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English Version

Click here to view the English version of our guidelines on the Individual Education Plan Process.

Irish Version

Click here to view the Irish version of our guidelines on the Individual Education Plan Process.

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English Version Click here to view the English version of our guidelines on the Individual Education Plan Process. Irish Version Click here to view the Irish version of our guidelines on the Individual Education Plan Process.

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Individualized Education Plans (IEP) are a requirement for every child receiving special education and related services in the public school system. The IEP process should be individualized and fair, and the resulting plan should be used to outline the steps, goals and personalized learning needed for that particular child to reach their excellence.

We've created video resources for IEP related topics on our YouTube channel!

In most cases, there are seven steps involved in the formation of the IEP. However, the number of steps may vary depending on the school district and the needs of the child. The IEP is one of the most significant elements used to ensure that children with special needs receive quality teaching and a customized learning environment designed to maximize their education.

7 Steps Of The Special Education IEP Process

Step 1: Pre-Referral

There are different pre-referral interventions through which to initiate the IEP process. These interventions are implemented based on the type of disability exhibited by the student.
The main objectives of the pre-referral are;
* Document and elaborate the challenges and difficulties exhibited by the child.
* Evaluate the usefulness of classroom accommodations and changes.
* Review the power of different instructional interventions.
* Supervise the development of the student.

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The pre-referral process helps to determine whether behavioral and educational challenges exhibited by the child can be resolved in a general education classroom. To avoid unnecessary evaluations and placements, the assessments used at this stage are purely intervention-based. Typically crafted in the general education class, this step is conducted with the use of direct performance procedures. Helping to save money, time and other resources in the process.

During the pre-referral stage, teachers will try various certified teaching approaches in hopes of establishing whether flawed instruction could be the cause of the problems exhibited. Children whose learning remains challenged will be referred to the next step in the IEP process, referred for special education services.

Step 2: Referral

If the pre-referral interventions prove unsuccessful, the student is referred for special education services through the use of a referral. Referrals can come from parents, daycare professionals, public health nurses, doctors or social service agencies. Referral for special education services can happen at different stages during a child's life and vary a great deal based on their individual needs. Often, poor academic performance, continued misbehavior or disruption of their learning environment are prerequisites to this stage.

Step 3: Identification

Once a referral has been made, a special assessment is carried out to determine whether the child has a disability that requires special education services. During this stage of the IEP process, the child's major life activities such as interpersonal relationships, performance in school and at home are used to assess the kind of services required.

Multidisciplinary teams become involved to help determine the child's distinctive strengths and needs. This team includes parents and other family members, educational diagnostician, school psychologist, or a teacher depending on the state where it is conducted.

An array of data types, assessment instruments and methods are used during this stage in order to create an accurate report later used to determine the correct path for the student. If the final decision is that the child has a disability that requires special education, a baseline of performance is determined.

Step 4: Eligibility

The information gathered during the assessment stage is used to categorize those who have a disability and are eligible for special education services. The IEP committee creates different elements of the services required to plan and deliver an appropriate education framework. Students who do not meet the qualifications for special education services remain in the traditional classroom setting.

Step 5: Development Of The IEP

The next step in the process is to create the actual IEP. An IEP team is formed which includes the child's parents, educators, administrators and other specialists. As a parent attending an IEP meeting for the first time may be an overwhelming experience. To help calm your nerves and know your child is receiving the help they deserve, you have the right to bring a child advocate with you to the meeting. Child advocates are paid professionals familiar with these proceedings and work specifically for the child and their parents.

During the meeting, resources required by the child are identified, their individualized learning style determined, along with goals both long term and short term.

Step 6: Implementation

At this stage, the student's IEP and associated services commence. Accommodations are provided for both instructions and testing along with a range of multidisciplinary services required from different providers to support the child's educational program. The providers your child with special needs will interact with moving forward could include occupational or physical therapists, and other special education professionals.

Step 7: Evaluation And Reviews

Each IEP developed requires accountability and consistent follow up by the child's parents. A review is conducted annually or after every three years depending on the state. The purpose for these reviews is to determine whether the child is meeting their educational goals.

