Purpose of the IEP
The IEP is a compliance-monitoring document. This document is designed to ensure that students are receiving the services designed by the IEP team necessary for disabled students to receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
The IEP process serves as:
A communication vehicle with parents/guardians and the District
Formal Documentation of team decisions and vehicle for compliance monitoring
An opportunity for all team members to have a shared voice in deciding what the student’s needs are, what services will be provided to meet those needs, and the anticipated outcomes.
Opportunity for resolution of differences between parents/guardians and the District
An evaluation device for determining the extent of the child’s progress toward meeting the stated goals and objectives.
The IEP is a contract between the school district and the parent/guardian and/or the student. Full due process procedures are afforded the IEP process.
Notification of the IEP Meeting
The case manager notifies parents by telephone of possible meeting dates and times. The case manager determines other participants’ availability and ensures required members of the IEP team are invited, as well as other team members designated as part of the IEP team. Written notice to parents and other participants is provided using Notice of Meeting at least 10 days prior to the meeting unless parents have agreed to meeting earlier that the ten-day notice.
Parents must be given three separate meeting opportunities documented in writing if parents are not in attendance at either the first or second scheduled IEP meetings. If parents do not attend the third scheduled IEP meeting, the IEP meeting will be convened and the IEP document mailed to the parents. Notice must be given in the parent’s native language.
When an IEP meeting must be convened
IEP meeting must be convened within 30 days of determining student eligibility for special education and related services;
By the annual IEP review date;
When considering a change in the IEP; and
At the reasonable request of:
a. Parent/guardian, person acting as a parent, or a surrogate parent, and the student if age 18 years; and
b. The student’s teacher
IEP Meeting Participants
IEP team membership must include:
The parent
At least one regular education teacher of the student, or possible regular education teacher of the student if the student may be participating in the regular education environment
At least one special education teacher
If the only special education service provider is a related service provider, then a District Representative (such as the Learning Specialist or an administrator) must also attend.
Additionally, IEP team membership must be made up of the following:
A special education staff member who can interpret evaluation results. This staff member may also serve in the capacity of the special education teacher noted above. Thus, one person can be responsible for the special education teacher or service provider and this role.
The student is REQUIRED to participate beginning at age 16. It may also be appropriate for the student to participate prior to age 16.
The District Representative must have the authority to commit district resources as outlined in the IEP document. The District Representative must be qualified to provide or supervise special education, and must be knowledgeable about the general education curriculum.
IEP Meeting Guidelines
The following minimum activities are required elements of the IEP meeting:
Introductions of all members present.
Signing of Written Agreement if a team member is unable to attend but participated through writing.
Provision and review of Procedural Safeguards
Meeting minutes taken by a designated recorder.
Discussion of student’s strengths
Discussion of educational needs for specially designed instruction, such as:
Academic
Behavior
Social/emotional
Daily living skills
Transition (required at least by age 16), earlier if appropriate
Graduation options beginning in 5th grade
Related Services
Assistive Technology if needed
Discussion of ESY as appropriate
Discussion of Special Considerations (only those that apply need be discussed, i.e. if a child is not blind or deaf, that does not need to be discussed).
Discussion of accommodations/modifications appropriate for the student.
Discussion of goals/objectives and criterion for accomplishment of such
Discussion of statewide assessment procedures if appropriate
Behavior Support Plan if necessary
Program Placement
Signatures
A signature or initials on the cover page of the IEP signifies that individuals were in attendance at the IEP meeting. This information must be typed in and attendee can initial or sign. A signature on the annual placement page indicates agreement with the placement decisions. This signature is also required. For initial placement, parent signature is required. Beginning at age 16, students is required to participate in, and sign the IEP. Signatures are also required for all initial referrals to Special Education including Written Consent for Evaluation.
Prior Written Notice
Prior Notice of Special Education Action must be completed whenever a new IEP is written, or whenever there is a proposal/refusal to initiate or change the IEP. This includes annual, initial, and revisions of the IEP. A copy must be sent to the parents.
New student Move In
Student moved from within Oregon with a current IEP:
If IEP can be implemented as written, complete Prior Notice of Special Education Action and send a copy to parents.
If IEP cannot be implemented as written, provide Prior Notice of Special Education Action and conduct IEP meeting completing an annual review or revised IEP document as appropriate.
Student moved in from out of state:
Team must hold an eligibility team meeting to determine whether the student meets Oregon eligibility, or if additional data is required to establish eligibility. Prior evaluations may be used as appropriate. The student receives services during this period. If the IEP can be implemented as written, transfer IEP data onto Oregon IEP forms, complete with eligibility statement and Prior Notice of Special Education Action.
If IEP cannot be implemented as written, provide Notice of IEP Team Meeting and conduct IEP meeting utilizing identified IEP procedures.
Submit all forms to Student Services.
IEP Team Attendance Not Required (IDEA 2004)
If the District and the parent agree to excuse an IEP team member from meeting attendance, the parent and the District Representative, must sign the Written Agreements between the parent and the District form.
Reasons allowed for excusal are:
Content area of excused member not discussed at meeting: The excused IEP team member’s area of curriculum or related service is not being modified or discussed at the meeting.
Content area of excused member discussed at meeting: The excused IEP team member must submit in writing to the IEP Team information regarding modifications to or discussion of the member’s area of the curriculum or related services if these areas will be discussed at the meeting. This applies whether the team member is excused in whole or in part of the meeting.
