PARENTS GUIDE FOR INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATIONAL PLANS (IEP)
Written by Judit Roth
Content:
I. II. III. IV. V. VI.
The Law Your Rights Under the Law Your Protections Under the Law Summary of Important Rights Under IDEA IEP Requirements Strategies for Families
VII. References
We hope that this IEP Guide will answer your questions, and that you will receive the information, which will help you to plan for, and feel more comfortable about your child‘s IEP.
I.
THE LAW
PUBLIC LAW 94-142
Public Law 94-142 was passed in 1975 and was called the Education for all Handicapped Children Act. It guarantees four rights and two protections for each child and his/her parents or legal guardians. Children must have been evaluated as needing special education services for the following conditions: mentally impaired hearing impaired visually impaired speech impaired orthopedically impaired other health impaired emotionally impaired learning disabled multi-handicapped
In 1990, President Bush signed the re-authorization and this law was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Autism and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) were added to the list of qualifying conditions. II. YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE LAW: 1. A Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): Your child‘s education must be provided at no cost. 2. Education in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): Children with disabilities are to be educated to the fullest extent possible with nondisabled children. 3. Designated Instructional Services (DIS): Any services needed by a child to benefit from special education are to be provided, including speech, occupational, and physical therapy; counseling;
transportation; audiology; parent training; and medical services (for diagnosis or evaluation). 4. Fair assessment: Each child must receive a complete, nondiscriminatory assessment in a mode of communication normally used by the child in all areas of the suspected disability prior to being placed in a special education program, an every three years thereafter.
III.
YOUR PROTECTIONS UNDER THE LAW:
1. An Individualized Education Program (IEP): The IEP must be developed jointly by the school and the child‘s parents and must be designed to meet the child‘s needs. It must be reviewed at least once a year. 2. Due process procedures: A due process hearing can be requested by parents or schools if they cannot reach agreement.
IV. Summary of Important Rights Under IDEA
You have the right to be notified in writing before the IEP meeting and to know who will be there. You have the right to review and obtain copies of your child‘s school records. A higher authority than the teacher must be at the IEP meeting to resolve differences over services or placement. The IEP must be reviewed every year and can be reviewed more frequently upon request. If you and the school cannot agree on services or placement, you can request a fair hearing. You can invite anyone you want to the IEP meeting – friend, expert – as long as you notify the IEP team leader. You can tape record the IEP meeting with permission. You can disagree with any or all of the IEP. You can write your own goals and objectives for the IEP. You can partially approve an IEP by identifying items not resolved and following up with another meeting. You can bring your child to the IEP meeting so she/he can speak for herself/himself and learn to advocate on her/his own. The school must provide all the services in the frequency and duration specified on the IEP. If they don‘t, you can file a non-compliance complaint with the State.
The school cannot change your child‘s services or placement without an IEP meeting.
IX.
1.
INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM (IEP) REQUIREMENTS
EFFECTIVE DATE - 34 CFR 300.342(d). All IEPs reviewed or revised on or after July 1, 1998 must meet the requirements of the regulations. 2. DEFINITION - 20 U.S.C. 1402(11); Section 1414(d). An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a written statement developed, reviewed and revised in accordance with the requirements described below. 3. CONTENTS OF IEP - SECTION 1414(d)(1)(A). a. A statement of present levels of performance including: i. how the child’s disability affects involvement and progress in the general curriculum; or ii. for preschoolers, how disability affects participation in appropriate activities. b. A statement of measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives, related to: i. meeting the child’s needs that result from the child’s disability to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum or for preschool children to participate in appropriate activities; and ii. meeting each of the child‘s other educational needs that result from the child‘s disability. c. A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided for the child to: i. advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals; ii. be involved and progress in the general curriculum and to participate in extra curricular and other non-academic activities; and iii. be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and non-disabled children in academic, extra-curricular and other nonacademic activities. d. An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with non-disabled children in the
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regular class, in the general curriculum and in other activities (extra-curricular and other non-academic activities); A statement of any individual modifications needed for the student to participate in state- and district-wide assessments and if the IEP team determines that the child will not participate in such assessments, a statement of why such assessments are not appropriate and how the child will be assessed; The projected date for the beginning of services and modifications and frequency, location and duration of services and modifications; Beginning at age 14, a statement of the child‘s transition service needs focusing on the child‘s course of study (such as participation in advanced-placement courses or vocational education programs); Beginning at age 16 (or younger if appropriate), a statement of needed transition services, including interagency responsibilities and linkages; Beginning at least one year before the child reaches age of majority under state law, a statement that the child has been informed of his or her rights that will transfer to the child on reaching age of majority; and
i. A statement of how the child‘s progress toward the annual goals will be measured and how parents will be regularly informed (by such means as report cards), at least as often as parents of non-disabled children are informed of their non-disabled children‘s progress toward goals and the extent to which the progress is sufficient to enable the child to achieve the goals by the end of the year. Support for Personnel: With respect to supports for school personnel included in the statement of services, (section 1414 (d)(1)(A); 300.347(a)(3)), the Analysis in the regulation explains that while certain supports for school staff may be provided (such as specific training in the effective integration of children with disabilities in regular classes), the focus of those supports to school personnel is to ensure the provision of FAPE to children with disabilities under Part B, their integration with non-disabled peers and their participation and involvement in the general curriculum as appropriate.
