IEP Checklist posted on Prodigy 3/7/93 by Cindy Meyer. Provided to Cindy Meyer by Advocate Ellen Barnes, Developmental Disabilities Rights Project and Direction Service Center on Human Policy, 216 Ostrom Avenue, Syracuse, NY. The IEP Process --------------- Timing: An IEP developed within 30 days of the time a child is determined to need special education and related services. For a child currently labeled handicapped, IEP developed, reviewed and revised at least annually on a schedule determined by the agency; after the initial meeting, an IEP in effect at the beginning of the school year. Participants - IEP meeting includes: A representative of the public agency qualified to provide or supervise provision of special education; child's teacher; one or both of the child's parents; the child, where appropriate; others at parent or agency discretion; for a child evaluated for the first time, a member of the evaluation team or someone knowledgeable about the evaluation procedures used with the child and familiar with the results of the evaluation. Notification and scheduling of the IEP meeting ---------------------------------------------- Parents notified in sufficient time to arrange attendance. Time and place of meeting mutually agreeable. Notice includes purpose, time, location, participants in the meeting (can be written or oral, but agency must keep a record of its efforts to contact parents). Notice in primary language and interpreter provided for parents who are deaf or whose primary language is other than English. If neither parent could attend the meeting, parent participation occurred through individual or conference phone calls. If meeting conducted without parent participation, school has record of its attempts to arrange a mutually agreed-upon time and place through phone calls, correspondence, home or work visits. Records: Available data on the child reviewed by parents and school personnel (including physical exam, psychological exam, social history, reports of teacher and outside specialists such as speech therapist). Parents afforded opportunity to examine all records. Additional testing available at public expense. Confidentiality of child and parents protected. Completion: Parents received copy of IEP on request. Parents sign copy of the IEP and return it to school. Review and accountability: IEP reviewed and revised at least annually with parent participation. Public school representative initiated IEP process for child placed in private school; participated in review and revision. Teacher and agency made good-faith efforts to achieve goals and objectives of IEP even though agency or teacher cannot be held accountable if child does not achieve projected growth. (Parents can complain, ask for revisions of program and invoke due process procedures if they feel efforts are not being made) Content of the IEP ------------------ A good IEP in COMPREHENSIVE. It covers all contents areas, including communication, behavior, socialization, self-help, academics, perceptual motor and gross motor skills. A good IEP is SPECIFIC. It's goals and objectives are stated in terms of observable behaviors. A good IEP is SEQUENTIAL. It is based on a developmental sequence of skills and curriculum approaches to teach them. A good IEP is REALISTIC AND APPROPRIATE. Its goals and objectives fit the child's current functioning and probable growth rate. A good IEP is UNDERSTANDABLE. It is written in language that is comprehensible to both parents and professionals. A good IEP is MUTUALLY DEVELOPED -- that is, it represents a consensus among parents and school personnel in terms of goals and objectives. The following should be the content of each IEP: Child's present level of functioning: Accurate information about a child's current level of functioning is necessary for the development of an appropriate IEP. This should reflect that highest level of skill a student has attained in a sequence of skills for each of the content areas included in the IEP. The statements of present functioning level: were in observable behavioral terms; were based on more than a one-shot experience with the child; covered the major content areas (where appropriate) of: -communication -behavior -perceptual motor -socialization -self help -gross motor -academics (subdivided by topic, such as reading, math, social studies etc.) Annual Goals ------------ The yearly goals reflect answers to the question: What do we want the child to be able to do? The goals must reflect knowledge of the child's current functioning in each content area, the next sequence of skills in that area and some estimate of the child's rate of learning. If the learning rate is underestimated and the child achieves the annual goals earlier, then new goals can be added. Priorities are established in choosing goals based on the students physical limitations, age and length of time left in school and on expectations for the future. The annual goals in this IEP were: stated in terms of observable behaviors; inclusive of the major content areas; -communication -behavior -academics -socialization -self help -perceptual motor -gross motor (physical education is specifically mentioned in the law); based on the child's present level of functioning; realistic in terms of physical limitations of the student; prioritized on the basis of students age and amount of time left in school; prioritized toward functional skills to help the child live as independently as possible. Short-term objectives and evaluation ------------------------------------ Short-term objectives include a number of steps in the sequence of moving a student toward each annual goal. They can be listed as 3 or 4 steps for each reporting or evaluation period. Short term objectives are not as specific as lesson plans, but rather indicate the breakdown of intermediate goals a teacher will teach to help a student reach the annual goal. The short term objectives must be stated in behavioral terms and criteria for achieving the objective included, that is, each objective should say WHAT THE STUDENT WILL DO, UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS AND TO WHAT CRITERIA. For example, in a free play situation, John will come to the teacher when called by name ("John, come") and the sign for "come" is used, 9 out of 10 times (90% of the time). Persons responsible for implementing specific objectives should be listed (eg:teachers, speech therapist), as should dates for beginning and ending work on each objective. The short term objectives in this IEP: were based on annual goals; were based on a commonly accepted sequence of skills; were stated in observable behavioral terms; included the conditions under which student will perform and to what criteria; include persons responsible for implementing objectives; include dates for beginning and ending work on each objective; (option) state methods and materials to be used to reach each objective (eg:Distar reading) Related Services ---------------- Related services are those additional services necessary for a child to benefit from special educational instruction. According to P.L. 94-142, they include transportation and developmental, corrective and other supportive services (speech pathology and audiology, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation and counseling and medical services - the last for diagnostic and evaluation purposes only. Special materials (such as adaptive equipment) or media (eg: braille devices) should be listed here also. An appropriate physical education program is specifically mentioned. Who will deliver these special services and for how much time (how often, beginning and ending date) should also be noted for example: articulation therapy by Jane Stern, speech therapist, 30 minutes, 3 times a week, 9/93 - 1/94. In this IEP, the following information is included: Transportation provided Appropriate special services designated -speech/language -occupational therapy -physical therapy -psychological -recreation -counseling -medical diagnostic who will deliver services; amount of time and beginning and ending dates for service; special media and materials to be provided; Participation in regular education ---------------------------------- P.L. 94-142 states that (1) to the maximum extent appropriate, handicapped children, including children in public and private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not handicapped and (2) that special classes, separate schooling or other removal of handicapped children from the regular educational environment occur only when the nature and use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. The law also encourages children's placement in their neighborhood school or as close as possible to home, and the provision of nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities (meals, recess etc.) with non-handicapped children. The IEP must specify how and when the student will interact with non-handicapped peers in a planful way. In this IEP: Opportunities for interaction with non-handicapped peers are listed; staff responsible for implementation of program during integrated activities are noted; socialization objectives related to integrated activities and criteria for evaluation are indicated; amount of time and beginning and ending dates are noted; Additional comments/concerns ---------------------------- An optional section of the IEP may include medical concerns (eg: seizures and medications); statements of particular important physical or behavioral characteristics; descriptions of learning style or effective approaches (eg: reinforcers), etc. Placement justification and signatures A statement must be included which indicates the placement of the child and why it is deemed must appropriate. The final IEP must be dated and signed by the participants, including parents. In this IEP: Placement is specified. Justification for placement is included. All parties involved have signed (parents, teachers, school representatives, child if appropriate, others) __________________________________________________________________________ This article has been downloaded from the ADD Forum on CompuServe, and may be distributed freely as long as the contents of the file are unchanged. Because the CompuServe ADD Forum is new, we are frequently asked how to join CompuServe and get on the forum. Call 1-800-524-3388 and ask for rep #464. Outside the US/Canada call +1-614-457-0802.