Group Assignments of IEP

1. Identify and Discuss Professional Teaming

and Collaboration, the Structure and
Function/Role of the Teams, Members of
the Collaborative Team, Participation in IEP
Planning Processes and IEP Placement
Decision Making Processes
 What is IEP?
 IEP is special education service that is given for
every child (IDEA) .
 Is given from age 3 through high school
graduation or a maximum age of 22 may be
eligible for an IEP.
 It is a legally binding document.

 The school must provide everything it promises in

the IEP.
 What IEP is and what IEP is not
An IEP is… An IEP is not…
a plan that shows how the school a document that shows how the
program will be adapted to fit the student will fit the curriculum
student
 a plan that brings together  a document prepared by
knowledge and contributions, professionals to be signed
from the student and those who
off by a student’s
best know them, about the
student’s learning needs, parents/caregivers
aspirations, personality, and
cultural background
 an individualized supplement to the • a different, separate curriculum
full-class learning program , which
enriches the student’s classroom,
school, and community experiences
 a forward-looking plan that
records student achievements,
where they want to go, what
supports are needed (including
support for team members),
and what success might look
like
 a document that lists
barriers to learning with
no solutions
 a document written
specifically for funding or
referral purposes

 a short outline of a few priority  an exhaustive list of learning

learning goals and strategies to goals, activities, teaching
meet them within the classroom strategies, and resources
program covering all the key
competencies and learning areas

 a ‘living’ document that team  a document that is completed at

members regularly update to a meeting and then not looked at
reflect the student’s changing or used until the next meeting
development and that the team
 1.1. Why IEP is needed?
• is used to address each child’s unique learning issues and
include specific educational goals.
• All Parents want their children to be happy and successful in
all areas of life: socially, emotionally, physically, mentally
and educationally.
• When children struggle in one or more of these major areas,
parents become concerned and want solutions.
• parents will seek services and supports from their child’s
public school.
• Parents ask for support from schools because their children
spend a great deal of time within the education system,
• schools are an important part of the local community that
brings together children, adults and families.
Professional Teaming and Collaboration

• Effective special education teachers

collaborate with a wide range of professionals,
families and caregivers to assure that
educational programs and related services are
effectively designed and implemented to meet
the needs of each student with a disability.
 Cont....
• Collaboration allows for varied expertise and perspectives
about a student to be shared among those responsible for the
student’s learning and well-being. This collective expertise
provides collaborators with a more comprehensive
understanding of each student’s needs, which can be used to
more effectively plan and implement instruction and services.
Teachers use respectful and effective communication skills as
they collaborate with others, considering the background,
socioeconomic status, culture, and language of the families
and the professionals with whom they work.
• Most of the time parents and schools are able to
communicate and collaborate to develop academic
and behavioral interventions known as pre-referral
strategies that can be implemented in regular
education.
• However, if the difficulties continue to significantly
impact a Child’s educational performance, then a
special education IEP team referral may be
warranted.
• An IEP is a legal document that identifies a child’s
disability necessary services to help the child
achieve measurable goals, and a specific plan for
measuring progress.
 1.2. IEP Formulation
 IEP must include
• A statement of your child’s present level of performance (PLOP)
—this is how your child is doing in school now
• The child’s annual educational goals
• Special education supports and services that the school will
provide to help the child reach goals
• Modifications and accommodations the school will provide to
help the child make progress
• Accommodations the child will be allowed when taking
standardized tests
• How and when the school will measure the child’s progress
toward annual goals
• Transition planning that prepares teens for life after high
school.
 1.3 . IEP Process

 7 Steps of IEP Process

• Step 1: Pre-Referral
• There are different pre-referral interventions through which
to initiate the IEP process.
• These interventions are implemented based on the type of
disability exhibited by the student.
• The main objectives of the pre-referral are;
 Document and elaborate the challenges and difficulties
exhibited by the child.
 Evaluate the usefulness of classroom accommodations and
changes.
 Review the power of different instructional interventions.
 Supervise the development of the student.
 Cont….

