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All Children Can Learn |
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The IEP is a document that must be written in a careful, thoughtful, rational manner, following the procedure carefully set forth in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. IDEA recognizes you as an expert on your child. You are to be a valued member of any group that makes educational decisions for your child. Each step is designed to produce a document that first considers the needs of your child, then considers where the team wants to see your child a year from now, then designs the services and supports necessary to make meaningful progress. The law requires IEP teams to address certain items in a certain sequence, or order. The most important steps for parents to know, and their order in an IEP meeting should be:
Keeping these all important steps and the sequence in mind we now continue. Drawing a Comparison Compare the creation of an IEP to the steps in a foot race, or marathon race. When there is a race, everyone can see clearly where the starting line is located. Let's call the Present Levels of Performance the starting line of our race. The next thing all the runners must know is the location of the finish line. Everyone can see exactly where that finish line will be. This line represents the child's annual goal. Since the route of a marathon race can present unexpected obstacles, the runner must always be vigilant and ready to adjust the route or speed to safely and successfully complete the run. There may be the need for special training, regular breaks in the run to replenish liquid and food, particular clothing, and assistants along the way. Our children are having their own marathon race to the finish line with their public education. Every day can present new obstacles and challenges. We can help them successfully navigate the way by being vigilant for any necessary changes and adjustments in annual goals, services needed, and accommodations and modifications. Writing the IEPSpecial education law is very specific in how to go about writing an IEP. There are a number of logical steps that must be taken in the proper sequence. A team can not discuss placement until those steps have been followed. If there is speculation about placement at the beginning of a meeting, it can result in a child's placement being driven by district convenience rather than the needs of your child. We will not go into great detail about every little thing to be included in the IEP, as each IEP should be based on a child's individual needs. Rather, we will enlarge on the steps listed above. Reviewing recent evaluations The team should look at the last 3 year multidisciplinary evaluation and any other recent evaluations, including any medical or independent evaluations that have taken place. The team should also review the recommendations that each evaluation is required to have. If the team skips this step it is like getting a thorough physical from your doctor, yet he never sees the results of laboratory tests or any other testing. IDEA now recognizes the importance of referring to relevant evaluations at IEP meetings. Every evaluation is now required to contain substantive recommendations for the education setting. In planning your Parent Input information be sure to go towards the back of those evaluations and list all the recommendations. Present Levels of PerformanceThe IEP must include is a statement of the Present Levels of Performance. This step should happen after reviewing evaluation information. The team should review how your child is performing in the areas where he receives special ed services. Each PLOP should be meticulously addressed in MEASURABLE terms. For example you should know whether he is performing eighteen out of twenty multiplication problems with three digit numbers and two digit multipliers. The PLEP (or PLOP) should also state what objective testing instruments were used. Terms such as "on third grade level" or "most of the time" or "almost never" are examples of terms that are sometimes too subjective and do not describe the performance in a way everyone can clearly understand. "Teacher observation" is also should not be used as the sole instrument of measuring progress. Observation is subjective, and not always measurable. Such observation can be one measuring instrument but should never be the only measuring instrument. If your child has a reading goal, the present levels of performance should be detailed as to the level of accuracy in a number of different areas of reading. Placing a child on a simple grade level overall in reading is not sufficient detail to address all the areas of reading. Perhaps he is competent when reading aloud, but his comprehension when reading to himself is practically nil. Perhaps he can verbally explain the main idea in a passage, but cannot recall the storyline when giving a written description. There are many such areas of consideration. We depend on our teachers and diagnosticians to have the expertise to write accurate Present Levels of Performance, or PLOPs. Your child is entitled to a teacher who understands different learning styles and can teach a child the way he or she learns. It is important for parents to consider including teacher training on their Parent Recommendations for Consideration. Parents should know that districts receive special education funds designated for teacher training. There should also be funds there for parent training, such as attending a conference on your child's disability, or a Parent Information and Training Program. After the team agrees on where your child is in each area of need, the process should move on to where they believe he should be a year from now. Annual Goals Teams should be vigilant about setting too low an expectation of performance. Children can often do much more if they think we believe they can do it. It should not be too hard for example to expect 1 1/2 years progress in reading if a child is 4 years behind in reading. If we expect only say 3 months progress in a year's time that is not progress. In actuality, the is child slipping 6 additional school months behind his peers. On the other hand, it would be foolish to set an expectation far from what a child can achieve. The quality of special education services and supports, modifications and accommodations, and teaching children with proven methods and specialized training for teachers, are the keys to success. The best evaluations and IEP in the world means very little if there are not quality services to implement the plan Short Term Objectives and benchmarks As stated above, the new IDEA law will eliminate short term objectives except in the case of a child who will be assessed annually with an alternative assessment. We will not go into detail about alternative assessments at this time, except to point out to parents that only a very few children should qualify for alternative assessments. This is to ensure that children are assessed alongside their nondisabled peers to the maximum extent possible, to measure their true base of knowledge and growth. In the case of children taking the regular assessment, the IEP should state how progress will be measured, by what means, and how often. There must be some means of measuring progress with benchmarks. Other supports and services Now the team needs to look at what supports your child will need to reach those annual goals. Here are a few examples to give you an idea of how creative teams need to be:
Another requirement of the law is that the IEP list any supports the teacher will need to be successful with your son or daughter. Does the teacher have a basic understanding of the disabilities? Will he or she need to attend a special workshop on your child's disability? Will he or she need special training in multi sensory teaching techniques? Will an administrator be in regular contact, say once a week to see if other supports or equipment is needed, and to check on your child's progress? Placement should never be discussed until these steps have been taken. Neither should placement be driven by district convenience or budgetary constrictions. Placement must be designed to meet the unique needs of your child. The All Important Prior Notice Prior Notice is a commonly misunderstood element of the IEP. Prior Notice must be given to the parents whenever changes to the IEP are proposed or denied. Districts usually write very little on their Prior Notice form. Usually there are brief X's marking transportation, hours in regular ed, hours in special ed, and listing any therapies and the amount of time for therapies. There should be much more, if the district follows the directives of IDEA. Continuum of placements Your school district is required to offer a variety of placements to consider. No longer can a district offer just the regular classroom setting or a resource room setting. Many services and supports, including aides, and regular education/special education team teaching, can be utilized in the regular education classroom at least part of the day, if not all day. The decision must be made by the team. It is not a one person decision. The big question is:
This article is a very basic outline of the steps that should take place when writing an IEP. Of course other information is included in an IEP, such as medications, transportation, therapies, etc. Now you have an overview and simplified outline of IDEA's expectations during the IEP process. Here you will find some very effective tools that will assist you in having your concerns heard and addressed at the meeting.
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