special education teacher

related service provider

any other service provider

Failing to implement an IEP as written is a significant error that certainly may constitute a denial of a student's FAPE, those are violations of the IDEA.

Placement in Private Schools

The school district may allow the private facility to conduct annual reviews, but the district retains responsibility for ensuring that the parents and a representative of the home school district and agree to any changes in the IEP.

The school district should hold an IEP meeting that includes a representative of the private agency.

It is very important that educators understand what a standards-based IEP is not.

It is not a restatement of the state content standards nor is it an IEP in which a student's goals are taken from the state standards.

The expectation that a student's IEP be aligned with a state standard does not mean that the IEP can only include appropriate grade-level standards and related grades-level curriculum.

The student's special education and related services, supplementary services, and a program modifications would be designed to help the student make progress toward his or her grade-level standard.

It does not require the preparation of an IEP for students protected under the law

They allow a school district to use an IEP to fulfill the law's requirements, although this is only one method of meeting those requirements

A student who does not qualify under the IDEA, or who no longer qualifies, might meet eligibility criteria for services under Section 504

Principle 1: Ensure the procedural requirements of the IDEA are followed

Principle 2: Involve a student's parents in the development of his or her IEP

Principle 3: Assemble are appropriate IEP team

Principle 4: Develop an IEP that will enable a student to make progress

Principle 5: Ensure that all teachers and related service providers understand their responsibilities as listed in a student's IEP

This is very important. During my practicum last semester, I was working together with my mentor teacher to provide services to one of the students in first grade. And something that it stuck with me was that my mentor teacher had a very good relationship with the general education teacher to see how the students were progressing and if the students were regressing, they would discuss how to help him out. That is something that I would like to do in the future because I saw that even though the student was struggling because of their behavior, they still found multiple ways to help the student to not regress. Teamwork!