Developing an Individualized Education Program

1. Developing an Individualized Education Program State Non-Public School Conference November 20, 2008

2. Evaluation Process • Pre-referral/Interventions • Referral • Domain meeting • Evaluation • Eligibility • Placement

3. Evaluation Process in a Nutshell • Within 14 days of receiving a request for an evaluation you must: • Review relevant sources of data • Conduct a meeting with the parent to determine whether an evaluation should proceed • If an evaluation is warranted, determine the domains and provide the parent with the necessary consent forms

4. Evaluation Process in a Nutshell • Within 60 school days of receiving consent you must • Complete all evaluations as identified in the domain meeting • Review and consider all other relevant sources of data • Schedule and complete the eligibility conference and the IEP meeting (if eligibility is found)

5. Eligibility • Team process—qualified professionals and the parent • Exclusionary factors—lack of instruction in reading or math or due to limited English proficiency • Can not be due to lack of interventions or modifications in the general education classroom • Adverse effect on educational performance • Eligibility determination is based on multiple sources

6. After Eligibility is Determined • Development of an IEP • Determination of placement • Implementation of an IEP

7. What is an Individualized Education Program (IEP)? An IEP is the legal written description of an appropriate instructional program for a student with special needs.

8. IEP TEAM MEMBERS • The parents/guardian of the child • General education teacher who has specific knowledge of the child and/or the grade appropriate curriculum • Special education teacher • Local education administrator or designee knowledgeable about the resources of the district • At the discretion of the parent/guardian or the agency, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related service personnel, where appropriate • Psychologist, where appropriate • School nurse • Social worker • Whenever appropriate, the child.

9. Excusal of IEP Team Members Attendance is not necessary when an IEP team member’s area is not modified or discussed A team member may be excused from attendance when the parent and the agency consent to the excusal, and The member submits input in writing to the parent and the team

10. Components of an IEP An IEP outlines the following items for each student: • Current Academic and Functional Performance Level • Accommodations necessary in class • Subject areas impacted by the student's disability • Goals and objectives to be achieved during the course of the IEP (1 year or less) • Conceive of each IEP as a “chapter”, rather than the whole “book” • Standardized testing accommodations

11. More Components of an IEP • Connected to Learning Standards • Transportation services • Schedule modifications • Service delivery with necessary personnel • Parental or guardian concerns • Transition Plan (starting at age 14 ½ years) • Behavioral Management Plan (if team determines necessary)

12. IEP Development • Gather information • Review student records • Progress monitoring • Consult with the student, parents/guardians, school staff, and other professionals • Gather general education information to include current grades and teacher report • Observe the student • Review the student’s current work • Conduct further assessments

13. IEP Development (cont.) • Develop the IEP • Identify student strengths and needs • Collect assessment data • Develop present level of performance • Develop goals and short-term objectives • Identify resources • Establish monitoring cycle to evaluate progress

14. Present Level of Academic and Functional Performance (PLAFP) • Address how the disability affects involvement and progress in the general curriculum as well as other functional domains affecting progress (including educational behavior) • Must consider: • Recent evaluations (e.g., KTEA-II Brief) • Student strengths • Student needs • Parent concerns • Special factors—behavior, communication, etc…

15. Examples of PLAFP • Charlie, a 9th grade student, scored at the 8-8 age equivalent (SS 81) on the solving section of the Key Math test administered March 13, 2008. He can compute math problems, but is unable to understand and apply problem solving strategies to story problems.

16. Examples of PLAFP (cont.) • Billie is a 16-year-old, 10th grader performing at a mid-first grade level. In her daily work she does not consistently begin a sentence with a capital letter and end with punctuation. Her writing score on the KTEA-II Brief, administered March 6, 2008, was (SS) 75.

17. PLAFP Activity Examine the following PLAFP, determine why it is ineffective, and rewrite it to make it an effective PLAFP. • Billie is a 10th grader who has difficulty with reading, written language, and math.

18. IEP GOALS IEP goals should be SMART! • Specific • Measurable • Action Words • Realistic and Relevant • Time-limited Goals must include the direction of the behavior (increase, decrease, maintain), the area of need (reading, math, etc.), and the level of attainment (age level, without adult assistance, etc.)

