How to Get in Touch with Parents About IEP Meetings
Parents are part of the IEP team, but they are not always the easiest to get in touch with. Different schedules, language barriers, and other obstacles can make it difficult for school staff to communicate with families about upcoming IEP meetings and changes to an IEP. There’s a lot to do before you hold an […]
6 Reasons Teachers Need to Tell Parents to Get an Advocate
Imagine being a parent and walking into an IEP meeting for your child. Maybe you’re new to the IEP process. Maybe English is not your first language. Maybe you had a negative experience at school yourself and are distrustful and wary of school officials. Maybe you, yourself, have the same learning disability as your child […]
Surviving IEP Season
When you ask a special ed teacher what feelings come up during IEP season, the answers are rarely positive. Fear, frustration, exhaustion, and overwhelm are the most common feelings. No one went to college to become a special ed teacher to experience those feelings. In fact, while most colleges do a good job of addressing […]
IEP Writing Suggestions for First Year Teachers
It is never easy being a first-year teacher. There is so much to learn, so much to experience, and so much to do. For first-year special ed teachers, one of the most daunting tasks is writing those first IEPs. While colleges do their best to prepare future teachers to write them, there is nothing like […]
7 Go To Tips for Your First IEP Meeting
IEP meetings are intimidating, most times for all parties involved. While many veteran teachers still feel butterflies when they enter the conference room, first year teachers experience the nerves of IEP meetings ten-fold. To help alleviate some of those nerves, we asked experienced special ed teachers to share their best tips and tricks for IEP […]
A Great IEP Writer Does These 5 Things
Just like all teaching-related skills, learning how to write an outstanding IEP comes with a lot of practice. No one is fabulous at it their first time out. However, there are similarities between the things teachers do to create effective IEPs. In fact, a great IEP writer does these five things below to craft a […]
First IEP Meeting Tips for Special Ed Teachers
No matter how many IEPs you have sat through, there is always a sense of nervousness when facilitating your first IEP meeting. These teacher-tested first IEP meeting tips for special ed teachers can help make it easier and calm some of those first-meeting jitters! Even veteran teachers get nervous before IEP meetings, so for the […]
What to Do When Youโre Burned Out on Writing IEPs
There comes a time in every special educator’s life when writing IEPs leads to feelings of being burned out. And trust me, IEP writing burnout is real.The constant pressure to make sure your students’ needs are addressed in detail with the appropriate accommodations and interventions can weigh on even the most experienced of teachers.So, what […]
How to Make Student IEP Binders
Are you thinking about making data binders for your students? While they are a great idea, knowing what to put in data binders to make them useful is key. With so many options of materials to put in the binders, sometimes the most challenging part is whittling them down so that they do not contain […]
Addressing Play IEP Goals Virtually
Play goals are an essential part of many Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). They are integral to a child’s development, and, for many young students, they are the key to success. However, if a student’s Least Restrictive Environment is virtual learning, figuring out the best way to address play IEP goals virtually can be challenging. Whether […]
Why IEPs Create Sleepless Nights for Teachers
No matter how many Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) a teacher has written throughout her career, writing IEPs keeps teachers up at night! For some teachers, the stress of finding the right words makes sleep impossible. For others, the worry that the services will not be enough is what causes sleepless nights. No matter the reason, […]
Special Ed Jargon Everyone Should Know
No matter what subject you teach, chances are that you will eventually teach students with IEPs. Because of this, itโs important that you know common special ed jargon! The Oxford Dictionary defines jargon as “special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.” This […]
Time Saving IEP Writing Tips for Teachers
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are notorious for taking over the lives of special education teachers. How can you actually plan during your planning period when you have 3 IEPs to write? These documents carry a lot of weight and have a LOT of sections, and to put it simply – IEPs take TIME to write. […]
Streamlining the IEP Process (for Teachers)
Letโs just tell it like it is: Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are time consuming and long. Itโs the honest truth. Teachers often say that it takes 4+ hours for them to write a quality IEP. And I know that you know IEPs, which means you also know that writing the IEP is only a fraction […]
What is and isnโt Inclusion?
Inclusion is defined as: “all students are presumed competent, are welcomed as valued members of all general education classes and extra-curricular activities in their school, fully participate and learn alongside their same age peers in general education instruction based on the general education curriculum, and experience reciprocal social relationships.“ Inclusion is a team effort. When […]
Tips for Writing IEP Transition Plans
If you are teaching middle school or high school, you are very familiar with IEP transition plans. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) tells us that once a student turns 16 (younger in some states), they must have a transition plan written into their IEP. The purpose of a Transition IEP is to prepare […]
Why Transition IEPs Still Need Academic Goals
Transition – this is a word we hear a lot with our upper grades students in special education. Letโs start by going back to what the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) says about transition IEPs: IDEA 2004 tells us that transition goals must be included in a studentโs IEP no later than when they […]
3 Ways to Help Parents Advocate
The IEP process is a lot for a teacher. There is SO much paperwork, so many important factors to add, to remember, language to use, and language to avoid. Plus, special education teachers have to do this for a LOT of students! With all the volume of work surrounding IEPs, we often forget how overwhelming […]
Keeping Families Included in the IEP Process
When we think of those in charge of crafting a well-written Individualized Education Program (IEP), we often think of the special education teacher, general education teacher, speech language pathologist, occupational therapistโฆ and so on and so forth. If we limit our โteamโ to those working in the school, we are missing out on a huge […]
Including Students in the IEP Process
For some special education teachers, the thought of including students in the IEP process is energizing, and for other special education teachers, this thought is incredibly overwhelming. Both sets of feelings are valid. The vast spectrum of student needs that fall under the special education umbrella allows for a wide variety of participation possibilities within […]
IEP Meeting Doโs and Donโts
IEPs are the foundation to a quality special education program. In our teacher preparation programs, we practice writing present levels of performance, measurable goals, and finding just the right accommodations and modifications. But – what about the actual IEP meeting? The entire team in one place, reading your well crafted document out loud – PARENTS […]