Embedded Files
Lets walk through what each part of an IEP looks like. This is a blank IEP; your child's will be filled with words! Always ask any questions that you have about the IEP in your child's meeting!
Information Page
This page will be filled in with your child's personal information, your contact information, and your child's service school information. All IEP team participants will be listed at the bottom
The next few pages of the IEP will outline your child's eligibility for special education services. This may include standardized assessment results, or reports from Child Find, Speech and Language, School Psychologist, Occupational or Physical Therapy, Adapted Physical Education, etc.
After Eligibility, there will be a page that outlines Maryland state standards for achieving a high school diploma and the standardized tests that students take in order to graduate. This is a page on all IEPs, regardless of your child's age. This page doesn't apply to your child this year because they do not take any standardized assessments.
Present Levels of Academic Performance
This section outlines your child's current ability in all the areas where they were determined to be eligible (on page two of the IEP) for special education services. This is how the IEP team tracks a student's progress over time. This section may include formal assessments, informal assessments, and/or observations from every service provider to your child.
The Present Levels section also includes your child's Child Outcome Summary (COS), your concerns and priorities, and a statement about how your child's disability affects how they participate in school. The COS starts with your parent interview and what you see as your child's strengths and needs. As your child moves through special education, their case manager will provide updates on a variety of developmental milestones.
Special Considerations and Accommodations
This section begins with a discussion about how your child communicates and how they can be supported. The next part outlines accommodations to support access to instruction. It also includes accommodations for testing, but your child isn't taking any standardized tests this year. The IEP team has the discussion: during instruction, what does your child need in order to access what we are learning?
Supplementary Aids and Services
This section is a part of the Special Considerations section. You may see many lines on your child's IEP, outlining different supports and best educational practices. This section ensures that your child has every support that they need in order to learn in the classroom. Some of these may include extended time, repetition, adult support, attention span support, etc.
Extended School Year (ESY)
This section will be filled in on your child's IEP. There are a list of questions that the team will discuss in order to determine your child's benefit to going to school during the summer. Some children benefit from the summer bridge, and some children don't need it in order to be successful the following school year. This is a team discussion and will be held each year so if your child does not need ESY this year, next year the team may determine that he/she would benefit.
Transition
This section does not apply to your child this year. Transition begins at age 14 to determine what your child needs in order to grow into a successful adult.
Agency Linkage
This goes hand in hand with transition and does not apply to your child this year.
Goals
The next section of your child's IEP will outline goals for this year. These goals will be very specific, and will have at least one objective. Objectives build up to the main goal, and provide progress along the way. In your child's eligibility determination, certain areas of need were identified. Each of these areas has its own goal. You will be provided with progress reports throughout the year on your child's progress towards these goals.
Services
The next piece of the IEP is the service page. This will typically be a short section, and each support your child receives will be outlined on a chart. Your child will receive a service line for their classroom instruction, transportation, and any other related services (speech, OT, PT, etc).
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
This is the most important section of the IEP! Every child with an IEP is entitled by law (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA 2004) to be placed in the least restrictive environment. This means that the IEP team will discuss the placement that will allow your child to be successful, while also providing all supports that they need. The goal is to find a placement that is not too overwhelming and not too supportive for your child.
This section will also include a discussion of how often your child will have the opportunity to engage with peers. For most children at our school, they will receive instruction in a small setting with a lot of adult support. They will have inclusion opportunities in order to gain social skills.
Medicaid
If your child qualifies for Medicaid and you give permission, our school receives funding in order to support educational resources.
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