Main menu Our work Blog Surveys and research. Join our team Privacy policy Terms of use Fundraising disclosure Sitemap. IEPs are part of PreK—12 public education. Dive deeper Who gets IEPs. IEPs are a part of public education. Myths about IEPs. IEPs vs. Next steps.
Related topics School supports. Tell us what interests you. See your recommendations. There was an issue saving your preferences. Tell us what interests you Select the topics you want to learn more about. Did you know we have a community app for parents? That could mean anything from a pull-out class period devoted to individual tutoring, a designated classroom aide for the whole school day, or assignment to a school dedicated to special education students.
Some teachers recognize their differences but lack the training or the time to alter their teaching methods; others just assume that a child who is smart in one area is simply being lazy or obstructionist by not being smart in another. The emotional toll exacted on a child who is told that his repeated failures are his own fault can be high.
Maybe she was suicidally depressed. She was Up until then, many may have been able to fake success, but the demands of more classes, more homework, and a more challenging social environment can overwhelm them. In practice, there is. If things have not been going well, parents may bring lawyers to the meeting, which means attorneys for the school system are, too.
In my own defense, my daughter had the misfortune of being at an elementary school noted for having the highest standardized test scores in the county and an institutional culture that seems to regard kids with learning disabilities as impediments to their goal of keeping those scores high. You could say the school and I had differing agendas. By middle school, when one teacher can have more than students a day, he or she could have 15 or 20 IEPs to read.
IEPs are like legal documents in that you have to extract relevant bits of information from here and there, and put them together. Even the best-intentioned and most heroic general-education teachers are hard pressed to implement even some of the basic provisions—a printout of class notes, for example lesson plans can change at the last minute , or individualized instruction in a class with 30 students.
The referral process generally begins when a teacher, parent, or doctor is concerned that a child may be having trouble in the classroom, and the teacher notifies the school counselor or psychologist. The first step is to gather specific data regarding the student's progress or academic problems.
This may be done through:. This information helps school personnel determine the next step. At this point, strategies specific to the student could be used to help the child become more successful in school.
If this doesn't work, the child would be tested for a specific learning disability or other impairment to help determine qualification for special services. It's important to note, though, that the presence of a disability doesn't automatically guarantee a child will receive services. To be eligible, the disability must affect functioning at school. To determine eligibility, a multidisciplinary team of professionals will evaluate the child based on their observations; the child's performance on standardized tests; and daily work such as tests, quizzes, classwork, and homework.
As a parent, you can decide whether to have your child assessed. If you choose to do so, you'll be asked to sign a permission form that will detail who is involved in the process and the types of tests they use. These tests might include measures of specific school skills, such as reading or math, as well as more general developmental skills, such as speech and language. Testing does not necessarily mean that a child will receive services. Once the team members complete their individual assessments, they develop a comprehensive evaluation report CER that compiles their findings, offers an educational classification, and outlines the skills and support the child will need.
The parents then have a chance to review the report before the IEP is developed. Some parents will disagree with the report, and they will have the opportunity to work together with the school to come up with a plan that best meets the child's needs. The next step is an IEP meeting at which the team and parents decide what will go into the plan. In addition to the evaluation team, a regular teacher should be present to offer suggestions about how the plan can help the child's progress in the standard education curriculum.
At the meeting, the team will discuss your child's educational needs — as described in the CER — and come up with specific, measurable short-term and annual goals for each of those needs. If you attend this meeting, you can take an active role in developing the goals and determining which skills or areas will receive the most attention. The cover page of the IEP outlines the support services your child will receive and how often they will be provided for example, occupational therapy twice a week.
Support services might include special education, speech therapy, occupational or physical therapy, counseling, audiology, medical services, nursing, and vision or hearing therapy. They might also include transportation; the extent of participation in programs for students without disabilities; what, if any, modifications are needed in the administration of statewide assessment of student achievement; and, beginning at age 14, the inclusion of transition planning as a part of the process.
If the team recommends several services, the amount of time they take in the child's school schedule can seem overwhelming. To ease that load, some services may be provided on a consultative basis. In these cases, the professional consults with the teacher to come up with strategies to help the child but doesn't offer any hands-on instruction.
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