The Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Writing and Implementing an IEP
So my child has been found eligible for special education, and I agree. What’s next?
The next step is to write and implement what is known as an Individualized Education Program—usually called an IEP. After a child is found eligible, a meeting must be held within 30 days to develop to the IEP.
What’s an IEP?
The acronym IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. This is a written document that describes the educational program designed to meet a child’s individual needs. Every child who receives special education must have an IEP.
The IEP has two general purposes: (1) to set learning goals for your child; and (2) to state the supports and services that the school district will provide for your child.
What Information is in your child’s IEP?
Your child’s IEP will contain the following statements:
Present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. This statement describes how your child is currently achieving in school. This includes how your child’s disability affects his or her participation and progress in the general education curriculum.
Annual goals. The IEP must state annual goals for your child, what you and the school team think he or she can reasonably accomplish in a year. The goals must relate to meeting the needs that result from your child’s disability. They must also help your son or daughter participate in and progress in the general education curriculum.
Special education and related services to be provided. The IEP must list the special education and related services to be provided to your child. This includes supplementary aids and services (e.g., preferential seating, a communication device, one-on-one tutor) that can increase your child’s access to learning and his or her participation in school activities. It also includes changes to the program or supports for school personnel that will be provided for your child.
Participation with children without disabilities. The IEP must include an explanation that answers this question: How much of the school day will your child be educated separately from children without disabilities or not participate in extracurricular or other nonacademic activities such as lunch or clubs?
Dates and location. The IEP must state (a) when special education and related and supplementary aids and services will begin; (b) how often they will be provided; (c) where they will be provided; and (d) how long they will last.
Participation in state and district-wide assessments. Your state and district probably give tests of student achievement to children in certain grades or age groups. In order to participate in these tests, your child may need individual accommodations or changes in how the tests are administered. The IEP team must decide what accommodations your child needs and list them in the IEP. If your child will not be taking these tests, the IEP must include a statement as to why the tests are not appropriate for your child, how your child will be tested instead, and why the alternate assessment selected is appropriate for your child.
Transition services. By the time your child is 16 (or younger, if the IEP team finds it appropriate for your child), the IEP must include measurable postsecondary goals related to your child’s training, education, employment, and (when appropriate) independent living skills. The IEP must also include the transition services needed to help your child reach those goals, including what your child should study.
Measuring progress. The IEP must state how school personnel will measure your child’s progress toward the annual goals. It must also state when it will give you periodic reports on your child’s progress.
It is very important that children who receive special education participate in the general education curriculum as much as possible. That is, they should learn the same curriculum as children without disabilities—for example, reading, math, science, social studies, and physical education. In some cases, this curriculum may need to be adapted for your child to learn, but it should not be omitted. Participation in extracurricular activities and other nonacademic activities is also important. Your child’s IEP needs to be written with this in mind.
For example, what special education and related services will help your child participate in the general education curriculum—in other words, to study what other students are studying? What special education, related services, or supports will help your child take part in extracurricular activities such as school clubs or sports? When your child’s IEP is developed, an important part of the discussion will be how to support your child in regular education classes and activities in the school.
Who develops my child’s IEP?
Many people come together to develop your child’s IEP. This group is called the IEP team and includes most of the same types of individuals who were involved in your child’s evaluation. Team members will include:
You, the parents
At least one regular education teacher
At least one of your child’s special education teachers or special education providers
A representative of the school system who (a) is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of special education, (b) knows about the general education curriculum; and (c) knows about the resources the school system has available
An individual who can interpret the evaluation results and talk about what instruction may be necessary for your child
Your child, when appropriate
Other individuals (invited by you or the school) who have knowledge or special expertise about your child. For example, you may wish to invite a relative who is close to your child or a child care provider. The school may wish to invite a related services provider such as a speech therapist or a physical therapist.
With your consent, the school must also invite representatives from any other agencies that are likely to be responsible for paying for or providing transition services (if your child is 16 years old or, if appropriate, younger).
So I can help develop my child’s IEP?
Yes, absolutely. The law is very clear that parents have the right to participate in developing their child’s IEP. In fact, your input is invaluable. You know your child so very well, and the school needs to know your insights and concerns. That’s why IDEA makes parents equal members on the IEP team.
The school staff will try to schedule the IEP meeting at a time that is convenient for all team members to attend. If the school suggests a time that is impossible for you, explain your schedule and needs. It’s important that you attend this meeting and share your ideas about your child’s needs and strengths. Often, another time or date can be arranged.
Can the meeting be held without the parents participating?
Yes. IDEA’s regulations state that the school may hold the IEP meeting without you if it is unable to convince you that you, as parents, should attend. If neither parent can attend the IEP meeting, the school must use other methods to ensure your participation, including video conferences and individual or conference telephone calls.
If, however, you still can’t attend or participate in the IEP meeting, the school may hold the IEP meeting without you—as long as it keeps a record of its efforts to arrange a mutually agreed-on time and place and the results of those efforts. This can be accomplished by keeping detailed records of:
telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls;
copies of correspondence sent to you and any responses received; and
detailed records of visits made to your home or work and the results of those visits.