• The pre-referral process helps to determine

whether behavioral and educational challenges
exhibited by the child can be resolved in a general
education classroom.
• To avoid unnecessary evaluations and placements,
the assessments used at this stage are purely
intervention-based.
• This step is conducted with the use of direct
performance procedures.
• Help to save money, time and other resources in the
process.
 Cont………

• During the pre-referral stage, teachers will try

various certified teaching approaches in hopes of
establishing whether flawed instruction could be
the cause of the problems exhibited.
• Children whose learning remains challenged will
be referred to the next step in the IEP process,
referred for special education services.
 Step 2: Referral

If the pre-referral interventions prove unsuccessful,

the student is referred for special education services
through the use of a referral.
Referrals can come from parents, daycare
professionals, public health nurses, doctors or social
service agencies.
Referral for special education services can happen
at different stages during a child’s life and vary a
great deal based on their individual needs.
Often, poor academic performance, continued
misbehavior or disruptions of their learning
environment are prerequisites to this stage.
 Step 3: Identification

A special assessment is carried out to determine

whether the child has a disability that requires special
education services.
 During this stage of the IEP process, the child’s major life
activities such as interpersonal relationships,
performance in school and at home are used to assess
the kind of services required.
 Multidisciplinary teams become involved to help
determine the child’s distinctive strengths and needs.
 This team includes parents and other family members,
educational diagnostician, school psychologist, or a
teacher depending on the state where it is conducted.
 A collection of data types, assessment instruments
and methods are used during this stage in order to
create an accurate report later used to determine
the correct path for the student.
 If the final decision is that the child has a disability
that requires special education, a baseline of
performance is determined.
 Step 4: Eligibility

 The information gathered during the assessment

stage is used to categorize those who have a
disability and are eligible for special education
services.
 The IEP committee creates different elements of
the services required to plan and deliver an
appropriate education framework.
 Students who do not meet the qualifications for
special education services remain in the traditional
classroom setting.
 Step 5: Development of the IEP
 The next step in the process is to create the actual IEP.
 An IEP team is formed which includes the child’s parents,
educators, administrators and other specialists.
 As a parent attending an IEP meeting for the first time may be
an overwhelming experience.
 To help calm your nerves and know your child is receiving the
help they deserve, you have the right to bring a child advocate
with you to the meeting.
 Child advocates are paid professionals familiar with these
proceedings and work specifically for the child and their parents.
 During the meeting, resources required by the child are
identified,
 their individualized learning style determined, along with goals
both long term and short term.
 Step 6: Implementation

 At this stage, the student’s IEP and associated

services commence.
 Accommodations are provided for both
instructions and testing along with a range of
multidisciplinary services required from different
providers to support the child’s educational
program.
 The providers your child with special needs will
interact with moving forward could include 
occupational or physical therapists, 
speech pathologists and other special education
professionals.
 Step 7: Evaluation and Reviews

• Each IEP developed requires accountability and

consistent follow up by the child’s parents. A
review is conducted annually or after every three
years depending on the state. The purpose for
these reviews is to determine whether the child is
meeting their educational goals.
• If the goals are not being met, revisions are made
in the IEP. In the event that the child is meeting
and even exceeding their IEP goals, new
milestones are determined. In some cases, the
child may be moved back into the traditional
classroom setting.
 1.4. IEP team
 Multiple school representatives involved in the child’s IEP—from
referral, to evaluation, IEP development, implementation, and review.
a. Parents
 Parents are experts on their child.  
 They are able to share their child’s strengths, weaknesses, interests,
performance, and medical history.  
 Parents are also able to provide valuable information and observations
about how the child functions at home and in the community.  
 As members of the team, parents should feel like they can openly
express concerns and that the team will value their opinions.  
• “Parents are required to be part of IEP meetings like this because you
are your child’s first teacher and because you are the experts; you
know your child best.
• We need to hear what you know so we can put the best plan together
for your son/daughter.”
b. Special Education Teacher
• With knowledge of how to educate children with
disabilities, special education teachers can offer insight
on appropriate modifications, accommodations,
instructional strategies, supplementary aids and
services, placement options, and state/federal
guidelines for special education programming.  
•  In addition, the special education teacher gathers input
from team members prior to meetings, develops draft
goals to share with the team during meetings, and is
responsible for making sure the team completes
necessary paperwork.
• “As the special education teacher, his/her role is to
bring knowledge of special education strategies.”
 c. Regular Education Teacher(s)
• At least one general education teacher is a required
member of all IEP teams.
• The regular education teachers are experts on grade level
expectations, general education curriculum, and state
standards.  
• They can give insight on a child’s current level of
performance in relationship to his or her peers as well as
discuss aids, services, or changes to the current
educational programming that would help the child learn
and achieve.  
• “As the classroom teacher I’m here to provide expertise
about standards and grade level expectations.”
 
d. Local education agency (LEA) representative
 This person is usually an administrator and ensures
that IDEA and special education requirements are
followed throughout the IEP process.
 This person ensures that resources are adequately
allocated and are available to meet the child’s
special education needs.
 Often this person is the school principal or assistant
principal.
 
