Writing an Individualized Education Program (IEP) involves multiple steps to ensure it is student-centered, data-driven, and legally compliant. You need lots of data and collaboration to make the student’s IEP all-encompassing, and all of the little intricacies and nuances of this legal document can leave even the most veteran teacher feeling burnt out and overwhelmed.
IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. An IEP is a legally bound document created by a team of professionals that work with a child. But more than that, it’s a map for a child’s education program that includes special education instruction, services, and supports. No two children’s IEPs are the same, that’s why the I in IEP stands for individualized.
IEPs are a part of public education and are covered by special education law under the Individuals with Disabilities Act, also called IDEA. You can find more information on the IDEA here, as well as a few books the TII Team highly recommends for teachers, service providers, and parents here.
To qualify for special education services under the IDEA law, a child must be formally diagnosed with having a disability that is one of the 13 categories outlined in the federal law. Second, the school must determine that, as a result of the disability, the child needs special education services to make progress in school and learn the general education curriculum.
To be diagnosed, a child must go through the evaluation process and will be assessed by a qualified examiner, in school or through an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). After the evaluation, the IEP Team, which includes the child’s parents and/or guardians, will review the evaluation results and determine if the child is eligible to receive special education services.
Once a child is found eligible for special education services, it’s time to write the IEP.
Writing the IEP
An IEP is a blueprint to a child’s education. An IEP lays out all of the student’s needs and services. Depending upon where you work (state, country, type of school (public, private, or charter)), IEP formats look different… but they all have common parts – and parts that must be included per the IDEA regulations.
It’s up to you as the teacher and caseload manager to follow special education law for your state, and any district rules or guidelines, which may vary.
Let’s take a look at the basic anatomy of an IEP:
First is always the student’s information. This is the first page of every IEP. Each time you update, amend, or write a child’s IEP, you’ll want to make sure this information is correct and up to date. This section also includes a list of the members on the child’s IEP Team.
Next comes the Present Levels of Academic and Functional Performance. This is called the PLAAFP, PLOP, PLEP depending on your state or school’s preferred acronym. This section of the IEP should answer two questions: (1) How is the child currently performing and what are his/her skills and knowledge? And (2) How does the child’s disability impact his/her involvement and progress in the general education curriculum? The Present Levels are the starting point of an IEP, and should paint a full picture of the child’s current strengths, weaknesses, assessments results, general education curriculum participations, parental concerns and more.
IEPs include annual IEP goals and objectives or benchmarks for academic, functional, social, and behavioral skills. Goals for transition, daily living and self care, feeding, mobility and other areas students are struggling in may have IEP goals written for them. IEP goals are written based on the information shared in the child’s Present Levels, meaning there is a direct correlation between the two. IEP goals should be S.M.A.R.T. goals, meaning each IEP goal should be specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound.
Progress Reporting discusses how the IEP team will keep track of the child’s progress towards IEP goal and objective mastery. This section also informs the team how often progress updates will be shared about the child’s progress towards the IEP goals and objectives, and how the progress updates will be shared.
5. The services section of the child’s IEP includes what the specific special education services the child will be receiving, for how long (most commonly described in minutes per week), and the school personnel responsible for providing the service. This section also includes specially designed instruction, services outside of the regular school year, like Extended School Year (ESY), transition planning, and transportation.
6. Student supports includes the accommodations and modifications and supplemental aids and services that the child needs to make progress in the general ed curriculum. Classroom accommodations are things that are used in the classroom in order for a student with special needs to be able to access the general education curriculum. This section also includes Assistive Technology.
7. Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and an explanation of the child’s participation with peers in general education classes and during other activities. This also includes any applicable state testing. In this section, you will also include an explanation of the extent to which a child will not participate with non-disabled peers in class, and other nonacademic and extracurricular activities.
8. Parental, or Guardian, Consent is a huge part of every child’s IEP and most IEPs have a signature line for parents. In most cases, the parent will agree to the child’s IEP as written. However, the parent does not have to agree with or to the suggestions made by the IEP Team or within the child’s drafted IEP. The parent has the right to decline the IEP.
If you find yourself struggling with writing IEPs – whether it’s writing the Present Levels or IEP goals or determining services, Intentional IEP Writing is your step-by-step formula for not only writing IEPs, but gaining the knowledge behind IEP writing to advocate hard for your students and the services they deserve.
Intentional IEP Writing is a self-paced program where you’ll learn and understand what an IEP really is-and isn’t. Get a handle on those pesky acronyms. Understand all of your child’s needs and document them accordingly in an effective way that will ensure help for your student now and into the future. No more bandaid fixes on volcanoes – say hello to confidence and clarity.
Intentional IEP Writing is included with every TII membership – because writing effective IEPs is so much easier when you have the right tools in your toolbox! With the right tools at your fingertips, you’ll save time, reduce stress, and feel confident in creating IEPs that truly support your students. Join today and fill your IEP toolbox with everything you need!