General Curriculum: The Analysis and the Appendix A (IEP Q&A) include lengthy discussions about the focus on the general curriculum and as stated in the Senate and House Reports on IDEA, the intention of IDEA-97 to "produce attention to the accommodations and adjustments necessary for disabled children to have access to the general education curriculum and the special services which may be necessary for appropriate participation in particular areas of the curriculum due to the nature of the disability." The general curriculum is defined in the revised regulations as "the same curriculum as for non-disabled children." 300.347(a)(1)(i). Benchmarks and Short-Term Objectives. Appendix A (Question 1) to the regulation discusses the difference between benchmarks and short-term objectives. In general, short-term objectives are described as measurable, intermediate steps and benchmarks as major milestones to enable parents, students and educators to monitor progress during the year. LRE Statement. Appendix A (Question 1) to the regulation explains that "IDEA presumes that the first placement option considered for each disabled student by the student‘s placement team, which must include the parent, is the school the child would attend if not disabled, with appropriate supplementary aids and services to facilitate such placement. Thus, before a disabled child can be placed outside of the regular educational environment, the full range of supplementary aids and services that, if provided, would facilitate the student‘s placement in the regular classroom setting must be considered." The Appendix A also explains that "in all cases, placement decisions must be individually determined on the basis of each child‘s abilities and needs, and not solely on factors such as category of disability, significance of disability, availability of special education and related services, configuration of the service delivery system, availability of space, or administrative convenience. Rather, each student‘s IEP forms the basis for the placement decision." The revised regulation also adds that a child with a disability cannot be removed from age-appropriate regular classrooms solely because of needed modifications in the general curriculum (300.552). The Analysis explains (p. 12637) "that under this provision, for example, a child with
significant cognitive disabilities could not be removed from education in age-appropriate regular classrooms merely because of the modifications he or she needs to the general curriculum." Appendix A (Question 1) explains that IDEA does not require that a student demonstrate achievement of a specific performance level as a prerequisite for placement into a regular classroom. DEVELOPMENT OF IEP -- SECTION 1414(d)(3)(A). j. In developing the IEP, the IEP team shall consider: i. the strengths of the child; ii. parent concerns for enhancing the child‘s education; and iii. the results of the initial or most recent evaluation of the child. k. Consideration of Special Factors - - Section 1414(d)(3)(B). When developing the IEP, the IEP team shall: i. in the case of a child whose behavior impedes his or her learning or that of others, consider, when appropriate: strategies, including positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports to address that behavior; in the case of a child with limited English proficiency, consider the language needs of the child as such needs relate to the child‘s IEP; in the case of a child who is blind or visually impaired, provide for instruction in Braille and the use of Braille unless the IEP team determines, after an evaluation of the child‘s reading and writing skills, needs and appropriate reading and writing media (including an evaluation of the child‘s future needs for instruction in Braille or the use of Braille), that instruction in Braille or the use of Braille is not appropriate for the child; consider the communication needs of the child, and in the case of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, consider the child‘s language and communication needs, opportunities for direct communications with peers and professional personnel in the child‘s language and communication mode, academic level, and full range of needs, including opportunities for
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direct instruction in the child‘s language and communication mode; and consider whether the child requires assistive technology devices and services.