19. Example of an IEP Goal • Charlie will increase his ability to accurately solve early 5th grade level word problems requiring him to use familiar mathematical operations. State Learning Standard: 6.B.1 Solve one- and two-step problems with whole numbers using basic operations.

20. Another Example of an IEP Goal • Billie will write complete sentences using correct punctuation and capitalization without prompts 80% of the time. State Learning Standard: 3.A Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and structure.

21. Non-Examples of IEP Goals • IEP goals are not attitude statements. • “Johnny should have a better attitude.” • “Mary should never pinch.” • IEP goals are not states of being. • “Beth will appreciate classical music.” • “Eric will understand the workings of a gasoline engine.”

22. IEP Goals Activity • Write a goal for the PLAFP that you wrote in the last activity.

23. IEPs Aligned to the State Standards • Each goal should be linked to an Illinois Learning Standard. • http://www.isbe.net/ils/Default.htm

24. Short-Term Objectives • Logical breakdown of the major components of the goal • Specifies the behavior to be performed and the conditions under which the child will perform the behavior • Indicators of progress • Limit 2-4 per goal

25. Example of Objectives • Annual Goal: Charlie will increase his ability to accurately solve grade level word problems requiring him to use familiar mathematical operations. • Short-Term Objectives: • Charlie will discriminate relevant from irrelevant information within the text of a word problem with 80% accuracy. • Charlie will select the appropriate operation for a given word problem with 80% accuracy. • Charlie will compute accurate responses to word problems with 80% accuracy.

26. Short-Term Objectives Activity • Write 3-4 short-term objectives for the goals that you wrote in the previous activity.

27. Post-Secondary Transition Required IEP component for every student aged 14 ½ or older Based on appropriate assessment of student strengths, preferences and interests Involvement of parents and other family members in developing data is a PLUS

28. Post-Secondary Transition Student involvement in the development is ESSENTIAL Goals and objectives must connected to what the student is doing and what the student may need to do in the future Must be designated and must include services designed to prepare the student for post-graduation life

29. Continuum of Services A range of individualized services and programs within the educational setting based on a child’s individual needs General Education Classroom with no supplementary aids and services General Education Classroom with supplementary aids and services* Resource Room (special class) Self-Contained Room (special class) Separate Day School (special school) Residential Program (special school) Home/Hospital Program

30. * A child with a disability should not be removed from education in age-appropriate general education classrooms solely because of needed modifications in the general curriculum.

31. Determination of Placement • Team decision, including parents/guardian • Consistent with the child’s IEP • Least restrictive environment • To the maximum extent appropriate, permit the child to participate in nonacademic and extracurricular activities • Reviewed at least annually

32. LRE Determination • To the maximum extent appropriate, shall be educated with nondisabled peers • Satisfactory achievement can not be obtained in the general education classroom without modifications and accommodations due to the severity of the disability • Close as possible to child’s home • Educated in the school he or she would attend if not disabled • Consider harmful effect of placement on the child or on the quality of services • Shall not be based solely on the need for modifications to the general curriculum

33. Delegation of Rights (PA 95-372) • Acknowledgement of the fact that when a student turns 18 years of age, all rights enjoyed by the parent SHALL transfer to the student • Transfer shall not occur under two circumstances: • Adjudication of legal “incompetence” by a court of law; or • Execution of a delegation of rights form by the student

34. Notification at age 17 In addition to the general notice of transfer at age 17, districts must now provide notice also of the right of the student to delegate rights Districts must also provide a copy of the delegation of rights form as found on the ISBE website or a form substantially similar to the suggested form contained in the statute

35. Delegation of Rights • Must be in writing • Must be signed by both the student and the person to whom the rights are delegated • In the case of a student with a disability whose disability precludes signing a form, other means such as an audio or video record may be used • Must last for no more than one calendar year • May be revoked at any time by the student

36. Resources • Illinois State Board of Education www.isbe.net/spec-ed/ • Federal Register August 14, 2006 • 23 Illinois Administrative Code Part 226 April 28. 2003 • LD Online www.ldonline.org • Wrights Law www.fetaweb.com • Online Accommodations Bibliography http://cehd.umn.edu/nceo/AccomStudies

37. ISBE Contact Information • Julie Evans: jevans@isbe.net • Andrew Eulass: aeulass@isbe.net Phone number: 217-782-5589