Understanding IEPs and Accommodation Plans for Students with Disabilities

1. Reviewing and Understanding IEPs and Tests and Measures 2009 Job Corps Health and Wellness ConferenceDiane Fairchild and Molly Rosinski

2. Iep Basics

3. What Does IEP Stand for? • Individualized Education Program (IEP) • It is an individualized document that outlines the special education program for an individual with a disability • No two IEPs should be the same • The IEP guides the delivery of special education supports and services for the student with a disability

4. How Does a Student Qualify for an IEP? • Must attend a school or setting that receives IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funding • Must be an individual with a qualified disability • Must be in need of special education supports and services

5. The IEP in the Public School System • Maintain active IEPs • Review and update annually • Update goals and objectives regularly (quarterly, monthly, etc.) • Monitor the implementation of special education and related services and supplementary aids and services

6. The IEP in Job Corps • Typically, the IEP serves as • Documentation of a disability • One tool for determining accommodation needs on a Job Corps accommodation plan • Remember, however, for centers with high school programs who fall under IDEA, the IEP serves as the program plan for the delivery of special education services and supports

7. How Do You Know if Your Center Falls under IDEA? • Are you partnered with a program that is a recipient of or are you a recipient of local/state educational funds? • Are any of the students in your high school program counted in the local/state educational authority’s student count?

8. How Do You Know if Your Center Falls under IDEA? (cont’d) • If so, it is “likely” that your program falls under the obligations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Therefore, your partner or the JC program (if no partner is involved) would need to comply with all requirements of IDEA including the developing of IEPs. • If in doubt, check your Memorandum of Understanding with your partnering agency or contact your state Department of Education.

9. The IEP at Job corps

10. Accommodation Plans • Typically JC develops accommodationplans for qualified students with disabilities who are in need of reasonable accommodation • IEPs are used as a tool in the development of accommodation plans

11. The IEP as a Tool The following information from an IEP can help in the development of an accommodation plan: • Documentation of an individual’s disability • Present levels of functioning (sometimes known as a PLOP or PLEP) • Goals necessary for the individual to either access the general education curriculum (in states with standard based IEPs) or states the educational goals of the individual • Accommodations and supports provided in the public school setting

12. The IEP as a Tool (cont’d) • Diploma type the applicant is seeking • Assessment track in which the applicant is participating • Educational setting where services will be provided

13. Documentation 13 Categories Autism Deafness Deaf-blindness Emotional disturbance Hearing impairment Learning disability Mental retardation Multiple disabilities Orthopedic impairment Other health impairment Speech or language impairment Traumatic brain injury Visual impairment including blindness

14. Important Note • An IEP classification is not a specific diagnosis and school IEP teams do not diagnose students • For example, on an IEP it may say Specific Learning Disability. That is a classification and is not the specific type of learning disability. Some types are dyslexia, dyscalculia, auditory processing, etc.

16. High and Low Incidence Disabilities

17. PLOP/PLEP • This is the foundation of an IEP. A well written PLOP should tell you all the things you need to know about a student’s present levels of functioning with relation to the educational environment. • Strengths • Weaknesses • Assessment Data • Successful Strategies Used

19. Goals and Objectives • The IEP lists measurable annual goals, consistent with the student's needs and abilities • Each annual goal should include evaluative criteria • The IEP should identify when periodic reports will take place on the progress the student is making toward the annual goals

21. Accommodations and Supports • Should be related to disability • Could include assistive technology • Could include modifications • Should include all environments necessary (classroom, testing, extra curricular activities, fieldtrips, etc.)

23. AdaptationsUmbrella Term for Accommodations and Modifications • Accommodations • Does not change the content of the course • Does not fundamentally alter or lower the standard or expectation of the course, standard, or test • Student will earn regular credit for course and is eligible for a High School Diploma

24. AdaptationsUmbrella Term for Accommodations and Modifications (cont’d) • Modifications • Altering the curriculum to match individual needs • May change the content of the course • Fundamentally alters or lowers the standard or expectation of the course, standard, or test

26. Diploma Type • Is the student to receive a standard high school diploma, certificate of completion or IEP diploma?

28. Assessment Track • Do they take state assessments with accommodations and/or modifications? • Are they exempt or do they take alternative testing? • This can help with accommodation writing for TABE and GED

29. Assessment Track • This information can help you understand: • the curriculum type the student is using • the assessment method in which the student is participating • the types of accommodations being afforded in testing situations

32. Educational Services/Setting • Where and when special education and related services will be provided • General education environment • Special education environment • Amount of time spend in each location or service

33. IEP Language • The IEP says that a student was “pulled out” for math into a resource room • The IEP says that a student needs “1:1 support” in the area of reading Do these statements mean this individual cannot be successful in the Job Corps program?

34. What Does 1:1 Mean? • May need a full time instructional assistant Rarely, if ever does a student get assigned a 1:1 teacher • Review the IEP carefully • Types of accommodations – how much technology is provided • Types of special education services and where • Present levels of performance • Evaluative assessments and recommendations

35. What Does 1:1 Mean (cont’d) • What did 1:1 mean for this individual? • Could technology and other accommodations increase his/her independence in the learning environment?

36. Why Might a Student be Served in a Resource Room? • May need a smaller group environment • May be distractible • May need to move at a slower pace than the rest of the class • May need specialized instruction (qualifications of the resource room teacher) • May be that the particular school district does not ascribe to an inclusive model • May have sensory needs exacerbated by a larger classroom environment

38. Things to consider

39. Appropriate Accommodations • The accommodations listed on the IEP may or may not be appropriate for the student in the Job Corps setting • The IDT should talk to the applicant or student and ask what types of accommodations that he or she feels are needed to be successful in the program. The applicant or the student may not know what he or she needs but could perhaps share more information about things that are difficult for them and things that are easier for them to do.

40. When Writingan Accommodation Plan • Of key importance is that the IDT review accommodation needs in discussion with the applicant and that determinations • be made based upon current needs • be individualized • are not based upon preconceived ideas or misperceptions of an individual’s capability based upon the type of disability or the services previously received • Must consider all areas of the JC Program

41. Teamwork • The IDT/reasonable accommodation team should work together to create accommodation plans • The team may need input from various departments on center depending on disability and accommodation needs (residential, recreation, cafeteria, academic, career tech, wellness, etc.)

42. Teamwork (cont’d) • The more involved the different departments the more likely they will implement the necessary accommodations

43. Let’s Take a Look at an IEP and Create an Accommodation Plan

44. Test scores

45. Common Intelligence Tests • These tests measure verbal and performance IQ (intelligence) scores: • Wechsler series of Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC) • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) • Woodcock Tests of Cognitive Abilities

46. Common Achievement Tests • These are standardized achievement tests that are used to assess an individuals math, reading, writing and other academic areas • Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement • KeyMath • Many others

47. How These Tests are Used • Achievement tests are used to determine a student's academic strengths and weaknesses • When compared to intelligence test scores, achievement scores tell whether or not an individual has the severe difference in ability and performance that indicates a learning disability diagnosis • These scores also provide important information to help develop the student’s IEP

48. What Does Standard Score Mean? • A standard score compares a student’s skills to the skills of their age or grade peers • A standard score indicates the distance a particular score is from “average” for a student’s age or grade • The unit that tells the distance from the “average” is the standard deviation • The “average” for a standard score is 100 and the standard deviation is 15

50. How Can Job Corps Use Scores • As a tool to help determine • Accommodations • Strengths • Weaknesses