Statement in IEP - 300.346(c). In considering these special factors, the regulations specify that if the IEP team determines that a child needs a particular device or service (including an intervention, accommodation, or other program modification) in order for the child to receive FAPE, the IEP team must include a statement to that effect in the IEP. l. The child’s regular education teacher as part of the IEP team shall participate to the extent appropriate in the development of the IEP including the determination of positive behavioral interventions and strategies, supplementary aids and services, program modifications and support for school personnel to help the child achieve goals and be involved and participate in the general curriculum. 4. IEP TEAM -- SECTION 1414(d)(1)(B). "IEP team" means a group of individuals composed of: a. the parents of the child; b. at least one regular education teacher of the child (if the child is or may be participating in the regular education environment); c. at least one special education teacher, or where appropriate, at least one special education provider of the child; d. a representative of the school district who is: i. qualified to provide or supervise the provision of special education; ii. knowledgeable about the general curriculum; and iii. knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the district; e. An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results (can be one of the other members of the IEP team); f. at the discretion of the parent or the school district, others who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel, as appropriate; and g. where appropriate, the child with the disability.
Inclusion of Regular Education Teacher. The Analysis and Appendix A of the regulation discusses in greater detail the nature and extent of the obligation of the regular education teacher to participate in the IEP. The Analysis makes the following points: The public agency determines which regular education teacher or teachers of the child will participate in the IEP. However, the child‘s IEP must be accessible to each regular education teacher, special education teacher, related service provider, and other service provider responsible for its implementation. Also, each of these teachers and providers must be informed of his or her specific responsibilities related to implementing the child‘s IEP and the specific accommodations, modifications and supports that must be provided for the child in accordance with the IEP. Input from individuals who do not attend the IEP meeting must be sought. Whether the child‘s regular education teacher must be physically present at an IEP meeting and to what extent that individual must participate in all phases of the IEP process are matters that must be: (1) determined on a case by case basis by the IEP team; and (2) based on a number of other factors (e.g. the teacher‘s presence is necessary to discuss parts of the IEP that relate to the general curriculum but may not be necessary during a discussion as the child‘s need for physical therapy). Discretion of Parents and Public Agency to Bring Other Individuals to the IEP Team Meeting — 1414(d); 300.344. The revised regulation clarifies that the determinations that "others who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child" be present at the IEP meeting is made by the parent or school district who invites the individual to be a member of the IEP team. IEP teams must, therefore, include any person the parent believes has "knowledge or special expertise" regarding the child. Student Participation in IEP Meeting — 300.344. The revised regulation expands student involvement in IEP meetings to include a meeting to discuss transition service needs. 5. REQUIREMENT THAT PROGRAM BE IN EFFECT -- SECTION 1414(d)(2); 300.342(b)(2) and (3).
a. At the beginning of each school year, the school district must have in effect an IEP for each child with a disability in its jurisdiction; b. The revised regulation restates the requirement in IDEA-97 that an IEP must be in effect before special education and related services are provided to each child. In the Appendix A to the regulations (Question 14) the Department explains that this requirement does not preclude temporarily placing an eligible child with a disability in a program as part of the evaluation process before the IEP is finalized to assist in determining an appropriate placement for the child. But this temporary placement may not become the final placement before the IEP is finalized. To ensure this, the Department suggests that States consider requiring LEA‘s, among other things, to ensure that the parents agree to the interim placement. c. For each child age three through five, an individualized family service plan, described in IDEA in Section 636, that is developed in accordance with the requirements for an IEP may serve as the child‘s IEP if consistent with state policy and agreed to by the agency and the parents. 6. REVIEW AND REVISION OF IEP -- SECTION 1414(d)(4). a. The IEP must be reviewed at least annually. b. The IEP must be revised as appropriate to address any lack of expected progress in the goals and in the general curriculum. c. The IEP must address results of any re-evaluation. d. The IEP must address information provided to or by the parents regarding the need for evaluation or re-evaluation. e. The child‘s regular education teacher shall participate, as appropriate, in the review and revision of the child‘s IEP. The revised regulation (300.346(b)) also specifies that the five "special factors" (see above) that must be considered when developing the IEP (1414 (d)(3)(B); 300.346 (b)) also be considered when reviewing and revising the IEP.
V.
