What is iep

Knowing what happens at IEP meetings can make it easier to navigate them. Learn how to navigate IEP meetings. But what does that involve? What should you be looking for or asking about?

Share Understanding IEPs. Podcast Wunder community app. Main menu Our work Blog Surveys and research. Join our team Privacy policy Terms of use Fundraising disclosure Sitemap. Understanding the IEP process. Navigating IEP meetings. You play a key role throughout the IEP process.

Related topics School supports. The resource room can serve a group of kids with similar needs who are brought together for help. However, kids who need intense intervention may be taught in a special school environment.

These classes have fewer students per teacher, allowing for more individualized attention. In addition, the teacher usually has specific training in helping kids with special educational needs.

The children spend most of their day in a special classroom and join the regular classes for nonacademic activities like music and gym or in academic activities in which they don't need extra help. Because the goal of IDEA is to ensure that each child is educated in the least restrictive environment possible, effort is made to help kids stay in a regular classroom.

However, when needs are best met in a special class, then kids might be placed in one. The referral process generally begins when a teacher, parent, or doctor is concerned that a child may be having trouble in the classroom, and the teacher notifies the school counselor or psychologist.

The first step is to gather specific data regarding the student's progress or academic problems. This may be done through:. This information helps school personnel determine the next step. At this point, strategies specific to the student could be used to help the child become more successful in school. If this doesn't work, the child would be tested for a specific learning disability or other impairment to help determine qualification for special services.

It's important to note, though, that the presence of a disability doesn't automatically guarantee a child will receive services. To be eligible, the disability must affect functioning at school. To determine eligibility, a multidisciplinary team of professionals will evaluate the child based on their observations; the child's performance on standardized tests; and daily work such as tests, quizzes, classwork, and homework.

As a parent, you can decide whether to have your child assessed. If you choose to do so, you'll be asked to sign a permission form that will detail who is involved in the process and the types of tests they use.

These tests might include measures of specific school skills, such as reading or math, as well as more general developmental skills, such as speech and language. Testing does not necessarily mean that a child will receive services. Once the team members complete their individual assessments, they develop a comprehensive evaluation report CER that compiles their findings, offers an educational classification, and outlines the skills and support the child will need.

The parents then have a chance to review the report before the IEP is developed. Some parents will disagree with the report, and they will have the opportunity to work together with the school to come up with a plan that best meets the child's needs. The next step is an IEP meeting at which the team and parents decide what will go into the plan. In addition to the evaluation team, a regular teacher should be present to offer suggestions about how the plan can help the child's progress in the standard education curriculum.

At the meeting, the team will discuss your child's educational needs — as described in the CER — and come up with specific, measurable short-term and annual goals for each of those needs. The IEP must explain the extent if any to which the child will not participate with nondisabled children in the regular class and other school activities. Participation in state and district-wide tests. Most states and districts give achievement tests to children in certain grades or age groups.

The IEP must state what modifications in the administration of these tests the child will need. If a test is not appropriate for the child, the IEP must state why the test is not appropriate and how the child will be tested instead.

Dates and places. The IEP must state when services will begin, how often they will be provided, where they will be provided, and how long they will last. Transition service needs. Beginning when the child is age 14 or younger, if appropriate , the IEP must address within the applicable parts of the IEP the courses he or she needs to take to reach his or her post-school goals.

A statement of transition services needs must also be included in each of the child's subsequent IEPs. Needed transition services. Beginning when the child is age 16 or younger, if appropriate , the IEP must state what transition services are needed to help the child prepare for leaving school. Age of majority.

Beginning at least one year before the child reaches the age of majority, the IEP must include a statement that the student has been told of any rights that will transfer to him or her at the age of majority.

This statement would be needed only in states that transfer rights at the age of majority. Measuring progress. The IEP must state how the child's progress will be measured and how parents will be informed of that progress. More information will be given about these IEP parts later in this guide. A sample IEP form will be presented, along with the federal regulations describing the "Content of the IEP," to help you gain a fuller understanding of what type of information is important to capture about a child in an IEP.

It is useful to understand that each child's IEP is different. The document is prepared for that child only. It describes the individualized education program designed to meet that child's needs. States and school systems have a great deal of flexibility about the information they require in an IEP. Some states and school systems have chosen to include in the IEP additional information to document their compliance with other state and federal requirements.

