What is an IEP?

An individual education plan (IEP) is a written plan that describes special education programs, accommodations and services that a school board will provide for a student. IEPs are based on a thorough assessment of a student’s strengths, needs and ability to learn and demonstrate learning.

Who's on the Team? What's their role?

In order to develop an IEP that is best suited for the student's success, it takes a team, here's who's on it and what they do:

• The parents of the student with the disability. They know their child very well and can talk about their child's strengths and needs as well as their ideas for enhancing their child's education. They can offer insight into how their child learns, what his or her interests are, and other aspects of the child that only a parent can know.

• A general education teacher if the student is participating in the general education program. The regular education teacher has a great deal to share with the team. For example, he or she might talk about: the general curriculum in the regular classroom, the aids, services, or changes to the educational program that would help the child learn and achieve, and finally strategies to help the child with behaviour, if behaviour is an issue

• At least one special education teacher or at least one special education provider. Because of his or her training in special education, this teacher can talk about such issues as: how to modify the general curriculum to help the child learn, the supplementary aids and services that the child may need to be successful in the regular classroom and elsewhere, how to modify testing so that the student can show what he or she has learned, and other aspects of individualizing instruction to meet the student's unique needs. Beyond developing an IEP, the special education teacher may help the student carry out the IEP by: working with the student in a resource room or special class devoted to students receiving special education services, team teach with the regular education teacher, or work with other school staff, particularly the regular education teacher, to provide expertise about addressing the child's unique needs.

• A representative of the local education agency who is

  • Qualified to provide or supervise the provision of specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of students with special needs

  • Knowledgeable about the general education curriculum

  • Knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the local education agency.

• An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results (this person may be one of those already listed). The evaluation results are very useful in determining how the child is currently doing in school and what areas of need the child has. This IEP team member must be able to talk about the instructional implications of the child's evaluation results, which will help the team plan appropriate instruction to address the child's needs.

• A School System Representative, this person knows a great deal about special education services and educating children with disabilities. He or she can talk about the necessary school resources. It is important that this individual has the authority to commit resources and be able to ensure that whatever services are set out in the IEP will actually be provided.

• Transition Services Representative, this individual can help the team plan any transition services the student needs. He or she can also commit the resources of the agency to pay for or provide needed transition services.

• Other individuals who have knowledge of or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel (if desired by the parents or the school district), which implies that a parent may also invite an advocate to attend the team’s meetings. Depending on the child's individual needs, some related service professionals attending the IEP meeting or otherwise helping to develop the IEP might include occupational or physical therapists, adaptive physical education providers, psychologists, or speech-language pathologists.

• Of course, whenever appropriate, the student with the disability. More and more students are participating in and even leading their own IEP meetings. This allows them to have a strong voice in their own education and can teach them a great deal about self-advocacy and self-determination.

https://www.readingrockets.org/article/iep-team-members

IEP Contents

Once the IEP team is in place, the members will create an IEP that, by law, must include the following parts:

• A statement of the student’s present level of educational achievement and functional performance.

• A statement of measurable annual goals and, for students evaluated through alternate assessments (i.e., students with more significant disabilities), benchmarks, or short-term objectives.

• A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services that teachers will provide to the student.

• An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the student will not participate with non-disabled students in the general education classroom and in other school activities.

• A statement about the student’s participation in state- or district-wide assessments of student achievement.

• The projected dates for beginning services and modifications.

• A statement of how educators will measure the student’s progress toward the annual goals and how the student’s parents will be regularly informed.

Accommodations & Modifications

Once a student has an IEP, modifications and accommodations are put in place for them to learn the same information as other students. An accommodation changes how a student learns the material. A modification changes what a student is taught or expected to learn. Listed below are common accommodations and modifications made for students with a disability.