Special Education Supports

Individual Education Plan

An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a written document that identifies the student’s specific learning expectations and outlines how the school will address these expectations through appropriate accommodations, modifications, and/or alternative programs/courses, as well as specific instructional and assessment strategies to be used with the student. 

An IEP may be developed for any student that the District deems to require a special education program or service to attend school, achieve curriculum expectations and/or demonstrate their learning.  An IEP must be developed for every student who has been identified as "exceptional" by an Identification, Placement, and Review Committee (IPRC).

The IEP is updated on a regular basis as the student’s strengths and needs change.  Input from the student, the parent/guardian(s), teacher(s) and other support personnel are considered during the development of the IEP.

An IEP must include at least the following:

• assessment data that provides evidence of the need for an Individual Education Plan

• a specific outline of the student’s strengths and needs and educational expectations,

• an outline of the special education programs and services that the student is to receive, and, 

• a transition plan that includes the specific goals, actions required, person(s) responsible for actions, and timelines for each educational transition where the student requires support.

Students and parents play an invaluable role in the development of the IEP.  Parents and the student (if 16 or older) must be consulted when an IEP is developed.  Once the draft of the IEP has been completed, the parent/guardian and/or student will receive a copy of the IEP for their feedback and signature.  The parent/guardian and/or student must also acknowledge by their signature if they were consulted in the development of the IEP or if they declined the opportunity to be consulted.

Accommodations & Modifications

Accommodations are changes to how we teach to allow the student to access the subject or course content and to fully demonstrate their knowledge and learning.  Accommodations do not change the expectations outlined in the curriculum for the subject or course.  Some of the accommodations that may be provided to a student include:

• Instructional Accommodations - e.g., pre-printed notes, scaffolded instruction, graphic organizers, assistive technology, time management, manipulatives, extra time for processing, rewording/rephrasing of information;

• Environmental Accommodations - e.g., preferential seating, proximity to the teacher, quiet setting, use of headphones, assistive devices; and,

• Assessment Accommodations - e.g., extended time limits, verbatim scribing, oral responses, alternative settings, assistive devices, prompts to return to task, more frequent breaks.

Accommodations for a student are not static, and they may change depending on the needs of a student for each specific course or situation.

Modifications are changes made to the grade-level expectations for a subject or course to meet a student’s learning needs. Modifications may include the use of expectations at a different grade level and/or an increase or decrease in the number and/or complexity of expectations relative to the curriculum expectations for the regular grade level. 

At the secondary level, the principal of the school will determine whether achievement of the modified expectations constitutes successful completion of the course, and will decide whether the student will be eligible to receive a credit for the course. The principal will communicate his or her decision to the parents and the student.

Additional Supports for Students

If required, a school can, through the RCDSB Special Services Department, also arrange for RCDSB staff or community agencies to provide students with the following additional support where needed:

• Assistive Technology Support

• Support for Students with Autism

• Support for Students who are Blind/Low Vision

• Support for Students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing

• Speech & Language Support

• Occupational Therapy & Physiotherapy Support (through CHEO's School-Based Rehabilitation Services)