1. Individualized Education Plans SPED 461 4/4/11

2. IEP Components Current performance Goals Special education and related services Accommodations and Modifications Participation with typical students Participation in state- and district-wide assessments Dates and locations Progress measuring Transition services and Behavior plans as needed

3. Steps of the IEP meeting Review present levels of performance, strengths, and needs Student strengths—Always start here! A lot of an IEP meeting involves discussing a student’s disability and deficits. It is important to remember a student’s strengths and build off of them. Current assessment data—standardized tests, classroom assessments, results of evaluations by IEP team Discuss student needs—academic, social, behavioral, etc. Determine accommodations/modifications needed What supports are necessary for the student to access the general education curriculum? How might the general education curriculum need to be modified to meet the student’s needs? Assistive technology needed

4. Steps of the IEP meeting Write goals and objectives Based on the student’s needs, what are the goals the team would like the student to reach this year? Include short term objectives (generally quarterly,) how objectives will be measured, and connections to state standards Determine services needed to meet goals Special education—minutes per week for each subject Related services—speech, social work, occupational/physical therapy, nursing, etc.

5. Steps of the IEP Meeting Determine location for services Always begin with general education with supports If goals cannot be met in general education, need to justify why a more restrictive setting is necessary The intensity of services needed and the severity of disability are not necessarily enough reason to move a student out of general education Discuss assessments and evaluation Classroom, district, and state-wide assessments—How will student participate? What accommodations/modifications are needed? Grading and promotion Language of assessment

6. Steps of the IEP Meeting Transition Plan Needed if student is 14 ½ or older Focus on areas of academics, vocational, and independent living Included present levels, goals, and instruction Functional Analysis/Behavioral Intervention Plan (FBA/BIP) Required if student has a behavioral/emotional disability or behavior that is a problem Other items Extended School Year (ESY)—only allowed if student would lose progress made without extra school time Transportation—if student is not at home school or needs a specific type of transportation (e.g. bus with wheelchair lift, seat restraints, aide on bus) Student home language and translator services need for parent Participation in extra-curricular activities

7. Follow-Up Review IEP annually Re-evaluate eligibility every three years (unless determined unnecessary) Reconvene multidisciplinary team Complete assessments Evaluate eligibility If student still qualifies, review/rewrite IEP (goals, services, acc/mod, etc.)

8. Other Types of IEP Meetings Revision Need to make some changes to an IEP prior to the annual review Examples: The student transitions to high school and has a goal that does not fit with the high school schedule—taking biology and has a chemistry goal. Can be done in person or parent can sign waiver to revise IEP without holding a meeting. Manifestation Determination The student has reached the maximum number of suspension days or has committed a serious disciplinary infraction which would require a long suspension or expulsion Used to determine if behavior is a result of the disability

9. Scheduling IEP meetings IEP meetings generally only happen annually but can occur more often Anyone on the IEP team can request an IEP meeting Generally an informal meeting is preferred but if items will be discussed that may impact the child’s IEP (or the parent has concerns and specifically requests a full team meeting), then a full IEP team meeting may be appropriate IEPs are scheduled by a case manager or special education teacher IEP meetings should be at a time that is most convenient for the parent to attend (within reason) School staff must make repeated attempts to schedule the meeting with a parent before holding a meeting without a parent present (document all attempts!)

10. IEP Team Participants IEP meeting must include: special education teacher, general education teacher, district representative (can be principal, case manager, or a teacher), parent Include if necessary: related service provider, evaluators, translator for parent/student, anyone a parent wants to include (e.g. advocate, lawyer, family friend/relative) Student must be invited beginning at age 14 but should be included from an early age if appropriate Student participation should be discussed with the parent. If the parent wants to discuss sensitive information without the student present then the student could be included part-way through the meeting.

11. Writing Effective IEP Goals Goals should be SMART Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic (but also Rigorous) Timely What will the student be able to do? In what time frame? As measured by? With what accuracy?

12. Example Goals Academic: By 4/2012, [student] will read a 1 st grade passage with 35 words correct per minute as measured by weekly classroom assessments. Behavioral By 4/2012, [student] will reduce instances of calling out in class to no more than 3 per 60-minute class period as measured by weekly teacher observation checklists. Transition By 4/2010, [student] will identify 4 potential colleges and contact their disability services office to request information as measured by teacher records.