Parents & The IEP Process

The process of developing and implementing an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for your child can be overwhelming and exhausting for you as parent or guardian of a child with special needs. What may seem evident and important to you may not register in the same light with administrators, teachers, and related service providers. This guide will help walk you through the basic steps of the IEP process - from referrals and IEP team participants to your rights and responsibilities as an advocate for your child's education.

IEP Referral Process 

The following steps occur to determine a child's need for special education services. As a parent, you may initiate the special education referral process at any point by contacting your child's school and speaking to their general education teacher or school administrator. You may present any documents, records, assessments, private evaluations, or any other information you have as part of your case to the school. Knowing your rights as a parent is essential to this process. Read below for more details about the steps that occur in an IEP referral process.

1. Problem Observed: Teachers or parents may observe that a child is struggling in a specific subject or across multiple content areas. They may note specific instances where the student is not doing well (i.e. testing or note-taking) or general behavior (i.e. student is easily distracted by classmates or student frequently leaves room after being asked to read out loud). They may collect student work samples, assessments, and other relevant data along the way. 
2. Informal Consultation for Ideas: Teachers may gather together to brainstorm ideas about how to better serve and assist a student who appears to be struggling in their class. They may consult other teacher's who interact with the student to see what strategies have worked for them or to bounce ideas off of one another to help generate a plan to implement in their class. Teachers may try these strategies informally in class. If these strategies are successful, the IEP referral process stops. 
3. Prereferral Team Evaluation: The purpose of this team is to determine the need for educational interventions to help a student who is struggling to succeed in school. The team develops ideas for intervention strategies to immediately assist teachers and therefore help students in a timely fashion.  A timeline is established for these strategies to hold teachers accountable for establishing a change. Parents, you must be notified in writing of the team's recommendation of intervention strategies and the reasoning behind implementing them. 
4. Intervention Implemented in General Education Class: Using the timeline established during the prereferral team evaluation, teachers can use the following intervention strategies in their class to assist struggling students: modifications and adaptations to the curriculum and instruction (differentiated instruction), changing the classroom environment (moving around desks for better access to materials),  or classroom management (assigning peer tutors to help struggling students). If, after the designated time, these intervention strategies are insufficient, then the process for educational evaluation will begin. If these strategies are successful, the process stops. 
5. Referral for Special Education: The special education referral process can be implemented by students, parents or educators. The school will have a designated referral process, forms and staff who are part of the proceedings. As a parent, any educational evaluations and/or placement in special education programs must be completed after your written consent. All information to you as a parent should be presented in your native language both verbally and in writing. You may ask questions, review your child's records and ask for them to be amended if you feel that the information is incorrect.
6. Educational Evaluation or Assessment: This portion of the IEP referral process is extremely important in determining your child's specific learning and functional needs. The evaluations given provide an extensive look at how your child learns best, their current level of academic and functional performance, and what their strengths and areas of need are across multiple contexts (academics, behavior, etc.). A school evaluation team is comprised of a school psychologist and other specialists as needed (i.e. a speech and language therapist if there is a suspected speech concern). Evaluations that take place at this time may include various physical examinations and developmental histories, academic, adaptive, and socio-emotional tests. Again, teachers are asked to observe the student throughout their day and make note of the student's strengths and needs areas. All testing must be completed in the student's native language and must take into consideration the student's cultural or ethnic background to accurately determine the student's present level of functioning. As a parent, it is important to point out if your student's native language or culture is different than the general school population in order for your child to be fairly assessed. You may request for a reevaluation whenever one is deemed necessary. 
7. Case Conference Committee: This team is composed of anyone who is concerned with a particular student. Parents, you have the right to be included in this group as a party that makes educational decisions for your child. Other team members include your child's general education teacher, the special education teacher, school psychologist and school administrators (i.e. principal or special education director). Other school personnel such as the school nurse, speech and language pathologist, occupational therapist, and physical therapist may be part of the team. This meeting is to determine whether or not your child is eligible for special education and related services. If it is determined that your child is eligible for special education and/or related services, then an IEP is developed. For more information on the IEP process, see the IEP Components information facts below.  You as a parent provide valuable insights to your child's learning, behavior, home and social life, as well as their wants, needs, and habits. You should feel comfortable expressing your concerns with your child's learning as well as advocating their strengths and achievements in and outside of the educational system. Ask clarifying questions, develop a plan that works for you and your child and work with teachers, service providers and administrators to develop the best possible plan for your child. During the meeting, a team member will be taking notes and summarizing information on a case conference summary form. You are required to receive a copy of this form at the end of the case conference committee. If your child does not qualify for special education services, they may still qualify for services under Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. 
8. Receives Special Education and/or Related Services: After the development of your child's IEP, your child will begin to receive special education services as outlined in their IEP. For more details about what an IEP covers, see below. This may include related services like speech therapy or occupational therapy. Related service providers are here to provide your child with another outlet of support within the school system. They work with you, your child's teachers and school administrators to develop an appropriate plan of action and measurable objectives in accordance to your child's IEP goals. 