Federal law requires that school districts maintain documentation to demonstrate their compliance with federal requirements. Generally speaking, extra elements in IEPs may be included to document that the state or school district has met certain aspects of federal or state law, such as: holding the meeting to write, review and, if necessary, revise a child's IEP in a timely manner; providing parents with a copy of the procedural safeguards they have under the law; placing the child in the least restrictive environment; and obtaining the parents' consent.

While the law tells us what information must be included in the IEP, it does not specify what the IEP should look like. No one form or approach or appearance is required or even suggested. Each state may decide what its IEPs will look like. In some states individual school systems design their own IEP forms. What is important is that each form be as clear and as useful as possible, so that parents, educators, related service providers, administrators, and others can easily use the form to write and implement effective IEPs for their students with disabilities.

By law, certain individuals must be involved in writing a child's Individualized Education Program. These are identified in the figure at the left. Note that an IEP team member may fill more than one of the team positions if properly qualified and designated. For example, the school system representative may also be the person who can interpret the child's evaluation results.

These people must work together as a team to write the child's IEP. A meeting to write the IEP must be held within 30 calendar days of deciding that the child is eligible for special education and related services. Each team member brings important information to the IEP meeting. Members share their information and work together to write the child's Individualized Education Program.

Each person's information adds to the team's understanding of the child and what services the child needs. Parents are key members of the IEP team. They know their child very well and can talk about their child's strengths and needs as well as their ideas for enhancing their child's education.

They can offer insight into how their child learns, what his or her interests are, and other aspects of the child that only a parent can know. They can listen to what the other team members think their child needs to work on at school and share their suggestions. They can also report on whether the skills the child is learning at school are being used at home. See box on page 12 regarding parents' possible need for an interpreter.

Teachers are vital participants in the IEP meeting as well. At least one of the child's regular education teachers must be on the IEP team if the child is or may be participating in the regular education environment. The regular education teacher has a great deal to share with the team. For example, he or she might talk about: the general curriculum in the regular classroom; the aids, services or changes to the educational program that would help the child learn and achieve; and strategies to help the child with behavior, if behavior is an issue.

The regular education teacher may also discuss with the IEP team the supports for school staff that are needed so that the child can: advance toward his or her annual goals; be involved and progress in the general curriculum; participate in extracurricular and other activities; and be educated with other children, both with and without disabilities. Supports for school staff may include professional development or more training. Professional development and training are important for teachers, administrators, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and others who provide services for children with disabilities.

The child's special education teacher contributes important information and experience about how to educate children with disabilities. Because of his or her training in special education, this teacher can talk about such issues as: how to modify the general curriculum to help the child learn; the supplementary aids and services that the child may need to be successful in the regular classroom and elsewhere; how to modify testing so that the student can show what he or she has learned; and other aspects of individualizing instruction to meet the student's unique needs.

Beyond helping to write the IEP, the special educator has responsibility for working with the student to carry out the IEP. He or she may: work with the student in a resource room or special class devoted to students receiving special education services; team teach with the regular education teacher; and work with other school staff, particularly the regular education teacher, to provide expertise about addressing the child's unique needs.

Another important member of the IEP team is the individual who can interpret what the child's evaluation results mean in terms of designing appropriate instruction. The evaluation results are very useful in determining how the child is currently doing in school and what areas of need the child has. This IEP team member must be able to talk about the instructional implications of the child's evaluation results, which will help the team plan appropriate instruction to address the child's needs.

The individual representing the school system is also a valuable team member. This person knows a great deal about special education services and educating children with disabilities. He or she can talk about the necessary school resources. It is important that this individual have the authority to commit resources and be able to ensure that whatever services are set out in the IEP will actually be provided.

The IEP team may also include additional individuals with knowledge or special expertise about the child. The parent or the school system can invite these individuals to participate on the team. The school system may invite one or more individuals who can offer special expertise or knowledge about the child, such as a paraprofessional or related services professional.

Because an important part of developing an IEP is considering a child's need for related services see the list of related services in the box on the previous page , related service professionals are often involved as IEP team members or participants.

They share their special expertise about the child's needs and how their own professional services can address those needs. Depending on the child's individual needs, some related service professionals attending the IEP meeting or otherwise helping to develop the IEP might include occupational or physical therapists, adaptive physical education providers, psychologists, or speech-language pathologists. When an IEP is being developed for a student of transition age, representatives from transition service agencies can be important participants.

