IEPs can contain a lot of vocabulary that might not be familiar to everyone. Here are a few terms you might be wondering about or see in the IEP or at IEP meetings:
Individualized Education Program (IEP): Students who qualify for special education services will receive an IEP, which is an all-encompassing document of what supports and services the school will provide your child. Visit this page for a deeper look!
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): We want to remove your child from their general education classroom the least amount possible in order to be successful. Sometimes, the least restrictive environment is going to the resource room in order to meet with the special education teacher. Other times, the least restrictive environment might be the special education teacher joining your child in their classroom, which is known as co-teaching. This is an important consideration during IEP meetings and is part of special education law.
Specially Designed Instruction (SDI): The instructional time your child has that has been planned by a special education teacher and is carried out by either the special education teacher or an associate. For example, if your child has a reading goal, they will have SDI minutes working specifically on what your child needs in the area of reading.
Accommodations: Other supports your child needs in order to gain access to the content being taught. Here is a list of potential accommodations. Once accommodations are added to the IEP, they must be utilized in the special education and general education setting. An example of an accommodation you see regularly are reading glasses - what is being read does not change, the individual just needs glasses so they can see it in focus!
Modifications: These are adjustments made to the content in order for your child to be successful. This list contains both accommodation and modification examples to see the difference. An example of a modification would be altering text to use simpler language at a level that is appropriate for your child.
SMART Goals: For every curricular area that is a concern based on the evaluation done with your child, a SMART goal is written into the IEP. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. These goals are written annually at the IEP meetings.
Progress Monitoring: For every goal that is written, the IEP team determines a way to measure whether or not your child is making progress towards the goal. This is a check that is done approximately every 2 weeks and could include a one-minute read, doing a few math problems, writing a paragraph, or anything else that might be appropriate for your child. That way, we can measure how many correct words they are reading in a minute, how many math problems they can successfully complete, whether or not your child is writing in complete sentences, etc.
Co-Teaching: Because we want students to be taught in the least restrictive environment, our district places a lot of emphasis on co-teaching when possible. When your child is co-taught, the special education teacher works in conjunction with the general education teacher to plan instruction that will meet your child's needs. The special education teacher is in the room during the general education instruction to support your child (and others) rather than your child being removed from the room and missing what their peers are getting.
Amendment: IEPs are a living document. Anytime a change is needed, an amendment to the IEP can be made. The parent will be notified of the recommended change, or the parent can ask for an amendment. The amendment can occur through a conversation over the phone or at an additional IEP meeting to discuss the proposal.
45 Day Trial Out: As your child may be progressing to the point of not needing an IEP, the team may decide to do a 45 day trial out. In this case, the student no longer receives specially designed instruction, but they do continue to progress monitor. This is a check to see if the student is able to maintain their progress without the instruction, and is a useful tool to determine whether or not your child should continue with an IEP.
Re-Evaluation: Every three years, the IEP team and Grant Wood AEA staff will take a deep dive into the data to see what growth has been made over time and what, if any, additional evaluations need to be completed to ensure your child continues to qualify for special education. These meetings take place just as a 'typical' IEP meeting, and will just include extra information about your child's growth.
Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP): Students with a behavioral disability will have an additional document attached to the IEP known as a BIP. This document outlines the behavioral goal and accommodations, but it also gets more specific with what preventative measures will be taken to avoid the behavior, what replacement behaviors will be reinforced, how the team will respond when behaviors are escalated, and a safety plan. This serves as a guide for staff to ensure we are all addressing the student using the same language and approach.
Functional Behavior Analysis (FBA): When school staff observes a student with a behavioral disability, we are taking an in-depth look at the behavior, what causes the behavior to happen, and how the student responds following the behavior. This information is all documented in the FBA to record as much information about the behavior as possible.