Definition of Individualized Education Program

Individualized Education Program (IEP):

An Individualized Education Program is designed for students who have been placed in a special education program. An IEP is a legal document used to define how a school will plan to meet students with disabilities educational needs. This program’s main purpose is to provide the right services to help your child with their needs in the classroom. In order for the student to receive special education services, an IEP is required by law. Once this is decided, the child has their first IEP meeting within the first 30 days of entering this program. This is an ongoing program throughout the child’s schooling until they either leave the program or graduate from high school. This program helps monitor and evaluate the child throughout their schooling. In the IEP program, there are annual meetings that are used to review, update, and evaluate the child’s progress as well as give the parent’s important feedback. These annual meetings are typically with the parents, the child, and one of their special education teachers. While the parent is invited, they are not required to attend although it is advised that they do attend to gain perspective on their child’s progress in school. The student’s IEP team consists of their regular education teacher(s), a school system representative, the parent(s) or guardian(s), a person who interprets the evaluation results, special education teacher(s), and a transition services agency representative (figure 1).

Figure 1

During each meeting, the teacher evaluates the child and reviews the plan from the previous year and tracks their progress over the year. They also go over their plan for the next year, set goals, and go over supports and services for the next year with the parents. They will have a draft of the IEP with the child’s goals and progress, but it is only a draft. During the meeting, changes can be made to affect the IEP through discussion with the child and parents. The school provides a notice that tells when and where the meeting is happening. The parent is asked to sign the draft document to finalize the support for the child at the end of the meeting.

Bibliography

Baumel, Jan. “What Is an IEP?” Parenting, www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/what-is-an-iep/.

“Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) (for Parents) - Nemours KidsHealth.” Edited by Steven J.

Bachrach, KidsHealth, The Nemours Foundation, Sept. 2016, kidshealth.org/en/parents/iep.html.

Mulvahill, Elizabeth. “What Is an IEP?” WeAreTeachers, 25 May 2018, www.weareteachers.com/what-is-an-iep/.

Individualized Education Program (IEP):

An Individualized Special Education Program is a legal document under the law in the United States that is created for each student in the public school system that needs special education accommodations (Figure 2).

Figure 2

IEP was created under The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law that entitles all student’s with a disability to a free, specially accommodated education. IDEA outlines 13 categories of disabilities that a child can fall under to qualify for these specific services.; Autism Spectrum Disorder, deafness, deaf-blindness, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability, speech impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment. IDEA also states that student IEPs must be aligned with grade level standards. This ensures that all children who have a learning disability will have an education that will meet their needs as well as meet state grade level standards and provide access to the general education curriculum. The IEP’s main purposes are to create quantifiable annual goals for the student and to list the special education or other services and aids that the public school agency will accommodate for. An IEP team is created between school personnel, the student’s parents, and the child in some cases. The IEP team will greatly consider the child’s involvement and/or participation in certain areas of school life; the general education curriculum, extracurricular activities, and nonacademic activities. The IEP will include present levels of performance, goals, and services in order to meet the standards of the law. In addition to this, it will also include any other accommodations and or supplementary aids that the student will receive. An example of these accommodations could potentially be a student with a hearing impairment going to see a speech therapist in school.

Bibliography

“NASET.org Home Page.” NASET News Alert RSS, 8 Aug. 2018, www.naset.org/index.php?id=3321.

“Hot Topics.” Louisiana Believes - Louisiana Department of Education, www.louisianabelieves.com/students-with-disabilities/individualized-education-program-(iep).

“Guide to the Individualized Education Program.” Home, 30 Aug. 2019, www2.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html.