Everything You Need to Know About Your Child’s IEP and Accommodations

What Is An IEP? A federal law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that public schools create an IEP for every child receiving special education services. IEP stands for Individualized Education Plan. Kids from age 3 through high school graduates may be eligible for an IEP. The IEP is meant to address your child’s unique learning needs and includes specific educational goals. It is a legally binding document.

Who develops the IEP? The IEP is developed by a team of school personnel and the child’s parents. This team meets at least once a year. The team may include, but is not limited to: General Education Teachers ESE Teacher Parents Student Anyone the parents would like to invite Evaluation Interpreter LEA (Local Educational Agency) Representative

Here’s a quick look at what an IEP must include: A statement of your child’s present level of performance (how your child is currently doing in school). Annual educational goals (goals that address the needs of your child and include how/when the school will measure your child’s progress). Special Education Supports and Related Services that the school will provide to help your child make progress. Accommodations the school will provide to help your child make progress in the classroom and use on standardized tests. Transition planning that prepares teens for life after high school.

Services & Supports Under IDEA, there are a variety of services and supports available that your child may need as part of free appropriate public education. All of these services and supports are designed to help your child: Reach his or her annual goals Be involved and make progress in the general education curriculum Participate in extra-curricular activities (like after school clubs or sports) or other nonacademic activities (like recreation activities, athletics, or employment)

Services & Supports (cont.) These services and supports include: Special Education Related Services Accommodations and modifications

Special Education Special education is instruction that is specially designed to meet the unique needs of your child. Special education is not a place; it is a set of services that can be provided in many different ways, depending on your child’s needs. Learning Strategies/Critical Thinking is a service that FSUS provides for students who are in need. See below for an example of what this looks like on the IEP.

Special Education K – 5 (Primary) Special Education Services Special Education Services for elementary students is generally delivered through small group instruction. Students are typically pulled during special area or P.E. so they are not missing a core subject or class. Small group instruction allows targeted student needs to be met in a focused environment.

Special Education K-5 (Primary) Special Education Services The student’s level of need will determine the length and frequency of services. Accommodations are provided to students when there is a need.

Special Education 6 – 12 (Secondary) Special Education Services Learning Strategies or Critical Thinking classes are combined, as the content is basically the same. This class enables students to acquire and generalize strategies and skills across academic settings to achieve goals based on assessed needs and/or the students’ individual educational plan. This course was designed to: Develop positive study habits and organizational skills Provide an extra support for concepts from core courses Work on individual academic deficits

Special Education 6 – 12 (Secondary) Special Education Services Currently a curriculum called SOAR is being used. SOAR is a curriculum that is designed for secondary students and focuses on organization and reading, writing and communication strategies. For more information go to www.course.studyskills.com. Length of services, frequency of services and accommodations are determined by the students level of need.

Related Services This part of the IEP focuses on supports and services (other than special education) your child needs to be successful. Speech Therapy Language Therapy

Related Services Speech & Language Therapy All Speech and Language Therapy services are coordinated by Lauren Waters K – 4th grade students see the Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) on campus 4th – 12th grade students see the Speech Language Teletherapist in a secure HIPPA compliant session on campus with an aide present to assist in the event that there are technical or other issues.

Related Services Speech & Language Therapy Students are typically pulled for therapy from PE, special area or Learning Strategies to ensure that they are not missing a core class. The students level of need will determine the length and frequency of sessions needed. Once a speech or language impairment has been remedied, your child will be dismissed from Speech or Language ESE services, as there is no longer a need.

Related Services Speech & Language Therapy Students with a speech impairment typically do not receive accommodations. These students would need to have a health concern or the IEP team would need to determine that there is a need for accommodations.

Measuring and Reporting Progress Appropriate and effective goals are critical parts of your child’s IEP. Keeping track of your child’s progress towards those goals is just as important. Usually, the requirements of mastery are written in the goal as well as evaluation criteria. In addition to describing how progress will be met, the IEP must also state how and when progress will be reported. Typically, a progress report will be sent with each report card.