If the school does hold the meeting without you, it must keep you informed about the meeting and any decisions made there. The school must also ask for (and receive) your written permission before special education and related services may be provided to your child for the first time.
What should I do before the IEP meeting?
The purpose of the IEP meeting is to develop your child’s Individualized Education Program. You can prepare for this meeting by:
making a list of your child’s strengths and needs;
talking to teachers and/or therapists and getting their thoughts about your child;
visiting your child’s class and perhaps other classes that may be helpful to him or her; and
talking to your child about his or her feelings toward school.
It is a good idea to write down what you think your child can accomplish during the school year. Look at your state’s standards for your child’s grade level. It also helps to make notes about what you would like to say during the meeting
What happens during an IEP meeting?
During the IEP meeting, the different members of the IEP team share their thoughts and suggestions. If this is the first IEP meeting after your child’s evaluation, the team may go over the evaluation results, so your child’s strengths and needs will be clear. These results will help the team decide what special help your child needs in school.
Remember that you are a very important part of the IEP team. You know your child. Don’t be shy about speaking up, even though there may be many people at the meeting. Share what you know about your child and what you would like others to know.
After the various team members (including you, the parent) have shared their thoughts and concerns, the group will have a better idea of your child’s strengths and needs. This will allow the team to discuss and decide:
the educational and other goals that are appropriate for your child; and
the type of special education services your child needs.
The IEP team will also talk about the related services your child may need to benefit from his or her special education. The IDEA lists many related services that schools must provide if eligible children need them. Examples of related services include:
occupational therapy, which can help a child develop or regain movement that he or she may have lost due to injury or illness; and
speech and language services, which can help children who have trouble speaking.
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IDEA’s List of Related Services
Audiology
Counseling services (including rehabilitation counseling)
Early identification and assessment of disabilities in children
Interpreting services
Medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes
Occupational therapy
Orientation & mobility services
Parent counseling and training
Physical therapy
Psychological services
Recreation (including therapeutic recreation)
Speech-language pathology services ( https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/speech-and-language and/or https://www.tn.gov/education/student-support/special-education/special-education-speech-language.html )
School health services and school nurse services
Social work services in schools
Transportation
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This list does not include every related service a child might need or that a school system may offer. To learn more about these related services and how IDEA defines them, read this discussion of Related Services, available online at:
http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/iep-relatedservices/
Supplementary aids and services can also play a pivotal role in supporting the education of children with disabilities in the general education classroom and their participation in a range of other school activities. That is also the intent of supplementary aids and services. Not surprisingly, these supports may be an important topic to discuss in the IEP meeting. Examples include but are not limited to:
Supports to address your child’s environmental needs (e.g., preferential seating; altered physical room arrangement);
Levels of staff support needed (e.g., type of personnel support needed, such as behavior specialist, health care assistant, or instructional support assistant);
Specialized equipment needs that your child may have (e.g., wheelchair, computer, augmentative communication device);
Pacing of instruction needed (e.g., breaks, more time, home set of materials);
Presentation of subject matter needed (e.g., taped lectures, sign language, primary language); and
Assignment modification needed (e.g., shorter assignments, taped lessons, instructions broken down into steps).
Deciding which supplementary aids and services (if any) will support your child’s access to the general education curriculum and participation in school activities will very much depend upon your child’s disability and his or her needs. None may be needed. Or many. All are intended to enable your child to be educated with children without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate.
Special factors. Depending on the needs of your child, the IEP team must also discuss these special factors:
If your child’s behavior interferes with his or her learning or the learning of others: The IEP team will talk about strategies and supports to address your child’s behavior.
If your child has limited proficiency in English: The IEP team will talk about your child’s language needs as these needs relate to his or her IEP.
If your child is blind or visually impaired: The IEP team must provide for instruction in Braille or the use of Braille, unless it determines after an appropriate evaluation that your child does not need this instruction.
If your child has communication needs: The IEP team must consider those needs.
If your child is deaf or hard of hearing: The IEP team will consider your child’s language and communication needs. This includes your child’s opportunities to communicate directly with classmates and school staff in his or her usual method of communication (for example, sign language).
Assistive technology. The IEP team will also talk about whether your child needs any assistive technology devices or services. Assistive technology devices can help many children do certain activities. Examples include:
adapted furniture, tools, utensils, and other typically nonelectronic devices—which can help children with physical challenges; and
digital books, or devices that enlarge words on a computer screen or read them aloud—which can help children who do not see or read well.
Assistive technology services include evaluating your child to see if he or she could benefit from using an assistive device. These services also include providing the device and training your child to use it. If appropriate, your family and/or the professionals who work with your child may also receiving training in using the device.
To learn more about AT, visit the Center on Technology and Disability at http://ctdinstitute.org/
Transition services. You may have noticed that one of the components of the IEP was transition services. We’d like to look more closely at this component now, because it’s a very important time in your child’s life—and an important part of the IEP when the time comes. Beginning when your child is age 16 (or younger, if appropriate), the IEP team will help your son or daughter plan ahead to life after high school and include statements in the IEP with respect to:
postsecondary annual goals for your child;
the transition services (including courses of study) needed to help your child reach those goals; and
the rights (if any) that will transfer from you to your child when he or she reaches the age of majority, and that your child and you have been notified of these.