IEP Team Participants 

• Special Education Teacher: The special education teacher provides insights and strategies on how to best assist your child with their special education services. They work closely with the general education teacher to develop a plan of action to aide your child in a way that works best for you as a family. 
• General Education Teacher: The general education teacher observes and notes your child's needs, strengths, and is motivated to provide different intervention strategies as needed to assist with your child's learning. 
• Parents/Guardians of Child: You as a parent have the right to be present at all IEP team meetings and annual reviews. You are crucial to your child's success in and out of school and have a wider view of what works best for your child. With patience, communication, and clear expectations, a succinct plan of action can be developed between you and school personnel to best serve your child. Due process is always available to you as a parent to resolve any concerns, disputes or changes in your child's special education services or education. 
• School Administrator/LEA (Local Education Representative): The school administrator or a LEA will also be present at the IEP team meeting. They are aware of the IEP guidelines, state rule and regulations, and provide a clear timeline of events that need to take place to help the team be successful. 
• Related Service Providers: If your child may require related services such as occupational therapy or counseling, these related service providers may be present at the IEP team meeting. If it is recommended that your child receive related services, details on the implementation, duration, and measurable goals for each related service will be provided in the IEP. 

IEP Components 

An IEP is written during the case conference committee step of the IEP referral process when it is determined that a child is eligible for special education services. Here are some of the major components of an IEP: 

• Student's current level of academic achievement & functional performance: This is used to create measurable goals for the upcoming year that suit your child's both functional and academic specific needs. Knowing where they currently stand gives educators a way to evaluate them throughout the year and see progress or regression by the next IEP meeting. 
• Measurable annual goals and short term objectives (functional & academic): This is based on what the case committee has determined your child should accomplish within the year. Annual goals may include academic goals such as reading grade-level texts or behavior goals like decreasing the frequency of elopement over the school day. These goals are measurable, positive and can be evaluated throughout the year. Goals may include life-skills (like being able to manage their own belongings in school or order food from a local restaurant) and involve looking at your child's current and long-term needs. Parents may suggest goals that they would like to see worked on in school that may help assist at home (such as organizational skills, managing personal technology, asking for help if frustrated). Short term objectives specify the steps needed to take in order to reach an annual objective. They are often scaffolded and broken down into measurable pieces that educators can implement in order to achieve parts of the objective. They generally have specific conditions, behavior and criteria in order to be evaluated and mastered. 
• Short-term objectives for students who take alternative assessments: Short term goals, again, are usually scaffolded and are a way to show progress on specific learning objectives for students who take alternative assessments. This may range from simple letter and number identification to the ability to sit in a room for a period of time in order to be assessed. 
• Statement of special & related services and program modifications to be provided as support for the student: Measurable goals for special education and related services will be outlined in your child's IEP. Teachers and related service providers will provide details in how they will modify and assist your child in specific education areas (i.e. reading, language, math problem solving). Related service providers often compose weekly treatment notes as a way to document your child's progress and evaluate them on their IEP goals. 
• Statement of individual modifications in state or districtwide assessment procedures: If a child receives testing accommodations such as a human reader, scribe, AT (assistive technology) or any other testing modification, it will be detailed and outlined in this portion of their IEP. Parents are encouraged to research and ask questions about what accommodations and modifications may benefit their child in all testing or assessment situations they may encounter throughout the school year. 
• If applicable, a statement of why a child cannot participate in state or districtwide assessment if alternative assessment is recommended 
• Start dates of related services as well as duration & frequency of services: If your child receives related services as part of their IEP, the duration and frequency of all types of related service will be listed in their IEP. Again, related service providers will have annual and short-term objectives to assist your child their specific area (i.e. for speech and language, a short-term goal may be for a student to independently request to use a preferred item without prompting with the long term goal of eventual self-advocacy). 
• Statement of transition services for all students age 16 and older, including post-secondary goals & transition services needed to meet goals: The case committee may discuss and determine your child's educational, vocational, or employment training needs. Parents can research and suggest vocational training opportunities and may ask for the IEP team to create measurable goals for transitioning their child out of the public education system if it is determined that their child may require continual adult services after completing high-school. 
• Statement of how annual goals will be measured, how parents will be informed, and how progress will be monitored: This is perhaps the most important part of the IEP process. It lays out in specific language how educators will go about reaching your child's educational goals set forth in the IEP. It will include the various steps, modifications, and scaffolding that may be needed to help your child reach both their short term and long term objectives. Your input as a parent is essential in making the home-school portion of this part of the IEP work. If part of the IEP is a behavior contract that involves at home monitoring, you are equally responsible in assisting your child's teacher in fulfilling the contract at home to show progress or demonstrate the need to modify part of this objective. Plans for communication between home and school will also be outlined (i.e. weekly reports, daily communication logs, monthly parent-teacher meetings, etc). You have the right to ask for what you feel is best for your family and child to help them succeed in and out of school. 
• Annual Reviews: IEP annual reviews are completed each year as a way to monitor a student's progress and modify/amend parts of their IEP. Again, you as a parent have the legal right to attend IEP annual reviews as part of the IEP team. Changes in your child's educational placement may be made based on the annual IEP review. After three years, there is a reevaluation process to determine if your child is still eligible for special education. 

(Mastropieri 37)