This morning my daughter’s school called me to a meeting about her IEP for next year. Given that we are moving to a new school as we are moving away from our hometown, I was very grateful to the special ed teacher and class teacher for this.
Every child with special requirements should be given an IEP and should be entitled to one, no matter where you live, what school you go to or how much money you have.
So What is an IEP ??
The Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a written plan developed by the parents and the schools special education team that specifies the students academic goals and the method to obtain these goals. There should also be a section relating to social skill and objectives.
IEP writing is one of the most important responsibilities of a special education teacher.
Understanding the sections will help you write with more confidence.
General Information
The first part of the IEP is general information. You need to be sure that phone numbers and addresses are correct. Also prepare the signature page which should include the student if the student is 16 or older. When a student turns 16, they need to be part of transition planning, which will be part of the IEP.
Special Consideration
This section should discuss the specific challenges the child faces eg: communication, behaviour etc..Any special requirements the child has should be noted in this section.
Present Achievement Levels
Present levels are one of the most important parts of the IEP, and should be attended to first. This includes some standardised evaluations and tests to determine the child’s current achievement levels.
This section ends with strengths and needs. These can be taken directly from the Evaluation Report , but each need must be addressed either in the educational goals or the specially designed instruction.
The next section is for special services a child will receive, such as speech therapy, occupational therapy or adaptive physical education and includes the frequency and duration of services.
The last section includes supports the teacher will get, which may include training, consultations with the psychologist or behavior specialist, or in the case of the general Ed teacher, regular meetings with the special education teacher.
