A few years ago I took an English comp class at GRCC. The first paper I wrote was on the IEP process and in honor of Aidan's most recent (and thankfully simple!) IEP, I thought I would post it. Mind you, this was written a few years ago and some things have changed about the IEP (such as the fact that the parent no longer needs to sign it and the fact that it is done online now) but the basic facts remain the same.
A Parent’s Guide to the IEP
I sat down at one of the few
adult-sized tables in the building and greeted everyone already there. While waiting for everyone else to arrive, I
signed in and made small talk with the Resource Room teacher. The school’s new speech therapist was in
attendance and seemed taken by surprise at my knowledge of the proceedings and
the ease with which I tossed around their own special brand of jargon, Special
Ed speak. The therapist made a comment
about how I must be a pro. Not to brag,
but I am. As a parent who has two
children that require a little more assistance than normal in school, it’s
practically a requirement to be well versed in the Individualized Education
Program, or IEP. An Individualized
Education Program acts as both the building blocks and the structure that form
the education plan of a special needs child.
I look at the special education arena as a labyrinth to be traversed,
with many twisting turns and false starts but with the important end goals of
the best education and chances in life as possible for my children. All a parent needs to get through that maze
is motivation; knowledge, a glossary of acronyms and a good roadmap will come
with time and practice.
The entrance to this particular maze
simply requires the recognition and admission that your child possibly needs
additional help. You may notice that
your child is struggling to read at grade level, or taking a large amount of effort
to put even two coherent sentences together while writing. A parent’s intuition is rarely wrong and in
any case, a little overreaction in this area is not a bad thing. So take note of any concerns you may have and
bring them to their teacher. Please keep
in mind that teachers often feel overwhelmed at the needs of all of their students, so while it may
seem as if they are dismissing or ignoring your concerns, that is not the case
in general. In almost any school
setting, and definitely in the public school forum, students can “fall through
the cracks”. Persistence eventually pays
off though, so stay dedicated. You will
eventually have the undivided attention of your child’s teacher. Once you have explained your concerns to the
teacher, they will begin the process by addressing these issues during a team
meeting. A team meeting is generally a
regularly scheduled occurrence that is attended by most of the teachers,
special education and administrative staff.
It is where they discuss student issues and any educational concerns
they may have. The end result of this
meeting is a general consensus that your child will be tested to verify whether
or not they qualify for any special education services. These types of services cost the school
districts money that they can ill afford in this day and age of the budget cut. Therefore, they must have proof that a child
truly needs a service in order to provide it.
The testing and qualification process will not happen overnight, so be
patient. For both of my children, I
waited an average of two months between requesting testing and sitting down for
the first IEP. Many schools share speech
therapists, psychologists, and occupational therapists with several other
schools in the district, so scheduling a time that works for everyone involved
can be quite a balancing act. Once the
testing is completed, the educators will meet again to determine the best plan
to help your child succeed at school.
The IEP is the culmination of the
testing, its results, and the plan of attack that your child’s school has
prepared. The first IEP is always longer
and more detailed than the standard follow up meetings you will attend each
subsequent year. In this first IEP, you
will get to meet the educators that will be working with your child to assist
them in their scholastic career.
Depending on which specific needs your child has, you may meet a speech
therapist, a school psychologist, a social worker, an occupational therapist,
or a resource room teacher. Once the
introductions have been made, you will be asked to sign in on the IEP form to
verify that you attended. Since the IEP
is part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, it is subject to
guidelines and requirements as mandated by law.
The paperwork used in an IEP follows a standard format that outlines the
team report, your child’s eligibility and present level of academic
performance, the accommodations and assessment provisions they will be
receiving, and the goals and objectives that the educators have committed to
helping your child achieve. There is
also a section that outlines the actual special education programs and services
that your child has qualified for.
The IEP team report basically
summarizes what the team has determined from the test results. The alphabet soup of acronyms in the special
education world can be quite intimidating.