If the goals are not being met, revisions are made in the IEP. In the event that the child is meeting and even exceeding their IEP goals, new milestones are determined. In some cases, the child may be moved back into the traditional classroom setting.

Additional Resources

Once your child is enrolled in special education, there are a ton of options available to help ensure their success. Different types of classroom settings (, ), different schools (charter, private) and resources outside the classroom such as special education tutoring. The you gather regarding your child's specific , the better equipped you will be in finding and maintaining the perfect environment for them to thrive.

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7 Steps Of The IEP Process | SpecialEdResource.com

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Individualized Education Plans (IEP) are a requirement for every child receiving special education and related services in the public school system. The IEP process should be individualized and fair, and the resulting plan should be used to outline the steps, goals and personalized learning needed for that particular child to reach their excellence.

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What Does IEP Stand For in Special Education?

General classroom teachers and parents of special needs students are often asked to play critical roles in the creation and implementation of an IEP, or Individualized Education Plan. An IEP formalizes the specific instructional, behavioral, and specialist services an elementary or secondary student with a recognized disability receives as part of a mandated plan. The Individualized Education Plan is implemented and administered on a yearly basis by special education teachers, generalist, and any specialists (speech, occupational therapy, etc.) necessary to reaching the IEP's stated goals and outcomes for the student.

This collection of IEP special education resources gives general education teachers, special education teachers, and parents all the IEP forms, accommodations, strategies, and advice necessary for planning and implementing an Individualized Education Plan in both the general ed classroom and specialist resource rooms.

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General classroom teachers and parents of special needs students are often asked to play critical roles in the creation and implementation of an IEP, or Individualized Education Plan. An IEP formalizes the specific instructional, behavioral, and specialist services an elementary or secondary student with a recognized disability receives as part of a mandated plan.

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Understanding IEPs: A Guide for Teachers | Understood

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This resource helps teachers understand what Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are and how teachers can support students with IEPs.

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The IEP Team Process: Chapter 1 - IDEA and IEPs

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Most teachers have at least one or two students with IEPs in their classrooms each year, and sometimes many more. What is an IEP, and how does it affect students, teachers, and families? Here's what you need to know.

What is an IEP?

Source: Modern Teacher

IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. It's a legal document that clearly defines how a school plans to meet a child's unique educational needs that result from a disability. IEPs were first introduced in 1975, when Congress passed legislation that gave children with disabilities the right to attend public schools.

Today, IEPs are covered under t he Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This federal law entitles all children with certain types of disabilities a free, appropriate education . Children who qualify must be provided with an education that meets their unique needs, provides access to the general education curriculum, and meets state grade-level standards.

What is the purpose of an IEP?

The IEP is the cornerstone of a child's special education program. It assesses their present performance, sets reasonable measurable goals for the child, and specifies the services the school will provide. IEPs grow and change along with a child and are regularly reevaluated to ensure they're still effective (at least annually, sometimes more frequently).

IDEA says that school districts must provide a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to all children. What's more, they must allow students to participate in that education in the least restrictive environment (LRE) possible. They must be given the opportunity to participate in the traditional school experience to the full extent possible.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

Source: LREs at Undivided

When federal law first required public schools to admit special education students in the 1970s, many of them grouped these students together into special ed classrooms or buildings. This isolated them from their peers, leading to stigma among the general public. Plus, students of wildly varying abilities were often all in one classroom, making it difficult to meet all of their needs.

When IDEA went into effect in 1990, one goal was to change the stigma and give all students a more appropriate education among their peers. To that end, the law stated students must learn in the least restrictive environment. In other words, schools were urged to find ways to serve students with special needs in the general classroom whenever possible.

An IEP can help schools and teachers figure out how to help students succeed in the LRE that's right for them, which for many is a general education inclusion classroom, possibly with push-in, pull-out services. For some students, a general classroom isn't an appropriate LRE. However, the law requires schools to do their best to keep kids learning alongside their peers before opting for a different choice.
Learn more about Least Restrictive Environments (LRE) here.
Who qualifies for an IEP?

