IEP 101 MAI 2019

IEP 101

Understanding the IEP Document and Process

Sarah Mai

Director of Family Services

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IDEA Law (1975)

Federal law that requires schools to give special education & related
services to students with disabilities who need them.

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Foundational Rights

IDEA sets the stage for educational rights by providing
that every child is eligible to receive:
– a free and appropriate public education (FAPE)
– learn in the least restrictive environment possible
(LRE)

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© 2013 Down Syndrome Guild of Kansas City. All rights reserved. This document contains Down Syndrome Guild confidential and/or proprietary information which may not be reproduced or transmitted without the express written consent of DSG.

© 2013 Down Syndrome Guild of Kansas City. All rights reserved. This document contains Down Syndrome Guild confidential and/or proprietary information which may not be reproduced or transmitted without the express written consent of DSG.

© 2013 Down Syndrome Guild of Kansas City. All rights reserved. This document contains Down Syndrome Guild confidential and/or proprietary information which may not be reproduced or transmitted without the express written consent of DSG.

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Importance of the IEP?

Your child’s individualized education plan (IEP)
forms the basis for entitlement to an
individualized and appropriate education and
contains the statement of special education
and related services the school will provide to
meet your child’s unique needs.

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Purpose of an IEP?

• Describes what will be done to assist the
student to make effective progress in the
general curriculum and in daily life in the
school environment

• Establishes goals for the student for the IEP
year

• Determines service delivery to assist the
student

• Ensures parents/guardians have a voice in
the educational process

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What is an IEP?

The IEP is a:

• legal document
• teaching instrument
• road map for students

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Going to an IEP meeting
should not be a soul-crushing
experience.

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Who are the IEP team members?

• Parent(s)/guardian
• General education teacher (at least one)
• Special education teacher(s)
• Agency representative LEA (must have the authority

to commit school district resources)
• Student (if appropriate)
• Related service personnel (if appropriate)
• Evaluation personnel – can interpret instructional

implications of evaluation results (psychologist)
• Others with knowledge of child or special expertise

– You can invite team members, too!

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IEP Required Team Members

• Regular education teacher
• Special education teacher
• LEA representative
• Individual to interpret evaluation results

Members of the IEP team shall not be required to attend
an IEP meeting IF the parents AND the LEA agree that the
member’s area of curriculum or related services is not
being modified or discussed in the meeting. The above
team members REQUIRE Written Excusal

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An IEP Meeting should be a collaborative

communication process between school district
staff and the student’s caregivers

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When do you meet with the team?

• Annual Review of the IEP
• Amending the IEP

*You may request an IEP
meeting by written
request.

(You do not have to wait for the annual
review date.)

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What to Bring to Your IEP?

• Picture of your son/daughter
• Questions (written down)
• Videos and/or sample work products
• A vision statement about your child’s education
• Your support network – family members,

caregivers, family friends, etc.
• Treats for staff (if you want to)
• Pertinent medical information including

medications, upcoming testing/evaluations, etc.

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Additional notes to bring?

– How your child seems to be doing in school,
how he feels about classes

– Your child’s strengths and weaknesses –
academically, socially and physically

– Your child’s activities and notes on how he
interacts with others outside of school

– Strategies that do or don’t work at home
– Accommodations you propose
– Goals you propose

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Be an Active Participant

• Ask questions
• Ask for clarification of terms

or acronyms you don’t
understand
• Share your perspectives
• Inquire about services and
supports
• Highlight your child’s
strengths

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Content or Parts of the IEP

1. Present Levels of Academic Achievement and
Functional Performance

2. Special Considerations
3. Measurable Annual Goals

– Benchmarks or Short-Term Objectives

4. Measuring and Reporting Progress on Annual
Goals (9 weeks)

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Content of the IEP continued…

5. Service Summary

– Participation in State Assessments and District-Wide
Assessments

– Secondary Transition
– Age of Majority (age 17)
– Statement of Special Education and Related Services

6. Transportation
7. Regular Education Participation
8. Placement Considerations
9. Accommodations & Modifications

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Parent Concerns Section

• The Parent Concerns section of an IEP is
important and is the only place where parents
can document their concerns in a legal
document verbatim without being edited by
the IEP Team.

• An IEP is one of the first documents looked at
during mediation or a hearing and the
mediator/hearing officer will know
immediately what the concerns are because
they were clearly documented on the first page
of an IEP.

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Present Levels of Academic Achievement
and Functional Performance (PLAAP)

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The “Present Level” is a critical
foundation to the entire IEP

A fully developed, well-written “present level”
is the foundation upon which the rest of the
IEP can be developed to specify appropriate
goals, services, supports, accommodations,

and placement for
the child.

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Present Levels of Academic Achievement and
Functional Performance (PLAAP)

• These are roughly divided into the two areas
of development: academic and functional.

– “Academic achievement” generally refers to a
child’s performance in academic areas (e.g.,
reading or language arts, math, science, and
history).

– Functional performance. the term is generally
understood as referring to “skills or activities
that are not considered academic or related to
a child’s academic achievement.”