To be told that your child has a primary qualification of OHI with a
secondary qualification of SLD makes you wonder if what your child has is
contagious or possibly fatal. Once you
know that your child is simply qualified as Otherwise Health Impaired (because
they, for example, have a medical diagnosis of ADHD) and that they have a
secondary qualification of a Specific Learning Disability, you will feel
relieved to find that it isn’t really as bad as it originally sounded. The team report is also where your child’s
strengths and your concerns are listed.
After the team report, the IEP
usually follows with your child’s present level of academic performance. This is where the team members comment on
your child’s current functioning level of academic achievement and
performance. This area can also be
intimidating if written properly since they should be quoting the state codes
of requirement for your child’s grade level content expectations (GLCE) and
explaining why your child does not meet those requirements. Also listed here will be their observations
based on the formal and informal assessments they have done on your child. The more detailed this area is, the
better. It shows that the school is
committed to being thorough with each child while assessing them and providing
assistance as needed.
The next portion of the IEP is one
of the most important sections. It is
where the team members list the supplementary aids, accommodations, and
assessment provisions. Basically, this
is the roadmap to your child’s success.
If your child struggles with writing, this area may outline the need for
a scribe or a word processor. If they
wrestle over math, maybe this area will allow for the use of a calculator or
adjusted math assignments. The
assessment provisions also provide some relief in the form of the standardized
testing. It may allow your child to be
in a small group during standardized tests, or let them have the test read to
them. The team members can write in the
need for frequent breaks while testing, distraction free settings or assistance
in filling out the bubble forms. In the
case of my children, this is the section that I have memorized. It provides me with the ammunition that I
need to ensure that my children are getting the most out of their
education. This section gives parents
the legal framework to make sure that their students are given every
opportunity to succeed.
The final portion of the IEP focuses
on the goals and objectives that the team has put into place to assist the
student to progress in their general curriculum or to help them in meeting
their educational needs. If your child
has more than one area that the team feels they need support in, each area will
have its own goals sheet. The goals and
objectives sheet gives a basic outline of each goal that has been set for your
child. It will also act as a progress
report during the course of the year when report cards are sent home. In general, on the progress report each
educator will make notes about how your child is progressing and letting you
know of any strength or weaknesses they feel are important.
By
law, the school must have a signed IEP every year, and it must be signed on or
before the date of the previous year’s IEP.
I would highly recommend keeping copies of each IEP and progress report
as you receive them. It is a helpful
tool to show you the progress your child has made since they’ve been receiving
special education services. It never
hurts to also have the IEP’s as a reference in case you have a question on
whether or not your child should have had to take a timed test, written an
essay without a scribe, or any other topic that was covered on the IEP. After the initial IEP, the subsequent years
are relatively simple and routine. Every
three years, the school must reevaluate your child to ensure that they still
need the services they are receiving. It
is a success worth celebrating if they deem your child no longer needs extra
assistance in a particular area. That
means that the IEP served its purpose and you, as a parent, have done your job. Also, if at any time you feel that your child
needs additional services, you are able to request them. They will evaluate the appeal in a similar
fashion to the original testing request and then determine whether or not
services need to be added to best suit your child and their academic
needs.
Surprisingly, I have often had
teachers tell me how amazing it is that I am such an advocate for my
children. That statement gives me mixed
emotions. On one hand, I speculate whether
it indicates that too many parents do not fight for what their children
need. On the other hand, I wonder if the
word “advocate” is their way of saying “pain in the rear parent”. Either way, I know that if I do not support
my child in their scholastic career, no one else will. If being an advocate for my children requires
me to learn the acronyms, definitions and the inner workings of the
Individualized Education Program, it is well worth it. Learning the basic layout of the IEP and
asking questions are two of the best ways to make sure you are well equipped to
help your child attain their personal best.
Keep in mind the end goal to that special education maze and all of the
knowledge and details will fall in line.
Stay in frequent contact with the educators that make up your child’s
team and always monitor their IEP progress reports. Remember that the tools to provide your child
with the best education possible are available; they just may require you to
learn how to navigate the mysterious world of Individualized Education Programs
in order to do so.
