Running head: IEP WORKBOOK SUMMARY
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Liberty University
Fall 2018
IEP Workbook Summary 1
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Individualized Education Program (IEP) Workbook Summary
Individualized Education Programs (IEP’s) are imperative, especially in being able to
comprehend the issues faced by children and to implement a plan in an effort to assist those
children that have Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD’s). IEP’s are crucial for teachers because
it gives a guide of how both instruction can be differentiated and learning can be scaffolded for
children with SLD’s. In recent years, there have been many things put in place to meet the needs
of children with IEP’s, but I must note that there was a time where the education system was not
always sensitive to children with special needs. It was not until 1975, with the passing of the
Education of All Handicapped Children Act, that protected the rights of students with disabilities
by meeting their needs and improving their educational outcomes, (EAHCA, 1975). Special
education teachers are faced with the challenge of ensuring that all guidelines in both the child’s
General Education and Special Education classroom are being followed. It is imperative that all
legalities are executed at both the state and federal level. In essence, this summary will delve into
the beginning stages of the IEP process, and pertinent data that is required to ensure that the IEP
is thorough and effective.
Chapter 1: The Law and Students with Special Needs
In this chapter, the reader gains background knowledge of the Individualized Educational
Plan (IEP). This chapter outlines the history of special education; it more specifically provides a
timeline of events, e.g. when congress started to pass laws regarding the treatment of children
with Special Learning Disabilities, until today and what is being done to further to protect and
honor special needs children. While Dr. Claxton sheds light to the secular aspects of Special
education, she also does not forget to include a biblical perspective and how, we as Champions
for Christ, can view problems that may arise, as God would want for us to. The importance of
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legalities is thoroughly discussed, and how it is up to the educator to ensure that any kids with
special needs are being treated fairly and are given their right to Free Appropriate Public
Education, (Claxton, 2018, p.6). Claxton also references the term, “neurodiversity,” and how its
identification is a trend in Special Education. As stated by Armstrong (2017), “Neurodiversity
can be defined as an understanding that neurological differences are to be honored and respected
just like any other human variation, including diversity in race, ethnicity, gender identity,
religion, sexual orientation, and so on, “(Armstrong, 2017, p. 10). Overall, the tone of Chapter 1,
asserts that their needs to be a sense of urgency when dealing with children that have SLD’s.
Chapter 2: Parents and the IEP Process. In chapter 1, there was a discussion on laws
passed by congress and the level of responsibility that is placed on both General Education and
Special Education classroom teachers. However, this particular chapter discussed the shift and
shared responsibilities of not just the teachers, but the role that administrators and other members
of the IEP team have also. In the beginning, the term Parent is defined as a way to provide an
abstract understanding of their role in the IEP process. As an educator, it is your responsibility to
ensure that the parent of the child getting services is legally notified, because as the parent, they
reserve the right to know the state of their child’s education. Parents can equip the teacher and
other members of the IEP team with insight that can be beneficial when identifying behaviors at
home that are influential to the effectiveness of the IEP in place, (Claxton, 2018, p. 14). While
the parent is paramount to this particular process, it is also the duty of the teacher to be the
advocate of both the parent and the child.
Chapter 3: Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance. The
importance of gathering and analyzing data, is yet another factor that is important to the IEP
process. When in the drafting stages of the IEP, it is very important that the teacher exhausts all
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options when gathering and analyzing the data; when this step is done incorrectly, the
Individualized Educational Plan for the specific student becomes a detriment from the start,
(Claxton, 2018, p. 30). Chapter 3 acknowledges that a variation of assessments are used in “data
gathering” stage is also known as the child’s Present Level of Academic Achievement and
Functional Performance or PLAAFP. Use of both formal and informal assessments are tools that
are specifically designed to measure academic achievement and functional performance.
Examples of formal assessments are benchmarks or end of the year tests administered by the
state, (Claxton, 2018, pg. 37). Some examples of informal assessments include, but are not
limited to: teacher made tests, curriculum based tests, and tests focused on meeting adequate
grade level progression criteria such as DIBELS, (Claxton, 2018, p. 37). The terms academic
achievement and functional terms are defined to help to further understand the correlation they
both share within the IEP process. Lastly, the PLAAFP must include the following: the students
functional performance and academic achievement, how the students inability to progress in the
general education setting is a detriment, and what is needed by the student in order to adequately
function in a general education classroom, (Claxton, 2018, p. 37). The message that an educator
potentially take away from this chapter is to make sure that you are utilizing both formal and
informal assessments to measure data needed for the beginning stages of an Individualized
Educational Plan (IEP).
Chapter 4: IEP Goals. In order to accurately assess the needs of the child that is receiving
services, the IEP team must implement something called Measureable Annual Goals. In brief,
this means that once a year, when a child’s progress is thoroughly reviewed, if the child is
progressing at the projected rate when given assessments outlined in the IEP, he or she has met
the Measurable Annual Goals, and services that have been provided, are working for the benefit
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of the child. I want to take the time to also discuss what all Measurable Annual Goals entail, to
help better assist in my understanding of this material. Measurable Annual Goals are: directly
related to the needs specified on the student’s PLAAFP, use data from PLAAFP stage to conduct
progress monitoring, outline students suggested educational goals for upcoming school year,
include the four components of audience, behavior, criterion, and degree, and lastly it needs to
meet all other things identified and provide assistance in integrating student back into general
education classroom setting.
Conclusion and Christian Perspective Gained. As an educator, I found the steps to the
IEP process invaluable in not only the learning process for the child, but for all members of the
IEP team. Educators led by Christ, can be advocates of not only children with special needs, but
also the parents and families of children with special needs. Although, I have not yet finished the
book in its entirety, it obvious to me that while there are systems put in place to assist children
with SLD’s, there is even more that can be done to assist in the education of these students.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy,” (Proverbs 31: 8-9, New
International Version). The aforementioned scripture talks about advocating for the rights of
other who may be less fortunate than you, and when applied to dealing with children that have
special needs, it is the obligation of the all parties involved to handle with care and to be the
individual(s), advocate.
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References
Armstrong, T. (2017). Neurodiversity: The future of special education? Educational Leadership,
74(7), 10-16.
Claxton, B. (2018). Planning, Writing, and Implementing IEPs: A Christian Approach. Dubuque,
IA: Kendall Hunt.
The Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EACHA, 1975)