Measuring Progress Examples When given 10 multi step addition problems, David will solve the problems using math strategies (underlining key words, showing his work, etc.) with 80% accuracy as measured by student work product. By the duration of this IEP, Charity will be able to read 185 correct words per minute as measured by weekly fluency assessments. Given support and visual cues, Jennifer will maintain organization of her binder in 3 out of 5 weekly observations each nine weeks as measured by teacher observations.

Accommodations Accommodations allow your child to complete the same tasks as their peers but with some assistance/changes. The purpose of an accommodation is to provide your child with equal access to learning. As students get older, we encourage them to begin to request their accommodations.

Accommodations Accommodations are categorized in four ways: Scheduling - adapting the time allotted for learning, task completion, or testing Presentation - adapting the way instruction is delivered Responding - adapting how a student can respond to instruction Setting - where the student will learn, complete tasks, or test

Accommodation Examples Scheduling: Giving the students extra time to complete assignments or tests Allowing breaks during assignments or tests Presentation: Copies of the teacher’s notes Directions given orally and in writing Directions repeated or clarified as much as needed Oral Presentation of items and answer choices

Accommodation Examples Responding: Allowing answers to be given orally or dictated Using a word processor for written work Using sign language or native languages if it is not English. Setting: Working in a small group Working one-on-one with the teacher Completing an assignment or test in an alternative classroom

Accommodations in Assessment IDEA requires that students with disabilities take part in state or districtwide assessments. The IEP team must decide if the student needs accommodations in testing or another type of assessment entirely. In this component of the IEP, the team documents how the student will participate.

Accommodations in Assessment Your child’s IEP will list accommodations for use in the classroom and for use during assessments. Classroom teachers use your child’s IEP to see which accommodations your child should receive. Generally, the classroom and assessment accommodations are exactly the same or all of the assessment accommodations are also listed as classroom accommodations.  

Accommodation Example: Oral Presentation of Items and Answer Choices What this accommodation allows: questions and answer choices to be read aloud For reading assessments (FSA, EOC’s, etc.), the question type determines how much can be read aloud. If the questions or answer choices have an excerpt from the text, it cannot be read aloud to the student.

Accommodations in Assessment Secondary students that would like to use accommodations during testing (especially extended time) can do so in class or with Coach Jayme. Students that would like to test with Coach Jayme will need to fill out the Request for Testing Accommodations form, which all teachers have access to. This form should be filled out completely. Coach Jayme should be contacted at least one day prior to testing to ensure that there is space and that she is available.

Transition Planning Beginning no later than the student’s 16th birthday (and younger, if appropriate), the IEP must contain transition-related plans designed to help the student prepare for life after high school.

Transition Plan Components Student input (via interview, questionaire, transition assessments, etc.) Post Secondary Education and Training (colleges, universities, trade schools, etc. your child may be interested in attending) Employment and Career (where will your child work after high school/during college, what does your child want to do professionally) Independent living (where and/or with whom your child will live after high school - if applicable)

Age of Majority This process begins at age 17 and documentation is included in the IEP. Beginning at least one year before the student reaches the age of majority (age 18), the IEP must include a statement that the student and parent(s) has been told about the rights that will transfer to him or her at age of majority.

Any questions?

Community Resources Walk-Through Florida State University Disability Resource Center Florida State University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities Tallahassee Community College Disability Resource Center

Contact Us Lauren Wong, K-5 ESE Teacher, lwong@fsu.edu Chaia Johnson, 6-12 ESE Teacher, cajohnson2@fsu.edu Lauren Waters, K-4 SLP/K-12 Speech and Language Coordinator, lwaters@fsu.edu Barbara Martin, 4-12 SLP Teletherapist, brq16@yahoo.com Damera Hopkins, K-6 504 Coordinator, dhopkins2@fsu.edu Monica Broome, K-12 ELL Coordinator/Literacy Coach, mbroome@fsu.edu Norma Jones, K-5 MTSS Coordinator, njones@fsu.edu Eileen Lerner, K-12 Teacher of Gifted, elerner@fsu.edu