 e. School psychologist
 Depending on the type of IEP referral, the school
psychologist may have conducted testing or some other
form of assessment.
The school psychologist describes the reason for each
test, your child’s performance, and interprets the results.
f. School social worker
Depending on the type of IEP referral, the school social
worker may have done some form of assessment. This
assessment may include
developing a social history, parent interviews, or having
behavior ratings completed.
 The school social worker describes the results of the
assessment.
 g. Other school specialists
 May be occupational therapist, speech therapist, etc.)
Depending on the type of IEP referral, other school
support staff may be part of the IEP team.
 They may complete informal or formal assessment and
will describe the results at the evaluation meeting.
h. External specialists
 Often children and families are working with
physicians, psychologists, therapists, etc.
 parents may invite other experts to attend the IEP
team meeting.
 They can provide additional data and information for
the IEP team to consider as part of the evaluation
 i. Child
 At the parents’ discretion, children may be involved
in their IEP process.
This is valuable as they can share with the team
their perception of strengths, challenges, and
potential interventions.
 If they do not feel like their child is ready to be
involved in this process, it is often helpful to talk
with them beforehand.
 List of potential IEP team members and their roles

IEP Team Member Typical Role on IEP Team

(as relates to accommodations)

Helps to identify his or her unique needs and areas where

Student he or she needs support for the learning goals or for
accessing the environment
Offers perspective on demands of home and community
* Parent(s) or guardian(s) environments

Offers insight on expectations for the student regarding the

* General education standard curriculum and the educational environment;
teacher shares accommodations that have already been tried

Suggests ideas for instructional strategies, adaptations (i.e.,

* Special education modifications, accommodations) and AT devices or services
teacher
•school administrator) Qualified to provide or supervise special education services;
is familiar with resources available at outside agencies and
is able to commit those resources to meet IEP goals
 Cont.

Speech therapist Recommends tools, devices, and

supports from a speech/ language
perspective

Physical therapist (PT) or occupational Offers suggestions with regards to

therapist (OT) motor abilities of the student, mobility
issues, and transporting devices

Person familiar with AT (e.g., teacher, Shares information on the continuum of

assistive technology specialist, OT) AT

Others, as appropriate to the needs of Offers specific information related to

the student (e.g., reading specialist, the strengths and needs of the student
vision specialist)
 1.5. IEP meetings
• The law requires the IEP team to review the IEP at
least once a year.
• But the IEP team can meet any time parent or the
school want a meeting.
• Many teams meet more often than once a year.
• The IEP meeting is key to making sure your child’s
IEP is working for him.
• It gives parents a chance to discuss with teachers
your child’s weaknesses and strengths.
• If your child didn’t meet any or all of his goals that
quarter, you can hammer out new ways to help
your child.
• That may mean modifying the goal and adjusting
expectations.
• it could mean giving your child more or different
kinds of services and support.
• The IEP meeting is when parent, teachers and the
school give and get input on how your child is doing.
• parents discuss what’s working, what needs to
change, and whether their child is catching up or
falling further behind.
• Their child’s feelings and motivations should be
included in the conversation, whether or not he
attends the IEP meeting.
• Here are some other key things you and rest of the
team may discuss during the annual
IEP review meeting:
 child’s strengths. Share any success your child has had outside of
school. Let’s say your child struggles with attention issues and
social skills. His IEP team will want to know that he finds it easier
to follow directions from his soccer coach and is better at
cooperating with teammates.
 concerns and suggestions for improving your child’s education.
The meeting is a good time to share where you still see your
child struggling. Does he still have a tough time spelling? Is he
constantly losing assignments? If you have any ideas for making
these tasks easier for him, you may want to share them.
 How well modifications and accommodations (such as assistive
technology) are helping. If they aren’t helping your child as
expected, the team can discuss upgrading, discontinuing or
replacing them. The team can also consider any new instruction
and technology tools that might be right for your child.
 The results of child’s first or most recent evaluation, if there is
one. Your child should be evaluated every three years. The
school psychologist or professional conducting the evaluation
will usually explain the results at the IEP meeting.
During the meeting, the team leader will write a
statement about the child’s present level of
academic and functional performance (PLOP) and
goals.
 The statement is based on what parents and the
team have discussed in the meeting.
 The team leader will also document any changes
to the IEP that the team including parents have
agreed to.
 Who Needs an IEP?
 Students struggling in school may qualify for support
services, allowing them to be taught in a special way, for
reasons such as:
• learning disabilities
• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• emotional disorders
• cognitive challenges
• autism
• hearing impairment
• visual impairment
• speech or language impairment
• developmental delay
• physical disabilities
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