Developing an Individualized Education Program

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Developing an Individualized Education Program

• State Non-Public School Conference
• November 20, 2008

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Evaluation Process

• Pre-referral/Interventions
• Referral
• Domain meeting
• Evaluation
• Eligibility
• Placement

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Evaluation Process in a Nutshell

• Within 14 days of receiving a request for an
  evaluation you must
• Review relevant sources of data
• Conduct a meeting with the parent to determine
  whether an evaluation should proceed
• If an evaluation is warranted, determine the
  domains and provide the parent with the necessary
  consent forms

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Evaluation Process in a Nutshell

• Within 60 school days of receiving consent you
  must
• Complete all evaluations as identified in the
  domain meeting
• Review and consider all other relevant sources of
  data
• Schedule and complete the eligibility conference
  and the IEP meeting (if eligibility is found)

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Eligibility

• Team processqualified professionals and the
  parent
• Exclusionary factorslack of instruction in
  reading or math or due to limited English
  proficiency
• Can not be due to lack of interventions or
  modifications in the general education classroom
• Adverse effect on educational performance
• Eligibility determination is based on multiple
  sources

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After Eligibility is Determined

• Development of an IEP
• Determination of placement
• Implementation of an IEP

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What is an Individualized Education Program (IEP)?

• An IEP is the legal written description of an
  appropriate instructional program for a student
  with special needs.

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IEP TEAM MEMBERS

• The parents/guardian of the child
• General education teacher who has specific
  knowledge of the child and/or the grade
  appropriate curriculum
• Special education teacher
• Local education administrator or designee
  knowledgeable about the resources of the district
• At the discretion of the parent/guardian or the
  agency, other individuals who have knowledge or
  special expertise regarding the child, including
  related service personnel, where appropriate
• Psychologist, where appropriate
• School nurse
• Social worker
• Whenever appropriate, the child.

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Excusal of IEP Team Members

• Attendance is not necessary when an IEP team
  members area is not modified or discussed
• A team member may be excused from attendance when
  the parent and the agency consent to the excusal,
  and
• The member submits input in writing to the parent
  and the team

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Components of an IEP

• An IEP outlines the following items for each
  student
• Current Academic and Functional Performance Level
  
• Accommodations necessary in class
• Subject areas impacted by the student's
  disability
• Goals and objectives to be achieved during the
  course of the IEP (1 year or less)
• Conceive of each IEP as a chapter, rather than
  the whole book
• Standardized testing accommodations

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More Components of an IEP

• Connected to Learning Standards
• Transportation services
• Schedule modifications
• Service delivery with necessary personnel
• Parental or guardian concerns
• Transition Plan (starting at age 14 ½ years)
• Behavioral Management Plan (if team determines
  necessary)

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IEP Development

• Gather information
• Review student records
• Progress monitoring
• Consult with the student, parents/guardians,
  school staff, and other professionals
• Gather general education information to include
  current grades and teacher report
• Observe the student
• Review the students current work
• Conduct further assessments

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IEP Development (cont.)

• Develop the IEP
• Identify student strengths and needs
• Collect assessment data
• Develop present level of performance
• Develop goals and short-term objectives
• Identify resources
• Establish monitoring cycle to evaluate progress

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Present Level of Academic and Functional
Performance (PLAFP)

• Address how the disability affects involvement
  and progress in the general curriculum as well as
  other functional domains affecting progress
  (including educational behavior)
• Must consider
• Recent evaluations (e.g., KTEA-II Brief)
• Student strengths
• Student needs
• Parent concerns
• Special factorsbehavior, communication, etc

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Examples of PLAFP

• Charlie, a 9th grade student, scored at the 8-8
  age equivalent (SS 81) on the solving section of
  the Key Math test administered March 13, 2008.
  He can compute math problems, but is unable to
  understand and apply problem solving strategies
  to story problems.

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Examples of PLAFP (cont.)

• Billie is a 16-year-old, 10th grader performing
  at a mid-first grade level. In her daily work
  she does not consistently begin a sentence with a
  capital letter and end with punctuation. Her
  writing score on the KTEA-II Brief, administered
  March 6, 2008, was (SS) 75.

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PLAFP Activity

• Examine the following PLAFP, determine why it is
  ineffective, and rewrite it to make it an
  effective PLAFP.

• Billie is a 10th grader who has difficulty with
  reading, written language, and math.

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IEP GOALS

• IEP goals should be SMART!
• Specific
• Measurable
• Action Words
• Realistic and Relevant
• Time-limited

Goals must include the direction of the behavior
(increase, decrease, maintain), the area of need
(reading, math, etc.), and the level of
attainment (age level, without adult assistance,
etc.)
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Example of an IEP Goal

• Charlie will increase his ability to accurately
  solve early 5th grade level word problems
  requiring him to use familiar mathematical
  operations. State Learning Standard 6.B.1 Solve
  one- and two-step problems with whole numbers
  using basic operations.

