Individualized Education Plan
An IEP is a written statement that includes:
The IEP team which consists of:
- A statement of the student's present level of academic achievement and function performance
- A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals
- A description of the student's progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured when periodic reports on the student's progress toward meeting the annual goals will be provided
- A statement of special education and related services and supplementary aids and services based on peer reviewed research to the extent practicable, to be provided to the student or on the student' behalf, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for the school personnel that will be provided
- An explanation to the extent, if any, to which the student will not participate with non-disabled children in the regular classroom and in the general education curriculum, extracurricular activities, and other non-academic activities
- A statement of if the child will participate in state and district wide assessments of student achievement, if the child can participate their must be a statement of what accommodations the student will receive
- The projected date for the beginning of services and modifications and the anticipate frequency, location, and the duration of those services and modifications
- Beginning no later than the first IEP to be in effect when the student is sixteen, and update annually thereafter a statement of post-secondary goals, transition services, and a statement no later than one year before the student reaches the age of majority that the student has been informed of his or her rights.
- Communication- Planning the IEP creates a bridge of communication between the school and the parents in order to determine the student's needs.
- Management- These are rules from the government on how the school will provide FAPE and lists the resources that the school will use in order to provide an appropriate education.
- Accountability- The IEP makes school accountable to implementing the IEP as well as the revisions, but it does not guarantee that the student will complete their annual goals.
- Compliance and Monitoring- Local and federal governments will use IEPs to make sure schools are following IDEA as well as FAPE.
- Evaluation- The goals of the IEP are measurable to determine student progress.
The IEP team which consists of:
- Parent and the student
- General education teacher
- Special education teacher
- LEA representative
- Person who can analyze the test results
- Other persons
- An IEP ust be created withing 30 calendar days once the child is deemed eligible for special education.
- The IEP team must meet to create the IEP in which they discuss test results as well as strengths and weaknesses of the student along with parental concerns.
- Include the aspects of the definition of IEP.
- Consider the student's behavior, if the student is an English Language Learner, if the student is blind or visually impaired, the communication needs of the student if they are deaf or hard of hearing, and what assistive technology the student will need to use.
- The IEP must be reviewed annually.
- This principle relates to the others in which it required full parental participation. IEPs must be approved by the parents and the parents must have access to any progress or information that is included in the IEP. If parents were not informed of the IEP, and did not give consent to have on created without their presence, the IEP is considered litigation.
- The principle also meet the requirements of FAPE. IEPs are used as a way of measuring and providing student with disabilities a free and appropriate public education. IEPs are individualized to meet the appropriate needs of the child, and are provided for no cost by the school district. As well as meeting the principle of FAPE, IEPs are also used to determine the least restrictive environment for students with disabilities. On the IEP, the IEP must state as to why a child will not be spending their time in a general educational setting among their peers without disabilities and how, in doing so, this will benefit and be appropriate for the child. Procedural safeguards are used during the creation and implementation of the IEP.