Individual Education Program IEP Understanding the process

1
Individual Education Program (IEP)Understanding
the process

• Specialized Training of Military Parents
• STOMP

2
How it started

• Brown v. Topeka Board of Education
• Recognition of need to insure services to diverse
  populations
• Other court rulings (Mills, PARC) utilized basis
  of argument in Brown to open door for individuals
  with disabilities
• Some States had regulations that preceded the EHA
  (PL 94-142)

3
How the Process starts

• Child is identified as possibly needing Special
  Education Services
• Child is evaluated
• Eligibility is decided
• IEP meeting is scheduled
• IEP meeting is held and IEP is developed
• Placement determination
• Services are provided
• Progress is measured and reported to Parents
• IEP is reviewed
• Child is re-evaluated

4
IEP Meeting

• Who attends?
• Parents
• Student (if appropriate)
• Special Ed teacher
• Regular Ed teacher
• School representative
• Person who can interpret evaluation results
• Others knowledgeable or Special Education
  expertise about the child
• Transition services (if applicable)

5
Contents of the IEP

• Current/Present levels of Childs performance
• Annual goals
• Special Education and Related Services
• i.e. Therapies, Assistive Technology,
  Transportation, others as needed
• Participation with non-disabled peers
• Participation in district and state wide testing
• Dates and places
• Transition services needed
• Age of majority
• Measure of progress

6
Other things the team may discuss

• Childs strengths
• Parents ideas for enhancing their childs
  education
• Results of recent evaluations
• Medical issues
• School evaluations
• How the child performed on state and
  district-wide tests
• How the child will advance toward the annual
  goals
• How the child will be involved and progress in
  the general curriculum
• Will the child participate in extracurricular
  activities
• Will the child be educated and participate with
  other children with and without disabilities

7
Other special factors to consider

• Do the childs behavior interfere with his/her
  learning
• Does the child have limited proficiency in
  English
• Is the child blind or visually impaired
• Does the child have communication needs
• Is the child deaf or hard of hearing
• Does the child need assistive technology devices
  or services

8
Where will the child be educated?

• Placement is decided by the group
• Depend on the needs of the child
• Least Restrictive environment
• to the maximum extent appropriate, children with
  disabilities must be educated with children who
  do not have disabilities. (CFR 300.114)

9
After the IEP is written

• Copies are shared with the childs
• Parents
• Regular education teacher(s)
• Special education teacher(s)
• Related service provider(s)
• Therapist
• Bus driver
• Counselor
• Service provider who will be responsible for a
  part of the childs education
• Paraprofessional

10
Implementing the IEP

• Every person providing services should know and
  understand their responsibilities for carrying
  out the IEP
• Teamwork is an important part of carrying out the
  IEP
• Communication between school and home are also
  important

• One person should be in charge of coordinating
  and monitoring the services
• Regular progress reports help parents and school
  monitor childs progress toward the annual goals

11
Reviewing and Revising the IEP

• The IEP must be reviewed at least once a year
• Things to be addressed when reviewing the IEP
• Progress/lack of toward annual goals and in the
  general curriculum
• Information gathered through any reevaluation
• Information shared by the childs parents
• Information shared by school personnel
  observations school work
• Childs anticipated needs

12
The IEP

• Cornerstone of special education
• Involves many people
• Involves many steps
• Involves collaborative decision making

13
Federal Laws that Influence Special Education
Policies and Procedures

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  (IDEA)
• Section 504
• No Child Left Behind (NCLB) (Current
  reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary
  Education Act)

14
Basic IDEA principals

• IEP individualized education program is a
  written plan that articulates special education
  and related services to be offered a child with a
  disability.
• FAPE free appropriate public education refers
  to special education and, if required, related
  services designed to meet the individual needs of
  students with disabilities based on an
  individualized education program (IEP).
• LRE The least restrictive environment is a
  requirement articulated in IDEA that stipulates
  that children with disabilities be educated in
  the general education classroom to the maximum
  extent appropriate and in the setting that they
  would be in if they did not have a disability
  unless the childs written plan or IEP requires
  otherwise. Where possible, students with
  disabilities are to be provided with supplemental
  aids and services to facilitate participation in
  regular education.

15
More principals - Accommodations and
Modifications

• Accommodations
• changes the how of what is taught.
• A change is made to the teaching or testing
  procedures to provide a student with access to
  information and to create an equal opportunity to
  demonstrate knowledge and skill.
• Does not change the instructional level, content
  or criteria for meeting a standard.
• Modifications
• Changes the what we teach.
• A modification is a change in what a student is
  expected to learn and/or demonstrate.
• While a student may be working on modified course
  content, the subject area remains the same as the
  rest of the class.

16
Resources

• STOMP Specialized Training of Military Parents
• www.stompproject.org
• Technical Alliance for Parent Centers
• www.taalliance.org
• NICHCY- National Dissemination Center for
  Children with Disabilities
• http//nichcy.org/
• Military HOMEFRONT
• http//www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil
• MCEC Militry Child Education Coalition
• http//www.militarychild.org/
• Department of Education IDEA 2004
• http//idea.ed.gov/

17
Heathers final nuggets of Advice
18
Always Be Curious And Ready to Listen
19
Avoid Calling Attention to the Obvious !
20
Give People Clear Explanations of the Direction
you recommend
21
Vets Office
Expect Resistance at first to some of your ideas
22
Have other options available
23
Recognize there may be some confusion regarding
the process
24
Dont get into power struggles
25
You get more with a friendly gesture then an
angry word
26
Be ready to listen it makes everyone feel more
involved
27
And, Never Forget to Laugh