IDEA covers children from birth until they graduate high school or turn 21, whichever comes first. To qualify, a child must fall under one of 13 disability categories, and their disability must adversely affect their school performance. Just because a child has a disability does not mean they need special services or require an IEP. They do have the right to be evaluated for one, though.

These are the included categories and legal definitions under IDEA:

Autism Spectrum Disorder: A developmental disability that mainly affects a child's social and communication skills, and sometimes behavior

Deafness: A severe hearing impairment that prevents a child from processing language through hearing

Deaf-Blindness: A combination of a hearing and a visual impairment

Hearing Impairment: Hearing loss that is less severe than deafness

Intellectual Disability: Below-average intellectual ability

Multiple Disabilities: A child with more than one condition covered by IDEA

Orthopedic Impairment: An impairment to a child's body, no matter the cause

Other Health Impairment: Conditions that limit a child's strength, energy, or alertness

Specific Learning Disability: A learning issue that affects a child's ability to write, listen, speak, reason, or do math

Speech or Language Impairment: A range of communication problems such as stuttering, impaired articulation, etc.

Traumatic Brain Injury: A brain injury caused by an accident or some kind of physical force

Visual Impairment, including Blindness: Partial or complete loss of sight, not correctable by eyewear

What information does an IEP include?

Each IEP must be an individualized document, created especially for the child in question. There is no standard form, but the law does require it to include sections for present levels of performance, goals, and services. See a sample IEP with its sections explained here.

Present Levels of Performance (PLOP, PLP, or PLAAFP)

Source: Maryland Online IEP

This section documents a child's current school performance and how their disability affects their progress and involvement. These are reevaluated on a regular basis, at least annually, and updated as needed. They should include a detailed look at:

Academic Achievement: This refers to a child's progress in academic subjects like reading, math, science, etc. It could be based on observations of classroom teachers, grades, results of state and district standardized tests, special education evaluations, and more.

Functional Performance: This term encompasses all the skills and activities kids learn that aren't directly related to academics. That might include language development, social skills, behavior, life skills, mobility skills, and so on.

Learn more about the Present Level of Performance component of an IEP here.
Goals

Source: A Day in Our Shoes

An IEP must include measurable goals for the student that can be reasonably accomplished in a school year. The goals are based on the student's present level of performance and focus on the student's specific needs.

It's vital that the goals on an IEP be "measurable." This means they must be very specific in their wording. A goal should include how success will be measured, and when progress is expected to be seen.

Here's an example of a poorly written IEP goal: "The student will improve their reading skills by focusing on sight words." This goal doesn't include any way in which progress can be measured, or a projected time frame for meeting the goal.

Instead, this goal might say, "At the end of the first grading period, the student will demonstrate mastery of a list of 50 common sight words by reading aloud the words when presented on flash cards, with an accuracy of 95%."
Discover much more about IEP goals here.
Services

Source: IEP Related Services at Undivided

In this section, schools state the ways they'll help the child achieve their IEP goals. This might include:

Accommodations: These are special arrangements that aren't part of the standard classroom equipment or policy. For instance, a child with sensory-processing issues might be permitted to wear noise-cancelling headphones in the classroom. Or a student with vision challenges might have a written test read aloud to them and be allowed to respond orally. Accommodations don't change what a student learns, it only changes how they learn it. See more examples of classroom accommodations here.

Modifications: Modifications do involve changes to what a child is learning. They might lower or raise expectations for specific standards, or reduce the amount of work a child is expected to produce. Learn about modifications vs. accommodations here.

Assistive Technology: Examples include text-to-speech software, typing instead of handwriting, closed-captioning, hearing aids, pencil grips, etc. See more about assistive technology here.

Related Services: These are any other services kids need to help them succeed in the LRE, such as transportation services, occupational therapy, social skills groups, interpreters, or classroom aides. Here's more on IEP related services.

Who creates an IEP?

Source: FosterVA

Under IDEA, schools are required to actively seek out and identify students who qualify for special education services. It's often a classroom teacher who first suggests a student be evaluated for these services. Other times, a doctor, counselor, or parent may initiate the process.

