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Workbook Summary
Kiara Harris
EDUC 521
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Introduction: Special Education in the Individualized Education Program
The special education process begins with a referral from the teacher or parents for an evaluation
to determine if the student has a disability (Gibb & Dyches, 2007). If a disability is evident
before or after the child is born or during the preschool years, the parents make the referral (Gibb
& Dyches, 2007). Most disabilities are identified when the child doesn’t achieve as expected in
school, and the teacher must provide evidence of the student’s participation in scientific,
research-based interventions to address the student’s individual needs, and provide data about the
effects of the interventions on the student’s achievement (Gibb & Dyches, 2007). If the
interventions are unsuccessful at meeting the student’s needs, the teacher will create a referral to
see if the student has a disability, and if the assessment indicates the student has a disability and
is eligible for special education services, an IEP is developed (Gibb & Dyches, 2007).
Section 1: Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance
The IDEA requires that the IEP include a statement of the student’s Present Levels of Academic
Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP). Stating the student’s PLAAP is the first
step because the team must be aware of the student’s current levels of achievement and
performance in order to be able to set reasonable goals to be achieved in a year’s time. The
PLAAP statement is a brief but detailed description of a student’s achievement and performance
at the time the IEP is written, and it includes all areas affected by the disability. Academic
achievement refers to gaining requisite skills and knowledge for success in school, and
functional performance applies knowledge and skills to meet every day needs. PLAAP
statements are important because they provide a starting point for all decisions regarding a
student’s IEP. It helps the teachers understand what a student knows before teaching them
something new.
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Section 2: Measurable Annual Goals
Measurable annual goals are the IEP team’s best estimate of what the student can accomplish in
the next year. It’s a statement of measurable academic and functional performance goals that
must meet the student’s needs related to the disability that may interfere with his or her
involvement and progress in the general education curriculum, meet the student’s additional
educational needs resulting from the disability and the goals must be measurable. The IEP team
sets goals that are important to the student and his or her family. The elements of a measurable
annual goal are the conditions under which the behavior is performed, the specific observable
Behavior to be performed, the Criteria that indicates the level of performance at which the goal
will be achieved, a statement of generalization indicating additional conditions under which the
behavior will be performed to criterion, and a statement of maintenance for the student to
perform the task to criterion for a specified period of time.
Section 3: Measure and Report Student Progress
Learning is regularly measured by team members to determine whether or not the student is
making adequate progress. If progress is not measured, the team cannot track the success of
instruction, and the teacher cannot make necessary changes to help the student meet annual
goals. Parents are not in school to observe their child’s daily school progress; however the law
requires the team to describe how the school will monitor achievement and regularly inform
parents of the student’s progress toward annual goals. The IEP must describe how the student’s
progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured and describe when periodic reports
of the progress the student is making towards the annual goals will be provided.
Section 4: Services needed to Achieve Annual Goals
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Once services have been determined by the IEP team, the team then determines where these
services will be provided. Special education and related services stand to accomplish two
purposes: they help the student achieve annual goals and they do so in a least restrictive
environment. The least restrictive environment is the environment where the student with a
disability will be educated with students without a disability to the maximum extent appropriate
as determined by the IEP team. Restrictive in the IEP process means any situation where students
with disabilities are educated in special classes, separate schools, or are otherwise removed from
the regular class. Removing a student from a regular class is appropriate when the IEP teams
determines the nature or severity of the student’s disability prevents satisfactory learning, even
when supplementary aids or services have been provided. Some possible alternative placements
for students with disabilities are full inclusion in regular classes, less than one-half day in a
resource room, more than one-half day in a resource room, self-contained classroom within the
school, instruction in a separate school, home instruction, and instruction in a hospital or
institution.
Section 5: Student Participation with Nondisabled
The law presumes that students with disabilities will be involved in and make progress in the
general education curriculum and participate with nondisabled students in the regular class,
extracurricular, and other nonacademic activities. In such cases where a student with a disability
will not participate with non-disabled students in the regular class, the IEP team must include a
statement of extent. The IEP team must include an explanation of the extent to which the student
will not participate in the regular school program.
Section 6: Accommodations and State and Districtwide Assessments
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According to the principle of involvement and progress in the general education curriculum,
students with disabilities are to participate with nondisabled students in State and Districtwide
assessments. Participation in these assessments assures that educational professionals are being
held accountable the appropriate progress of all students. Students with disabilities participate in
state and districtwide assessments through regular assessments of grade level academic content
standards based on grade level academic achievement standards, regular assessment of grade
level academic content standards with appropriate accommodations, based on grade level
academic achievement standards, alternate assessment of grade level academic content standards
based on grade level academic achievement standards, and alternate assessment of grade level
academic content standards based on alternate academic achievement standards. Students with
disabilities are tested on the same schedule as students without disabilities. They also take the
same tests are students without disabilities but under different conditions.
Section 7: Transition Planning
Transition Planning is a student-centered process of structuring course work and other
educational experiences to prepare the student for the transition from school to adult life.
Transition planning results in a formal document that is individualized to the needs and
aspirations of the student for adult living. Transition planning can apply to students under 16, if
the IEP team determines that the effects of the student‘s disability are such that more time is
required to prepare for transition to adult life. The transition plan must include these elements:
appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments
related to training, education, employment, and where appropriate, independent living skills.
Transition services including courses of study, necessary to assist the student in reaching the
goals, and a statement that the student has been informed of transfer of adult rights not later than
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one year before the student reaches the age of majority, The IEP team accomplishes transition
planning by measuring postsecondary goals, like independent living, employment, education,
and training, determine what services must be provided during the school years to help the
student reach the postsecondary goals, and a statement that the student has been notified of the
transfer of adult rights one year before the student reaches majority age.
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Reference:
Gibb, G. S., & Dyches, T. T. (2016). IEPs: Writing quality individualized education programs
(3rd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
