Individualized Educational Program

Individualized Educational Program

What is an IEP?

An IEP (Individualized Education Program) is a written statement of special education and related services for a child. All children who receive special education services under PL 94- 142 and IDEA must have an IEP. An IEP should include...

A statement of your child's present educational performance level academic achievement social adaptation prevocational and vocational skills sensory and motor skills self-help skills speech and language skills
A statement of annual goals and reasonable short-term instructional objectives designed to achieve those goals. The extent and duration of both regular and special education and related services. The dates for initiation and anticipated duration of services.
A statement of specific special education and related services to be provided and who will provide them.
A statement of the extent to which the child can participate in regular education programs. Objective criteria, evaluation procedures, and schedules for determining at least annually whether instructional objectives are being achieved
For students 14 years of age and older a statement of transition services which will help the student move successfully from school to the "real world," with a listing of those agencies, besides the school, which will provide services. The school is responsible for obtaining services, from other agencies where necessary and for reconvening the IEP team to seek alternatives if another agency fails to provide the services specified.

Who can develop the IEP?

Participants are...

A representative of the school or public agency other than the child's teacher. This could be a special education teacher, learning disabilities specialist, or the school principal.
The child's teacher. If the child has more than one teacher, the state may specify which teacher will participate in the meeting.
One or both of the child's parents (or guardian).
The child, when appropriate.
Other individuals at the discretion of the parents or the state agency.

What steps should be taken to have the child evaluated?

A formal evaluation can be initiated at the request of the school or the parent. The parent must agree in writing.

Before requesting an evaluation, parents are advised to...

Clarify their concern.
Gather information and anecdotes about the student's school performance from meetings with school personnel.
Note strengths and weaknesses both in and out of school.
Identify accommodations at school and at home that might alleviate some of the difficulties.
Make accommodations and watch for the effects.
Keep records.

Evaluations can be arranged through the school system, private clinics or centers, university or hospital centers. Parents should check to see if the school system will honor the test results provided by a private facility.

What is involved in the evaluation?

The Evaluation...

Must be given in an individual's dominant language.
Must be administered by a qualified individual(s).
Must use valid tests and testing procedures.
Must use a variety of tests (no determination of disability or placement is to be based on the results of a single test.)

A comprehensive Evaluation includes:

1.Background Information
    ~family history
    ~developmental history (e.g., crawling, walking, talking),
    ~medical history
    ~social history
    ~school history (areas of interest, performance, progress, homework skills)
    ~school attendance

2.Assessment of Intellectual Potential Tests such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised (WISC-R) or the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale. (Note that there are versions of IQ tests designed for very young children and for adults.)

3.Assessment of Performance of Academic Skills
    ~achievement tests
    ~diagnostic tests pinpointing strengths and weaknesses
    ~observations of classroom behavior and learning strategies
    ~analysis of class work
    ~discussions with the teacher and other involved individuals
    ~informal diagnosis of learning style

Credit- Info taken from NCLD.

Links: Individualized Education Programs

LD on-line- IEP
IEP sample pages
Writing a IEP
IEP info (great resource)

Want to read a IEP poem/joke? Go here The IEP