Once a school decides to evaluate a student, they must seek parental approval. Schools usually have set processes in place, including assessments and evaluations, but they must follow the law. Most districts have IEP coordinators to help with the process. Parents may also choose to have their children evaluated privately, at their own cost.

After an evaluation determines a child qualifies for special education services, the IEP team is assembled. This might include:

Classroom teachers

Special ed team members

Counselors or psychologists

Behavioral specialists

District representatives

Other interested parties, such as other teachers or staff members who interact with the child

Parents or legal guardians

Child, if appropriate

The IEP team changes over time, and not all members must attend meetings. However, at each formal yearly evaluation, it's best to assemble as many members of a team as possible.

What rights do parents have in the IEP process?

Source: Dr. Nicole Connolly

The law gives parents some very specific rights in the IEP process. Parents and legal guardians have the right to:

Request a special education evaluation at no cost

Give or deny consent for a special education evaluation

Agree or refuse the special education services offered

Have an independent evaluation performed (at their own cost)

Disagree with a school's decision by asking for a due-process hearing or mediation

Participate in or request IEP meetings, and bring others to the meeting

Review IEP documents at any time

Control who has access to their child's IEP

Receive prior written notice of any proposed changes to the IEP

Find out more about IEPs and parental rights here.
IEP Resources

In addition to the resource links throughout this post, here are some additional places to find info for parents, teachers, and schools on IEPs.

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As a parent or a teacher, you might wonder "What is an IEP, and how can it help a child succeed in school?" Find out more here.

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Editor's note: This is the second essay in a series about using cultural knowledge to improve education drawn from the work of researchers and practitioners in the Forest Grove, Ore., school district. Read other essays in the series and find out more about this district.
No matter how districts respond to the COVID-19 pandemic-fully virtual, in person, or hybrid instruction-some families remain unsatisfied. Yet recent data collected in Forest Grove, Ore., demonstrate that relationship-focused communication between families and schools can mitigate some of the frustrations of pandemic-induced educational disruptions.

In June, we surveyed approximately 1,500 parents in the Forest Grove district to learn which practices were most helpful during the first wave of distance learning. The parents who responded were primarily Latino (40 percent) and white (55 percent), which matches the student population. The responses sent a resounding message: Communication is key. Parents praised teachers who kept them informed about classwork and offered ways to supervise at-home learning.

Parents who felt communication was lacking wanted more about opportunities to support teachers' work. "I depended a lot on my child to know what was expected of them," one parent wrote. "I feel like that put a lot of responsibility on the teachers and [my child]. ... I would have been happy to help encourage and support!"

Overall, parents felt that strong communication practices-weekly emails; clear descriptions of learning objectives; and email, phone, or video conversations-were as helpful as student-centered practices such as virtual class meetings, one-on-one student check-ins, or virtual social activities.

Teachers communicate because they want families to engage in their children's education. However, even when teachers believe they have "strong" communication skills, many become frustrated when families, particularly minority and low-income families, don't respond. What educators perceive as "disengagement" often arises not because minority and low-income families don't care about their children's education but because the way educators communicate misses the cultural mark.

Over the past three years, we have focused on expanding Forest Grove educators' cultural toolkit-their knowledge of how culture shapes motivation and learning and how to engage students from diverse backgrounds. This expanded toolkit includes an understanding that families from different cultural backgrounds often differ in their views of what "good" communication with teachers looks like-the appropriate format, topics, frequency, and purpose of communication. These differences shape how and to what extent families communicate with schools.

Many middle-class and white families, who largely rely on "independent" cultural norms-rooted in individuality, uniqueness, choice, and self-advocacy- appreciate individualized, child-centered feedback. These parents are often more likely than minority and low-income parents to voice opinions about how and what their children learn. Minority and low-income families, on the other hand, tend to rely on "interdependent" cultural norms, which value connectedness, relationships, roles, and respect for hierarchies. These families may be less likely to initiate or act on communication about academic issues because they view teachers as the academic experts who can be trusted to make the right decisions for learning.