See the box below for more information about transition. Whenever a purpose of meeting is to consider needed transition services, the school must invite a representative of any other agency that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services. This individual can help the team plan any transition services the student needs. He or she can also commit the resources of the agency to pay for or provide needed transition services. If he or she does not attend the meeting, then the school must take alternative steps to obtain the agency's participation in the planning of the student's transition services.

And, last but not least, the student may also be a member of the IEP team. If transition service needs or transition services are going to be discussed at the meeting, the student must be invited to attend. More and more students are participating in and even leading their own IEP meetings.

This allows them to have a strong voice in their own education and can teach them a great deal about self-advocacy and self-determination.

Question 24 addresses the role of the regular education teacher on the IEP team. The extent to which it would be appropriate for the regular education teacher member of the IEP team to participate in IEP meetings must be decided on a case-by-case basis.

A child may require any of the following related services in order to benefit from special education. Related services, as listed under IDEA, include but are not limited to : Audiology services Counseling services Early identification and assessment of disabilities in children Medical services Occupational therapy Orientation and mobility services Parent counseling and training Physical therapy Psychological services Recreation Rehabilitation counseling services School health services Social work services in schools Speech-language pathology services Transportation If a child needs a particular related service in order to benefit from special education, the related service professional should be involved in developing the IEP.

He or she may be invited by the school or parent to join the IEP team as a person "with knowledge or special expertise about the child. Transition refers to activities meant to prepare students with disabilities for adult life. This can include developing postsecondary education and career goals, getting work experience while still in school, setting up linkages with adult service providers such as the vocational rehabilitation agency--whatever is appropriate for the student, given his or her interests, preferences, skills, and needs.

Transition services , for students beginning at age 16 and sometimes younger --involves providing the student with a coordinated set of services to help the student move from school to adult life.

To help decide what special education and related services the student needs, generally the IEP team will begin by looking at the child's evaluation results, such as classroom tests, individual tests given to establish the student's eligibility, and observations by teachers, parents, paraprofessionals, related service providers, administrators, and others.

This information will help the team describe the student's "present levels of educational performance" -in other words, how the student is currently doing in school. Knowing how the student is currently performing in school will help the team develop annual goals to address those areas where the student has an identified educational need. The IEP team must also discuss specific information about the child. This includes: the child's strengths; the parents' ideas for enhancing their child's education; the results of recent evaluations or reevaluations; and how the child has done on state and district-wide tests.

In addition, the IEP team must consider the "special factors" described in the box below. It is important that the discussion of what the child needs be framed around how to help the child: advance toward the annual goals; be involved in and progress in the general curriculum; participate in extracurricular and nonacademic activities; and be educated with and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children.

This includes the services and supports the school will provide for the child. If the IEP team decides that a child needs a particular device or service including an intervention, accommodation, or other program modification , the IEP team must write this information in the IEP.

As an example, consider a child whose behavior interferes with learning. The IEP team would need to consider positive and effective ways to address that behavior. The team would discuss the positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports that the child needs in order to learn how to control or manage his or her behavior.

If the team decides that the child needs a particular service including an intervention, accommodation, or other program modification , they must include a statement to that effect in the child's IEP. Depending on the needs of the child, the IEP team needs to consider what the law calls special factors. If the child is blind or visually impaired , the IEP team must provide for instruction in Braille or the use of Braille, unless it determines after an appropriate evaluation that the child does not need this instruction.

If the child has communication needs , the IEP team must consider those needs. If the child is deaf or hard of hearing , the IEP team will consider his or her language and communication needs.

If the parents have a limited proficiency in English or are deaf, they may need an interpreter in order to understand and be understood. For meetings regarding the development or review of the IEP, the school must take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that parents understand the meetings--including arranging for an interpreter.

Telling the school in advance allows the school to make arrangements for an interpreter so that parents can participate fully in the meeting. In addition, the child's placement where the IEP will be carried out must be decided. The placement decision is made by a group of people, including the parents and others who know about the child, what the evaluation results mean, and what types of placements are appropriate.

In some states, the IEP team serves as the group making the placement decision. In other states, this decision may be made by another group of people. In all cases, the parents have the right to be members of the group that decides the educational placement of the child. These requirements state that, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities must be educated with children who do not have disabilities.

The law also clearly states that special classes, separate schools, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment may occur only if the nature or severity of the child's disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. What type of placements are there? Depending on the needs of the child, his or her IEP may be carried out in the regular class with supplementary aids and services, as needed , in a special class where every student in the class is receiving special education services for some or all of the day , in a special school, at home, in a hospital and institution, or in another setting.