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Another Example of an IEP Goal

• Billie will write complete sentences using
  correct punctuation and capitalization without
  prompts 80 of the time. State Learning
  Standard 3.A Use correct grammar, spelling,
  punctuation, capitalization and structure.

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Non-Examples of IEP Goals

• IEP goals are not attitude statements.
• Johnny should have a better attitude.
• Mary should never pinch.
• IEP goals are not states of being.
• Beth will appreciate classical music.
• Eric will understand the workings of a gasoline
  engine.

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IEP Goals Activity

• Write a goal for the PLAFP that you wrote in the
  last activity.

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IEPs Aligned to the State Standards

• Each goal should be linked to an Illinois
  Learning Standard.
• http//www.isbe.net/ils/Default.htm

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Short-Term Objectives

• Logical breakdown of the major components of the
  goal
• Specifies the behavior to be performed and the
  conditions under which the child will perform the
  behavior
• Indicators of progress
• Limit 2-4 per goal

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Example of Objectives

• Annual Goal Charlie will increase his ability
  to accurately solve grade level word problems
  requiring him to use familiar mathematical
  operations.
• Short-Term Objectives
• Charlie will discriminate relevant from
  irrelevant information within the text of a word
  problem with 80 accuracy.
• Charlie will select the appropriate operation for
  a given word problem with 80 accuracy.
• Charlie will compute accurate responses to word
  problems with 80 accuracy.

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Short-Term Objectives Activity

• Write 3-4 short-term objectives for the goals
  that you wrote in the previous activity.

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Post-Secondary Transition

• Required IEP component for every student aged 14
  ½ or older
• Based on appropriate assessment of student
  strengths, preferences and interests
• Involvement of parents and other family members
  in developing data is a PLUS

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Post-Secondary Transition

• Student involvement in the development is
  ESSENTIAL
• Goals and objectives must connected to what the
  student is doing and what the student may need to
  do in the future
• Must be designated and must include services
  designed to prepare the student for
  post-graduation life

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Continuum of Services
A range of individualized services and programs
within the educational setting based on a childs
individual needs

• General Education Classroom with no supplementary
  aids and services
• General Education Classroom with supplementary
  aids and services
• Resource Room (special class)
• Self-Contained Room (special class)
• Separate Day School (special school)
• Residential Program (special school)
• Home/Hospital Program

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• A child with a disability should not be
  removed from education in age-appropriate general
  education classrooms solely because of needed
  modifications in the general curriculum.

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Determination of Placement

• Team decision, including parents/guardian
• Consistent with the childs IEP
• Least restrictive environment
• To the maximum extent appropriate, permit the
  child to participate in nonacademic and
  extracurricular activities
• Reviewed at least annually

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LRE Determination

• To the maximum extent appropriate, shall be
  educated with nondisabled peers
• Satisfactory achievement can not be obtained in
  the general education classroom without
  modifications and accommodations due to the
  severity of the disability
• Close as possible to childs home
• Educated in the school he or she would attend if
  not disabled
• Consider harmful effect of placement on the child
  or on the quality of services
• Shall not be based solely on the need for
  modifications to the general curriculum

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Delegation of Rights (PA 95-372)

• Acknowledgement of the fact that when a student
  turns 18 years of age, all rights enjoyed by the
  parent SHALL transfer to the student
• Transfer shall not occur under two circumstances
• Adjudication of legal incompetence by a court
  of law or
• Execution of a delegation of rights form by the
  student

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Notification at age 17

• In addition to the general notice of transfer at
  age 17, districts must now provide notice also of
  the right of the student to delegate rights
• Districts must also provide a copy of the
  delegation of rights form as found on the ISBE
  website or a form substantially similar to the
  suggested form contained in the statute

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Delegation of Rights

• Must be in writing
• Must be signed by both the student and the person
  to whom the rights are delegated
• In the case of a student with a disability whose
  disability precludes signing a form, other means
  such as an audio or video record may be used
• Must last for no more than one calendar year
• May be revoked at any time by the student

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Resources

• Illinois State Board of Education
  www.isbe.net/spec-ed/
• Federal Register August 14, 2006
• 23 Illinois Administrative Code Part 226 April
  28. 2003
• LD Online www.ldonline.org
• Wrights Law www.fetaweb.com
• Online Accommodations Bibliography
  http//cehd.umn.edu/nceo/AccomStudies

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ISBE Contact Information

• Julie Evans jevans_at_isbe.net
• Andrew Eulass aeulass_at_isbe.net
• Phone number 217-782-5589