When teachers communicate about curriculum and individual performance, they often neglect another form of communication that is equally, if not more important for parental engagement, especially among lower-income and minority parents-communication about families' interests, needs, and well-being. The relevant questions for many interdependent students and parents aren't, "How are you doing?" or "What do you need?" but, "How is your family doing?" or "What does your family need?" In interdependent families, when one person is struggling, all family members feel this struggle and share responsibility for easing the burden. Similarly, an individual's success lifts up the whole family.

When educators recognize this cultural difference, they can speak the right cultural language to elicit parental engagement. Relationship-focused communication builds trust, which allows families to feel safe asking questions and soliciting advice from teachers.

Relationship-focused communication also contributes to students' academic learning by helping teachers develop a deeper understanding of students and their families as people with lives and identities outside of school. Teachers can better motivate students by tapping into knowledge of students' home lives and cultural backgrounds. A teacher might, for example, remind a Latina student that her grandmother, who is her "special person," would be proud of her hard work.

Here are key learnings from our work in Forest Grove to help educators implement relationship-focused communication:

For many educators, the shift is not to communicate more but to communicate strategically. By centering relationships and family well-being, educators can tap into parents' existing motivation to help their children succeed.

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7 Ways for Teachers to Truly Connect With Parents (Opinion)

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Editor's note: This is the second essay in a series about using cultural knowledge to improve education drawn from the work of researchers and practitioners in the Forest Grove, Ore., school district. Read other essays in the series and find out more about this district.

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Setting Up the Meeting

The way teachers reach out to families to schedule the IEP meeting sets the tone for their partnership. This communication can change a family's thinking from "the school requires me to attend this meeting" to "my child's teacher needs me in order to understand my child."

To make families feel valued, Mapp, Carver, and Lander suggest that teachers:

Call home ahead of time to discuss the meeting, rather than sending an informational letter home with the student.

Describe what the meeting will entail, and how the family can prepare.

Explain who will attend: the teacher, the parent, a learning or behavioral specialist, and a district official.

Arrange the meeting around the family's schedule.

Planning the Meeting

Schools are often intimidating places for families, especially those who are low-income, immigrants, or people of color. To avoid the dynamic of "school versus family," teachers should:

Think carefully about where the meeting will take place: Will a classroom be more comfortable than a specialist's office? Is there a way to arrange the seating so that everyone is on equal ground?

Brainstorm how to position the family as an active participant, rather than just a listener. Prepare questions to ask the family about their dreams, expectations, and concerns for their child.

Create an "IEP one-pager" to use at the meeting. This document should leave space for the teacher, specialist, and family to list together what the student can do independently, what she can do with support, what areas of growth they will focus on, and the key accommodations they'll use.

Holding the Meeting

"IEP meetings should be anchored in listening to each other and sharing goals," say Mapp, Carver, and Lander. Their suggestions:

Regulations and legal requirement are important - but don't let them dictate the structure of the meeting.

Talk together about the student's strengths and areas of growth. Create supports and accommodations that can be used in school and at home. Connect accommodations to the family's dreams for their child.

Avoid jargon, which can be alienating. Watch out for body language that reveals family members are confused or uncomfortable. Don't be afraid to step-in with clarification or reassurance.

When working with low-income or minority families, keep in mind how their children, particularly boys, are often overidentified as having learning or behavioral challenges. Make sure you're getting to know each family's history, experiences, and culture, and frame that background as an asset for your classroom.

Following Up

The start-of-year IEP meeting is only the beginning of this partnership.

Schedule regular follow-ups with families. While regulations require these yearly check-ins, a student may be more likely to make progress if their teacher, specialist, and family are continually updating one another.

Be flexible with how you communicate with one another. In-person meetings can be difficult to schedule. Ask parents if texting, calling, or emailing would work better.

Use the IEP one-pager throughout the year to update families on their child's progress.

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The way teachers reach out to families to schedule the IEP meeting sets the tone for their partnership. This communication can change a family's thinking from "the school requires me to attend this meeting" to "my child's teacher needs me in order to understand my child."

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For teachers: What to expect in an IEP meeting

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Learn IEP meeting tips for general education teachers.