The IEP Process

Identification Students with an identified special need must have an IEP unless  little or no adaptations to materials, instruction or assessment  expected learning outcomes have not been modified  student requires 25 or fewer hours of remedial instruction by someone other than the classroom teacher, in a school year If student does not have an identified special need they are not required to have an IEP but it is good practice to put in place a learning plan.

Identification Procedure CategoricalResponse to Intervention Teacher notices difficulty and refers the student for assessment Multidisciplinary team completes assessment Team meeting determines where students are eligible for services. (Tier 1) Teachers are responsible for monitoring progress of all students. (Tier 2) If students’ performance on measures used to monitor is markedly different from their peers they receive targeted group interventions that use research- based instructional strategies. Students’ performance must be measured regularly. (Tier 3) If students’ performance is not improving they will be referred to the school based team and may require intensive, individual interventions or special education.

Identification and Assessment School-based team  If 2 nd Tier of RTI is ineffective consult with school based team  Members Principal, resource or LA teacher, classroom teacher, counselor  Role Classroom strategy suggestions, identify and initiate referrals for services and resources (community, district, or inter-ministerial), IEP development If you need further information on your student  Refer for extended assessment (psycho-educational, behavioural, speech and language) Need informed consent, sensitive to cultural, linguistic, and experiential factors, information readily usable for IEP, written report for student (when appropriate), parents, and staff

Planning Write IEP (principal is responsible)  Identify who is collaborating to support the student - Involve parent and, when appropriate, student. - How will you support them in collaboration? - IEP Manual: Appendix 2  Identify realistic goals - Use information from the following sources to determine where student is at: (1) Formal assessment, (2) informal assessment, (3) teacher grades this year and in previous years, (4) parent reports, (5) input from allied professionals - Identify any adaptations, modifications

How To Write SMART Goals Identify specifically (e.g. Math, Behavior) what needs improvement  Consult the assessment information  What are the greatest areas in need of improvement? Get specific (Task analysis) Can break overall goals up into objectives  Objectives break goals down into manageable steps that can generally be accomplished within 6-8 weeks.

Writing Smart Goals for IEP S pecific M easurable A chievable and action-oriented R elevant and realistic T ime-related

S pecific Goals should be …  Specific: Target areas of academic achievement, functional performance (behavior) to be taught  Answer the six "W" questions: - Who - is involved? - What - do I want to accomplish? - Where - Identify a location. - When - Establish a time frame. - Which - Identify requirements and constraints. - Why - purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

M easurable Goals should …  Be reasonable and objective  Describe what a student can accomplish within a 12 month period  Enable a teacher to assess the child’s progress

You can make it measurable by… Indicating a rate (e.g. 3 out of 4 times, 80% of the time, 5 minutes out of every 10, 75% success)  When using a rate, be sure you can specify and measure the whole part (e.g. 80% of any 15-minute observation) Measurable Academic Goals

Measurable Behavior Goals You can make student behavior measurable by …  Defining the factors surrounding the behavior -precipitating events, such as, "when asked to work independently," or environmental factors, such as, "when dealing with female authority figures," or other patterns, such as "always after lunch," "in math class," "on the playground.“  Indicating a rate

A chievable and action-oriented Goal should be..  Reasonable, and Realistic -Is goal challenging but achievable within the school year?  Consult assessment information: -Is goal consistent with current performance and current rate of progress?  Feasible in terms of available resources  Action-oriented – written with action verbs

R elevant and realistic Goals should …  Results-oriented  Must be meaningful to the student -Is it consistent with the vision for the student?  relevant, reasonable

T ime-related Goals should be Time-based, tangible - grounded within a time frame Enable you to monitor progress at regular intervals  T can also stand for Tangible - When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.

Planning Write IEP (principal is responsible)  Identify who is collaborating to support the student - Involve parent and, when appropriate, student.  Identify realistic goals - Use assessment information to determine where student is at - Identify any adaptations, modifications  Identify ways to help student reach goals - Strategies, services, technology, instruction/intervention  Measures for tracking achievement - Assessment measures and accommodations  Plan for transitions  Plan for revisions

Services Learning Assistance School Counselling School Psychology Services Speech-Language Pathology Physiotherapy/Occupational Therapy Hospital Education Services Homebound Education Services

Program Support and Implementation Prior to program implementation  Ensure understanding and support  Ensure that all resources are in place and functional  Develop a clear process for communicating the results of strategies among teachers Successful programming  Sensitive to cultural, linguistic, experiential factors  Is based on IEP  Incorporates observation, assessment, evaluation to validate and refine strategies  Incorporates collaboration  Introduce new strategies/routines in small steps and observe effectiveness

IEP Review IEP’s must be reviewed at least annually Parents are present, and, if appropriate, the student Discuss assessments and observations Revise goals, objectives, strategies, services, and materials Refer for new assessments and services if necessary Record next IEP date  Conducting IEP review at the end of the year will help provide continuitiy

Evaluation If expectations are adapted  May use adapted evaluation techniques but these should be listed in IEP  Evaluations based on Ministry grading If expectations are modified  Evaluation is based on the extent to which the modified expectations have been met.

Possible adaptations to tests Pre-tape questions Present questions in the way they were taught Alter reading level of questions For fill in questions provide possible answers at bottom of page Use simple direct statements for directions Familiarize student with format Use oral and written directions Consider open-book test Make print large enough Make layout clean and simple Underline, highlight, bold key words Allow additional time Include marking Scheme Alternative format Provide Outline organization sheet

Progress Reports All students should be provided with progress reports following the same schedule In Grades 4-12 use may use a letter grade or a structured written comment In Grades if letter grades are not used, students will not receive a transcript, School Completion Certificate or Dogwood Certificate All involved support professionals should also include written comments

Progress Reports Cont’d If expectations are adapted  Follow the same grading principles as you do with all students If expectations are modified  Report the extent to which the modified expectations have been met using:  Performance scales, letter grades, written comments  Indicate where expectations have been modified on report card. This information will also be relayed to post-secondary institutions.