Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
What is an Individualized Education Program (IEP)?
An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the cornerstone of a quality education for each child with a disability. It describes the educational program that has been designed to meet a child’s unique needs. Each child who receives special education and related services must have an IEP.
Each IEP must be designed for one student and must be a truly individualized document. The IEP creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators, related services personnel, and students (when age appropriate) to work together to improve educational results for children with disabilities.
Contents of an IEP
An IEP should include the following information:
The student’s disability/disabilities
A statement vision statement of the student’s long-term goal (1-5 years in future)
Description of how the student’s disability/disabilities effects their progress in the classroom
Short-term goals, based upon the child’s own learning strengths and weaknesses
How the child’s progress towards these goals will be measure and how will the goals be evaluated
Accommodations and modifications
For students with behavior or emotional issues that interfere with their learning, the IEP should contain a program designed to teach the student a behavior and social skills, and all behavior management techniques to be used
Summer services
Transports needs
Type of placement
Effective Progress
“Progress effectively” means making documented growth in the acquisition of knowledge and skills, including social/emotional development in the general education program, according to the following:
Chronological age and developmental exceptions
The individual educational potential of the child
The learning standards in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks
For more information, refer to Special Education regulation – 28.02(17) – Progress effectively in the general education program.
IEP References
IEP Process Guide (June 2001), a manual that was publication by DESE, describes each page of the IEP. You can call an order your own copy of this guide from DESE, Special Education Policy and Planning Department (781) 338-3375.
Other Resources
For the state definition, refer to Special Education regulation – 28.02(7) “Disability shall mean 1 or more of the following impairments.”
For the federal definition (IDEA – 04), refer to the IDEA website.
The Massachusetts Department of Education also offers its Is Special Education the Right Service Guide on its technical assistance webpage.
The U.S. Department of Education offers its Guide to the Individualized Education Program.