IDEA defines transition services as a coordinated set of activities for a student with a disability that is designed within a results-oriented process focused on improving the student’s academic and functional achievement and promoting the student’s movement from school to post-school activities. These activities can include postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation. With respect to your child, this coordinated set of activities:
is based on your child’s individual needs, taking into account his or her strengths, preferences, and interests; and
includes instruction; related services; community experiences; the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives; and, if appropriate, the acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.
Transition services can be provided as special education if they are specially designed instruction or as a related service, if they are required for your child to benefit from special education.
To learn more about transition planning, visit the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center at www.nsttac.org/
As you can see, there are a lot of important matters to talk about in an IEP meeting. You may feel very emotional during the meeting, as everyone talks about your child’s needs. Try to keep in mind that the other team members are all there to help your child. If you hear something about your child that surprises you, or that is different from the way you see your child, bring it to the attention of the other members of the team. In order to design a good program for your child, it is important for you to work closely with the other team members and share your feelings about your child’s educational needs. Feel free to ask questions and offer opinions and suggestions.
Based on the above discussions, the IEP team will then write your child’s IEP. This includes the services and supports the school will provide for your child. It will also include the location where particular services will be provided. Your child’s placement (where the IEP will be carried out) will be determined every year, must be based on your child’s IEP, and must be as close as possible to your child’s home. The placement decision is made by a group of persons, including you, the parent, and others knowledgeable about your child, the meaning of the evaluation data, and the placement options. In some states, the IEP team makes the placement decision. In other states, the placement decision is made by another group of people. In all cases, you as parents have the right to be members of the group that makes decisions on the educational placement of your child.
Depending on the needs of your child and the services to be provided, your child’s IEP could be carried out:
in regular education classes;
in special classes (where all the students are receiving special education services);
in special schools;
at home;
in hospitals and institutions; and
in other settings.
Which of these placements is most appropriate for your child? IDEA strongly prefers that children with disabilities be educated in the general education classroom, working and learning alongside their peers without disabilities. In fact, placement in the regular education classroom is the first option the IEP team should consider. With the support of supplementary aids and services, can your child be educated satisfactorily in that setting? If so, then the regular education classroom is your child’s appropriate placement. If not, then the group deciding placement will look at other placements for your child.
Does the school need my consent to implement the IEP?
Yes, the school must obtain your informed written consent before the initial provision of special education and related services to your child and must make reasonable efforts to obtain that consent.
If you don’t respond to the request for consent for the initial provision of special education and related services, or you refuse to give consent, the school system may not override your lack of consent and implement the IEP. The school system is not considered in violation of its requirement to make a free appropriate public education available to your child. Your lack of consent, however, means that your child will not receive special education and related services in school.
May I revoke my consent for special education and related services after initially giving it?
Yes. At any time after providing initial consent, you may revoke consent, in writing, for the continued provision of special education and related services. Once you revoke consent, the school system may no longer provide special education and related services to your child, and they may not use mediation or due process procedures to try to override your revocation of consent.
Once you revoke consent, your child will be no longer receive the services and supports that were included in his or her IEP. Additionally, there are also a number of other consequences that may arise, such as how your child may be disciplined.
Therefore, it is important for you to ask questions about how your child’s education will be affected before revoking consent.
Can my child’s IEP be changed?
Yes. At least once a year a meeting must be scheduled with you to review your child’s progress and develop your child’s new annual IEP. But you don’t have to wait for this annual review. You (or any other team member) may ask to have your child’s IEP reviewed or revised at any time.
The meeting to revise the IEP will be similar to the IEP meeting described above. The team will talk about:
your child’s progress toward the goals in the current IEP;
what new goals should be added; and
whether any changes need to be made to the special education and related services your child receives.
This annual IEP meeting—or any periodic IEP review you might request—allows you and the school to review your child’s educational program and change it as necessary.
Can the IEP be changed without holding an IEP meeting?
Yes. If you and the school want to change your child’s IEP after the annual IEP meeting, you and the school may agree not to convene an IEP meeting. Instead, you and the school will develop a written document that will amend your child’s IEP. If your child’s IEP is changed, all IEP team members will be informed of the changes, and if you request it, the school must give you a copy of the revised IEP.
Does the IEP meeting have to be in person?
No. When holding an IEP meeting, you and the school may agree to use other means of participation. For example, some members may participate by video conference or conferences calls.
May a team member be excused from attending an IEP meeting?
Yes, under certain circumstances and only with the consent of both the school system and the parent. If the member’s area of the curriculum or related service is not going to be discussed or modified at the meeting, then he or she may be excused if you, as parents, and the school system agree in writing. A member whose area of expertise is going to discussed or changed at the meeting may be excused—under two conditions:
You (in writing) and the school agree to excuse the member; and
The member gives written input about developing the IEP to you and the team before the meeting.