RUNNING HEAD: Workbook Summary
IEP: Workbook Summary
Dallas Ventre
Liberty University
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RUNNING HEAD: Workbook Summary2
Special Education in the Individualized Education Program
Special education programs are designed to accommodate the needs of students with
disabilities, at no cost to the parents. This includes classroom instruction, as well as care in
hospitals, institutions, and other settings. All students with disabilities must be given access to a
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), appropriate evaluation, Least Restrictive
Environment, Procedural Safeguards, and an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
IEPs are written statements for children with disabilities that are developed and
implemented according to Federal Regulations. Each school is responsible for conducting
meetings to develop, review, and revise the IEP for each child. The IEP team meets to discuss the
child’s strengths and needs, and usually consists of administrators, teachers, parents, and other
staff members. There are several different aspects that must be included in an IEP to ensure that
the student is receiving maximum support. In order to write an effective IEP, there must be an
initial assessment in order to develop a set of measurable, annual goals for the child. The IEP
team collaborates to determine expectations for the child’s achievement, along with any services
the child might need to be successful in the school environment.
Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance
All IEPs must include a PLAAFP statement, and it is usually the starting point for
developing a successful IEP. The present levels of academic achievement and functional
performance (PLAAFP) is self-explanatory, as it is simply a detailed description of a student’s
current achievement and performance. Its is broken down into two areas: Academic achievement
and Functional performance. Academic achievement focuses on skills such as reading, writing,
and math. Functional performance, on the other hand, addresses activities such as feeding and
dressing oneself, doing laundry, and shopping for necessities.
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The PLAAFP is an essential part of the IEP because it helps the IEP team to determine
the student’s academic standing and allows the IEP team to develop a reasonable set of
measurable goals for the year. The PLAAFP statement comes form both formal and informal
assessments and is used to help create these goals. In order to formulate a PLAAFP statement,
the IEP team must review curriculum standards as well as the student’s academic strengths and
weaknesses. The IEP team then describes how the student’s disability affects his/her academic
and functional performance.
Measurable Annual Goals
After the PLAAFP statement has been made, and student strengths and weaknesses have
been determined, the IEP team can work together to set measurable, annual goals for the student.
These goals represent what the IEP team believes the students should be able to accomplish
within the next year. The statement for measurable academic and functional performance goals
should meet the exact developmental and/or functional needs of the student. Developmental
needs include things like language and motor skills, while functional needs include things such
as transportation and eating.
Each measurable goal must include a description of the conditions under which the
behavior will be performed. Conditions include prompts, cues, personnel, additional materials,
and other factors. It must also include the specific observable behavior to be performed. The
behavior must be observable, so writing what a student can think, feel, or understand should not
be used to write annual goals. Another important concept for the IEP team to remember is that
the goals set forth in the IEP must be measurable in nature, as the team must verify that the goals
have been met to ensure that the child is reaching his/her full potential. Examples of measurable
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goals include things like putting a quantitative number of how many objects a student will be
able to recognize or that the student will be able to reach a certain reading level.
Measure and Report Student Progress
Measurement is an essential part of an effective IEP, because it allows the IEP team to
monitor the student’s progress throughout the year. This allows the team to determine if the
current instructional techniques being used are effective. If the team determines that the
instructional techniques being used are not effective, they must re-evaluate the IEP to determine
a more effective approach. There are several methods that are commonly used to measure
progress and achievement, such as test results, curriculum-based measurement, and student work
samples. Other methods, such as the observation of skills and behavior and teacher check-lists
are also used.
Since parents are unable to sit in the classroom each day and observe their student, law
requires that the team explain to parents how the student’s progress will be measured, as well as
when reports will be given to explain the student’s progress. In order to do so, the IEP team
members should describe how student progress will be measured and provide periodic reports of
progress toward the student’s goals.
Services needed to Achieve Annual Goals
Each IEP includes a statement of special education and related services, which lists any
accommodations the student needs in order to achieve his/her IEP goals. Each school is
responsible for making sure that all students with disabilities receive an education alongside their
non-disabled peers whenever possible. This falls under the IDEA requirement that all students
with disabilities be educated in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Special classes (such
self-contained classrooms), separate schooling, or other removal of disabled students from the
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regular school environment should only be used when all other options have been exhausted.
These actions are only deemed appropriate when the IEP team decides that the nature or severity
of the student’s disability is preventing satisfactory learning, even with the use of aids and
accommodations. In the case that a student must be removed from the regular classroom, it is the
school’s responsibility to make sure that there are ample alternative placements available for the
individual needs of disabled students. These alternative placements include special classes (self-
contained classrooms), special schooling, home-bound instruction, and instruction provided in
hospitals and institutions.
In addition to being in the least-restrictive environment, students with disabilities often
need other special education services in order to be successful, such as speech therapy,
behavioral therapy, or physical therapy. Other supportive services may also be needed, such as
interpretive services, counseling, social work services, and special transportation. These services,
if needed, are included in the student’s IEP.
Student Participation with Nondisabled
According to laws regarding the least restrictive environment, students are required to be
actively involved in general education curriculum whenever possible. They should work with
their nondisabled peers in regular classrooms for academic lessons as well as extracurricular
activities. The three places where disabled students should work with their nondisabled peers are
regular classes, extracurricular activities, and nonacademic activities. Regular class is where
students receive instruction based on general curriculum standards, while extracurricular
activities include clubs and sports, and nonacademic activities include assemblies, recess and
meals.
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However, there are some instances in which students should not be integrated with their
nondisabled peers, and when this occurs, it must be explicitly stated in that student’s IEP. There
must also be a statement explaining specifically why the student is not allowed to participate in
regular activities. The IEP team uses the severity of the condition to decide if it is in the best
interest of the child to not have them integrated with nondisabled children. Often times if a
student does not participate in activities with nondisabled students, there is concern that the
student is missing out on valuable instruction time and social interactions.
Accommodations and State and Districtwide Assessments
In conjunction with inclusion and the least restrictive environment, disabled students
must participate in state and districtwide assessments just as their nondisabled peers do. The IEP
must include a statement that lists all accommodations needed by the student in order to
effectively measure their performance and achievement. The student can participate in the
assessments in a variety of ways. The student can take a regular assessment with or without
accommodations, or they can take an alternate assessment of grade-level content achievement
standards. The alternate assessment can be based on grade-level academic achievement standards
or an alternate set of standards.
All accommodations needed by a student on a daily basis are also implemented for the
testing period as well. These accommodations include things within the setting, scheduling, or
test format. Examples include small groups for testing, extended testing time, having the test
read aloud, or giving the test in the student’s native language. If a student cannot participate in a
regular assessment, even when given reasonable accommodations, the student must be provided
with an alternative assessment.
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Transition Planning
IEPs must include a transition plan for the student, which is usually started when the
student is 16 years old, and combines small goals for the student with broader goals for the year.
These goals are applied toward the student’s future after high school, and must always be
reasonable and measurable. The transition plan should relate to the student’s future as an adult in
terms of education, training, employment, and independent living skills. Some examples of daily
living skills include cooking, grooming, doing laundry, and paying bills.
The transition plan should also include any transition services needed, such as
transportation, health care, counseling, or job training. The plan must also include a statement
confirming that the student was informed of transfer of adult rights, which is completed one year
before the student reaches the age of majority. The ultimate goal of an IEP and transition plan is
to help disabled students function and succeed both in school and in the real world, just as their
nondisabled peers are able to do.
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References
Gibb, G. & Dyches, T. (2016). Guide to writing quality individualized education programs.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
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