Parentella

In part one of this series, I explained in detail that an Individual Education Program (IEP) is a special education plan for students who fall under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). At the end of the article, I explained how to go about having your child evaluated to see if they qualify.

So, your child has been evaluated and does indeed qualify for special services. An initial IEP has been written explaining what the school should do to help meet your child’s needs. What now? The IEP development process requires a team. Parents are an important part of the team; the parents know the child best. Getting to know the members of this team will make the upcoming years as a special education family more pleasant.

Your school district’s special services department will set an appointment to review the initial IEP. This appointment will take approximately an hour. Your student’s IEP team will include the classroom teacher, school administrator, school psychologist, and all therapeutic staff to be involved in treatment. If applicable, the district’s teacher for the blind will attend.

Many school districts mail a copy of the IEP to your home before your appointment. If your student is considered multiply disabled (“multi-dis”), the IEP packet will be very thick. Read every paragraph. If your child is in outpatient therapy, it is advisable to have the therapists comment on the goals. They will be knowledgeable in IDEA treatment limitations. It also helps the outpatient therapist modify your child’s outpatient goals. Write down all of your questions on the copy or use sticky notes to have them ready as the plan is reviewed.

The IEP should include:

• Date of implementation, date of placement, effective date.
• Parent signature, student signature if child is considered competent.
• Qualifying motor skill, vision and learning deviations from standardized assessment results.
• Health issues, if applicable.
• Equipment that is required for the student to function and use on a regular basis. Equipment that the family does not provide will be listed in a separate section.
• Modifications and/or accommodations to curriculum
• Support and individual therapy time will be itemized. Goals and performance standards will be detailed and include the student’s strengths and needs.
• Therapeutic progress monitoring methods and coordination plans with teaching staff.
• Functional academic level with the standardized test used to determine level and date of test. Subject areas requiring modifications and additional support will be detailed. If your student is working at age-appropriate grade level except math, it will be noted in the IEP.
• Strategies for how the student will achieve the goals or expectations must also be very clearly stated.

These goals may seem very ambitious. Remember, these are for the entire school year. Young children entering as preschoolers will perform differently at school than they have at home. Social situations can change motivations and therapeutic outcomes.

The first IEP is short-term. It is the team’s best estimate of your child’s capabilities and possible goals. This IEP will be reviewed by the team one month after it’s effective date. Revisions will be made to make reasonable year-long goals for your student. Each team member will send home progress notes. Inquire as to the frequency of these updates. Check your child’s backpack daily for letters. File them for future reference.

The IEP is a working document that expires three years from the effective date. Your child’s skill levels will be reassessed shortly before the expiration date.

Terms

• Accommodations: Supports or services provided to help a student access the general curriculum and validly demonstrate learning.
• Adaptations: Any procedure intended to meet an educational situation with respect to individual differences in ability or purpose.
• Behavioral Intervention Plan: Plan of interventions and strategies that will be implemented to address goals for social, emotional, and behavioral development. Many are based on functional behavioral assessment.
• Benchmark: Federally mandated education standards by grade level as described in No Child Left Behind.
• Competencies: Student performance statement which can be accurately repeated and measured.
• Continuum of Services:
  • Preschool- different of settings where specialized services can be delivered;
  • School age- availability of various education environments.
• Extended School Year Services (ESY): Special education services that are provided to a child with a disability beyond the normal school year. Student eligibility determined by IEP and child’s teacher. Timetable determined by school district budget. Not “summer school,” as it is not based on standardized test scores. Provided at no cost to the parents of the child.
• Functional Behavioral Assessment: Assessment to provide insight to purpose and function of a student’s behaviors. Provides information for behavioral intervention plan and support.
• Least Restrictive Environment: The opportunity to be educated with non-disabled peers, to the greatest extent appropriate. Access must be given to general education curriculum, extracurricular activities, or any other program that non-disabled peers would be able to access. Student are to be provided supplementary aids and services necessary to achieve educational goals if placed in a setting with non-disabled peers.

The third part of this series is a question and answer dialogue.

image credit: http://www.cdadc.com/ds/down-syndrome-pictures/boy-beach-child-with-down-syndrome.jpg

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Written by Astacia Carter. Her younger daughter (6) has cerebral palsy with developmental delay and her older daughter (8) has ADHD with sensory dysfunctions. She blogs about their journey every chance she can get. Her story of going from the work force to home is published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Power Moms.She is also a web site designerand social media geek.

Related posts:

1. IEP’s to Meet the Needs of Special Education Kids
2. Section 504 Plans for Special Needs Kids — Part 1
3. Thoughts About the National Education Technology Plan?
4. Connecting the home and school for our kids’ success
5. The Principal’s Role in Education

Tags: disabled students, IDEA, IEP, Individual Education Program, Individuals with disabilities education act, Special Needs Students

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 12th, 2011 at 12:01 am and is filed under Education Policy, Guest, Public Schools, Special Needs Students. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.