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Present Levels of Academic Achievement and
Functional Performance (PLAAP)

• the child’s strengths and weaknesses,
• what helps the child learn (strategies)
• what limits or interferes with the child’s

learning (sensory, attention, processing,
language)
• objective data from current evaluations of the
child, and
• how the child’s disability affects his or her
ability to be involved and progress in the
general curriculum.

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Special Considerations

• Consideration of special factors.

– behavior
– limited English proficiency
– blind or visually impaired
– deaf or hard of hearing
– communication needs
– assistive technology

The IEP team must determine if any of these
factors are relevant for the child and, if so,
address the factor in the child’s IEP.

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Annual Goals

• annual goals are like a road map. Where’s
the child heading this year?

• Not legally binding
• Identify areas of focus
• Reflect on reasonable expectations for the

year ahead
• Tie it to the general education curriculum

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Measuring and Reporting Progress

The IEP should specifically address:
• How will the child’s progress be measured?
• When will the child’s progress be measured?
• How well will the child need to perform in

order to achieve his or her stated IEP goals
(and, for some children, benchmarks or
objectives)?
• Time/Frequency

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All parts of the IEP are connected

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Service Summary

• The IEP must also contain a statement of
the special education and related
services and supplementary aids and
services to be provided to the child, or on
behalf of the child.

• when the service will begin;
• how often it will be provided and for what

amount of time; and
• where it will be provided.

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Service Summary continued…

In its entirety, this provision is
the heart and soul of the IEP.

When taken off paper and operationalized in school, it
becomes the breakdown of education that a child with a
disability receives.

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Service Summary continued…

• There are five major areas that are linked to
services in the student s Individualized
Education Program (IEP). These areas are:

• Special Education Services
• Related Services
• Supplementary Aids and Services, including

Accommodations
• Program Modifications
• Supports for School Personnel

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Service Summary – Special
Education Services

• Instruction that is specially designed to meet the
unique needs of a child with a disability.

• Provided directly to a child by a special education
teacher or related services professional.

• Can be provided individually or to a small group of
children with similar needs.

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Service Summary – Related Services

• speech-language pathology rehabilitation counseling

and audiology services • orientation and mobility

• interpreting services services

• psychological services • medical services for

• physical and occupational diagnostic or evaluation
therapy purposes

• recreation, including • school health services and
therapeutic recreation school nurse services

• early identification and • social work services in

assessment of disabilities in schools

children • parent counseling and

• counseling services, including training

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Service Summary –
Supplementary Aides & Services

• aids, services, and other supports that are provided in
regular education classes, other education-related
settings, and in extracurricular and nonacademic settings,
to enable children with disabilities to be educated with
nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate.

They can be:
• direct services and supports to the child (ex. aide in

classroom)
• support and training for staff who work with that child
• special equipment or teaching materials

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Transportation

IDEA says:

• travel to and from school and
between schools;

• travel in and around school
buildings; and

• specialized equipment (such
as special or adapted buses,
lifts, and ramps), if required to
provide special transportation
for a child with a disability.
[§300.34(c)(17)]

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Regular Education Participation

IDEA Says: “extent of nonparticipation.” The
language states the IEP must include:

An explanation of the extent, if any, to which
the child will not participate with nondisabled
children in the regular class and in the
activities

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Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

IDEA emphasizes and requires that educational
programs for students with disabilities be designed to
ensure, to the maximum extent appropriate, their
involvement in the general educational environment.
No student with a disability can be removed from the
general education environment unless the nature of
severity of the disability is such that education in
regular classes with supplementary aids and services
cannot be satisfactorily achieved.

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Least restrictivePlacement Options – Public School

Most restrictive• General Education
• Designated Instruction and Services
• Resource Services (consult/collaborative)
• Resource Specialist Program (Lifeskills,

Community Based, etc…)
• Special Day Class
• Non-public School
• State Special School Referral
• Home/Hospital
• Instruction in non-classroom setting
• Alternative Education

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Accommodations & Modifications

• Materials. For example:
– providing audiotaped lectures or books
– giving copies of teacher’s lecture notes
– using large print books, Braille, or books on CD (digital
text)

• Instruction. For example:
– reducing the difficulty of assignments
– reducing the reading level

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Accommodations & Modifications

• Student Response. For example:
– allowing answers to be given orally or dictated
– using a word processor for written work
– using sign language, a communication device, Braille, or
native language if it is not English.

• Scheduling. For example:
– giving the student extra time to complete assignments or
tests
– breaking up testing over several days

• Setting. For example:
– working in a small group
– working one-on-one with the teacher

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Extended School Year

ESY services are provided:
• Beyond the district’s normal school year
• At no cost to parents
• In accordance with the IEP
• Based on individual need
• Consideration of potential for regression
• Not based on disability category
• Not “one size fits all”

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3 Year Re-Evaluation

• Does your child continue to need special
education related services?

• Does your child continue to have a disability?
• Review of Existing Data (RED)
• Test in all, some or none of the following areas:

– cognitive, social/emotional/behavioral, speech &
language, fine motor, gross motor, vision, hearing,
academic,

• Need parent permission to evaluate.

– 60 days to complete.

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It’s time to listen to one
another…

Positive Tips or Success Stories?

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