Revisions to IEP other than at Annual IEP meeting: The District and parent agree that it is not necessary to meet to revise the student’s IEP between annual IEP meetings.
Reporting Progress to Parents
Progress toward IEP goals and objectives must be provided as often as report cards are provided to general education students. Progress towards IEP goals must be provided to parents on the IEP document, concurrent with the issuance of report cards. Every effort should be made to have progress reports prepared in a timely manner so that the regular education teacher is able to provide progress information along with the report card and/or progress report.
In order to provide information on progress that is objective and related directly to the goal/objective, data must be taken over multiple data points. The information provided on the student’s progress towards the goal must be specific, using the same type of criteria that will be utilized to determine whether the student met the goal at the end of the IEP year. (For example if the criteria is written as a percentage, the progress towards the goal must also be written as a percentage).
Progress should be proved regarding present levels of performance as close to the date of progress report as possible. Averaging percentages from the beginning of a semester or grading period often provide spurious information. A student should not be penalized for beginning a skill with 0% accuracy at the beginning of the grading period, and performing with a higher percentage at the end of the grading period by an averaging process. This will be discussed further in the chapter on Grading Practices.
Annual Placement and Least Restrictive Environment
Placement determination is made by a group of people including the parents. The team must include someone who is knowledgeable about the student, about the evaluation data, and about placement options. The IEP team may serve as the placement team if the IEP team individuals with the required knowledge are present.
Procedures:
Invite required participants to the meeting. This is typically a part of the Notice of Team Meeting. However, the placement meeting can be convened separate from the IEP meeting. If that is the case, then a new Notice of Team Meeting must be provided to participants.
Identify the placement team members on the placement determination page. Best practice is to ask members to provide their signature next to their typed name on the page. Signatures are required.
Review the student’s most current IEP, determine which IEP services can be implemented in the regular class;
If all IEP services cannot be provided in the regular class, identify those that must be provided outside the regular class; however, modifications to the general curriculum cannot be the sole reason;
For those services that must be provided outside the regular class, identify where, on the continuum from least to most restrictive, the services can be provided;
The Least Restrictive Environment consideration begins with the school the student would attend if not disabled. Thus, the first placement option considered on the Placement grid needs to start with this consideration. The benefits of this option are documented. Any potential harmful effects on the child and/or on the quality of the services to be provided are documented for this placement option. Modifications/supplementary services to reduce the harmful effects are documented on the grid for the least restrictive option. These modifications and supplementary services come from the services summary page of the IEP.
Descriptions of the Placement Options Considered section must be clearly stated.
Descriptions of placement options must demonstrate a range of appropriate placement options from Least Restrictive Environment to placement options with greater degrees of restrictiveness that ensure the student is able to receive FAPE.
Document which placement option is selected, and the rationale for selecting this option. Document the placement options rejected, and the rationale for rejecting this option(s).
Meeting minutes must document team member’s agreement or non-agreement to decisions made, and the reasons for non-agreement. In cases where parents do not agree with the rest of the team, The District makes the determination. In such a situation, it is advised to stop the meeting and reconvene at a later date if a Special Education administrator is not at the meeting.
Every effort should be made for district team members to come to agreement about placement. A pre-meeting is NOT a placement determination meeting. If team members cannot come to an agreement, the Holland Standard provides guidance on the decision making process in ensuring the Least Restrict Environment has been considered and provided.
Standard 1:
Academic Benefit: The educational benefits available to the student in the regular classroom supplemented with appropriate aides and services, as compared with educational benefits of a resource or specialized program placement. Consider:
Academic benefit to the student from being in the regular classroom.
Academic benefit to the student from being in a setting outside the regular classroom such as a resource room, or specialized program
Progress on academic IEP goals and objectives in the regular classroom
Degree to which the student would be able to participate in general curriculum in the regular classroom, with without modifications
Extend to which supplementary aids and services to support instruction in the regular classroom have been tried
Student’s need for intensive instruction in a special setting for a period of time to benefit from instruction in the regular classroom in the future
Standard II:
Non-academic Benefit: The non-academic benefits of placement in a regular classroom, as compared with non-educational benefits of a resource or specialized program placement. Consider:
Other educational benefits the student has or would receive from placement in either setting in areas such as language, social skills, behavior, and self-esteem.
Progress student has or would make on non-academic goals in either setting.
The degree to which the student interacts with other students in either setting
The degree to which the student acquires appropriate communication and social skills modeled by nondisabled and disabled students in either setting
Extent to which supplementary aids and services to support nonacademic benefits have been tried
Standard III:
Disruptive Effect: The effect of the student’s presence on the teacher and other students in the various settings: Consider:
The degree to which the student would disturb or distract other students or otherwise disrupt the learning environment in the regular classroom as compared with a resource or specialized program setting
History of unruly, aggressive, or assaultive behavior; injuries to others resulting from student’s behavior
Threats to other students or staff
Sexual harassment of students or staff; inappropriate sexual conduct
Efforts made by the District, including consideration or use of appropriate supplementary aids and services, to control the disruption, danger, or other detrimental impact on the regular classroom, and the results of those efforts.
Amount of time the regular classroom teacher would be required to devote to the child with disability