Strategies for Families
The following are four strategies that families have found to be helpful: First, families should believe absolutely that their children have a right to attend school and to do so in a safe and healthy environment. Many of the accommodations needed by children, such as the giving of medications, should be offered in the context of the regular support services available to any school child. For many families, the first approach, after discussion with the child‘s health professionals, is simply to meet with school officials, describe the child‘s needs and think with the schools about the best ways to address them. Second, review information about eligibility and the process for obtaining services under Section 504 and IDEA. Families may be surprised at how comprehensive both laws are. Sometimes the language may be misleading because the students with health conditions, in particular, are not usually thought of as being ―disabled.‖ Third, families may choose to request services under Section 504 without considering IDEA first. Ironically, because schools have relied so heavily on IDEA as the basis for the provision of services, many have not paid much attention to Section 504 and few typically give families information about it. However, all public and some private schools sign assurances that they are in compliance with Section 504 as a prerequisite to receiving federal funds. Fourth, if the child is found not to have a disability as defined by IDEA or Section 504 the family may appeal the decision. Filing a complaint under either of these provisions sets into motion the mechanisms for an impartial due process hearing. Hearing officers and courts can order a school system to take any number of actions to correct violations of both IDEA and Section 504. Under both laws, in some circumstances, compensatory education, reimbursement for special education and related services paid for by parents, and attorney‘s fees are available remedies. Damages may also be available under Section 504.
BEFORE THE MEETING Understand What Integration Means
Make sure you have a solid understanding of integration. Explore the many new ways of supporting all children in regular education. Read articles and books; watch current videos. Get first-hand information about schools where integration is taking place. Visit model classrooms where it is working. Clarify Your Goals
Spend time with people close to you and your child determining just what you want to happen for your child. Practice expressing your goals and dreams for the future out loud. Be able to state these clearly at the I.E.P. meeting, as well as the importance of your child‘s developing relationships with children who do not have disabilities. Get to Know Key People
Seek out people who share, or are receptive to, your vision. Enlist these people as allies. They might be other parents, advocates, educational leaders in your state, educators in your school system, or private therapists. Also, meet with people on your child‘s educational team. Talk in advance with the principal and share your ideas and hopes for your child for this school year and the future. Ask the principal for the daily schedules of other students your child‘s age. Request the principal or a teacher to help you understand the curriculum of the school district‘s I.E.P. form from the principal, counselor or special education teacher. Become familiar with this form, and ask questions so you will understand your district‘s I.E.P. process. Know about the Continuum
―Some leaders in the field have begun to question the use of the ‗Continuum Model.‘ It calls for placement options on a scale from least to most restrictive for students in special education. The continuum is based on the idea that students need intensive, separate services before they can move on to a more integrated placement. This model is being challenged because students typically placed in segregated settings remain there, rarely enjoying
opportunities to make friends and participate freely and fully in the life of their schools and communities.‖ (Shaffner & Buswell, 1988). Advocate for a new model of services, which reflects ―that anyone can be successful in any environment if he or she has the right supports.‖ (Shaffner & Buswell, 1988). Read Steven Taylor‘s article, ―Caught in the Continuum‖ for further discussion (Taylor, 1988). Prepare and Organize Your Input o List your child‘s strengths and interests—very important! Your child‘s individualized program should be designed to capitalize on these strengths. Ask relatives and friends for their input. o List your child‘s needs and things you would like your child to do better. Include the kind of environments and/or supports and services that you believe will maximize your child‘s abilities. o List goals that reflect your priorities for your child and think of ways that each child could be taught in a regular classroom and typical school environment. Include items that can be accomplished only in an integrated classroom, in your neighborhood school and in social situations involving relationships with peers without disabilities. When drafting goals, include phrases like ―with typical peers used for support, ―with one prompt from a typical child‖ or ―in the presence of children without disabilities.‖ In determining the appropriateness of goals, activities and materials for your child, choose those that interest ―typical‖ students your child‘s age. Always ask yourself, “Is the goal ageappropriate?” “Are the methods and materials used to teach the skill age-appropriate?” “If my son or daughter learns this task, how will it increase his or her opportunities to be an active participating member of the school and community?” Prioritize the goals most important to you, and note those you consider negotiable. o Document other environments—like clubs, Scouts, birthday parties, sleep-overs, pizza parties, Sunday school and so forth— where integration has worked successfully for your child. Make a videotape or take pictures.
o o
Talk with other parents who share your vision and can offer support and ideas. When your child is being assessed, request people with knowledge about, or experience in, integrating children. If this is not possible, try to find someone who is ―open‖ to learning about the concept and how it can be successfully implemented. This step can be vital because assessment results often are accompanied by recommendations for particular placement or service delivery practices. Consider requesting or obtaining an outside assessment from someone not only qualified in a particular area, but also experienced with integration. (The school district may cover the costs of an outside assessment if you arrange it with them in advance, or you may be able to use alternative sources of funding, such as health insurance.) In addition, ask the evaluator to provide a description of the accommodations and supports that will enable the child to participate successfully with typical peers.
VI.
References:
(1) Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 by Diane J. Lipton (1997) (2) A Parent‘s Guide to Transition by CARE and WCCUSD