IEP

What is Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)?

In general, all school-age children who are individuals with disabilities as defined by Section 504 and IDEA are entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). An appropriate education may be provided in a number of ways inside and outside of the general education classroom (see MRSD's Continuum of Services). One important aspect of FAPE is that it is designed to meet the individual needs of a student to the same extent that the needs of nondisabled students are met. To ensure that schools meet individual needs, the parents of students with disabilities partner with school teams to collaboratively develop individualized education programs (IEPs) using data from comprehensive evaluations.

What is Specially Designed Instruction (SDI)

Specially designed instruction means adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction:

(a) To address the unique needs of the child that result from the child's disability; and

(b) To ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that he or she can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children.

*To qualify as SDI, instruction relevant to the goal areas of a student's IEP must be delivered by or under the supervision of a learning specialist. Supervising means designing lessons, selecting curriculum, and, on a regular basis, tracking progress. Specially designed instruction must differ in methodology or content from general education instruction; if you are just repeating general education instruction, it is not SDI.

**If a student is not receiving SDI from a SpEd teacher, is ONLY in the gen ed setting, AND is successful with A’s and B’s, requesting an evaluation to determine whether they still meet eligibility criteria for special education is a good idea.

Who Should Attend IEP Meetings?

The IEP meeting is a collaborative process, where team members with knowledge of the student consider the student's unique profile of strengths and needs in order to develop a meaningful education program that allows the student to show significant progress on challenging objectives. The following are required IEP team meeting participants:

One or both of the child's parents/guardians
Student, if age 15 or older
At least one regular education teacher * Note a general education teacher is not a required IEP team meeting participant if the student is not and will not be participating in the general education environment. They should be invited, however, if there is any possibility the student may return to general education.
Case manager (typically a special education teacher)
District representative (typically an administrator, as, among many other things, they must be authorized to commit district resources and ensure that services set out in the IEP will be provided).

*note the same team member can serve as the district representative and another role

An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of the evaluation results *note the same team member can serve as the individual with knowledge of evaluation results and another role

The following may also participate in an IEP team meeting:

English Language Development (ELD) teacher, if the student participates in ELD services
Speech and Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, or Physical Therapist (you can find all staff who are working with a student under the Team tab in Synergy SE)
School Psychologist
Director of Special Education (this team member must be invited to IEP meetings involving significant placement changes and should be consulted prior to any meeting where the case manager suspects consensus may not be reached)
District Nurse (this team member should be invited to all meetings for students with an Individualized Health Plan, Nursing Consultation minutes, or undergoing initial evaluation with health issues)
Mental Health Therapist (a completed Release of Information is required to communicate with this team member, unless the parent brings them to the meeting)
Developmental Disability (DD) Caseworker (a completed Release of Information is required to communicate with this team member, unless the parent brings them to the meeting)
Other team members invited by the parent

A written agreement between parents and the district should be used to excuse a required team member.

Gen ed teachers cannot be excused from SLD eligibility meetings.

How can School Teams Ensure Required Documentation for IEP Meetings are Completed in a Timely Manner?

Step 1. Prior to meetings, teams should review the Meeting and Organization Grid, which outlines when IEP meetings must occur, who should attend them, the paperwork required for each type of meeting, and timelines relating to paperwork being completed and turned into the Special Education Office Manager.

Step 2. When meetings have concluded, case managers must use relevant Cover Sheets to check off completed and collected forms prior to turning them in.

Step 3. Teams should communicate regularly about upcoming meetings, outstanding action items, and other collaborations. A variety of forms are provided in the Forms section of the Supported Education Resources Drive to aid in enhancing communications and collaborations, such as Action Item Plans, Evaluation and Eligibility Checklists, etc.

Mtgs & Paperwork Organization Grid.doc

What Must be Done When a Student Moves into MRSD with An Active IEP?

There are two types of transfer / move in situations: 1. move ins from another Oregon district and 2. move ins from out of state. Although there are differences in the required procedural responses to each situation, we are obligated to implement services comparable to those described on a student's existing IEP until we adopt the previous district’s IEP, revisit eligibility, or develop, adopt, and implement a new IEP.

1. If a students arrives with an IEP from another Oregon district, they are eligible for special education services and should immediately be provided services comparable to those in the previous district’s IEP.

- If no changes are needed to the IEP, a transfer meeting should be held, a prior written notice should be written indicating we are accepting the IEP as is, and the parent should be given a copy of all new paperwork.
- If changes are needed, the transfer meeting should be held as soon as possible, an IEP Amendment should be completed with new pages generated for any area changed (see When Does an IEP Merit an Amendment? and How do I complete an Amendment in Synergy SE?), a prior written notice should be written indicating we are modifying the IEP, and the parent should be given a copy of all new paperwork.

2. If a student arrives with an IEP from outside Oregon, they are treated as an initial evaluation with one notable difference: they should immediately be provided services comparable to those in the previous district’s IEP while an evaluation is completed.

- An evaluation planning meeting should be held, where the team considers what information is needed, if any, to determine eligibility.
  - If no additional information is needed, the team may find the student eligible for special education and proceed with an IEP meeting.
  - If additional information is needed, a parent permission should be obtained and the evaluation must be completed within 60 school days. *Note ODE requires at least 3 school days between signed parent permission for evaluation and eligibility determination.

General Move In Process

When you have a move in (from In-State or Out of State) the following should happen:

Parent Enrolls and indicates student receives SpEd
Bldg Secretary/Registrar requests records from prior school
Faxed IEP and/or mailed SpEd file arrives at school. Bldg secretary gives it to lead learning specialist to review and determine case manager.
Case manager or Lead Learning Specialist sends the SpEd Office Manager (Buffy) an email with the following information and a request to add to SE side of Synergy. This information is required to enter them in Synergy:
1. Legal Name of Student
2. Out of state or In-state move in status
3. Scheduled First Day of School
4. Primary Eligibility (and secondary if applicable)
5. Current Eligibility date (not due date)
6. Current IEP date (not due date)
7. Case Manager (and any other team members to be added if desired)

E. The Office manager will add student to SynergySE and let you know they have been added.

F. Move in Mtg held and Transfer or Initial process started.

G. Case Manager puts move in file in SpEd Office Mgr’s box at bldg. She will pick up on Fridays.

When Students are Parentally Placed in Private Schools (e.g., Country Christian), are They Still Eligible for IEPS?

If a student with a disability is enrolled by a parent in a private school the District offers a services plan in place of an IEP. They still develop, review, and revise the services plan consistent with procedures for IEP team membership, parent participation, and IEP content, to the extent appropriate, however. The individual services form can be found here.

When are Progress Notes Sent Home?

This will be updated

What does an IEP Meeting Look Like?

Initial/Annual IEP Meeting Notes

Page updated

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