The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a legal document required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA '97 to IDEA 2004 made some significant changes in areas within the IEP. As recent as July 2005, changes were going into effect that would impact the IEP. The role of the IEP in a public school student's education is to guide the teaching-learning process for a particular child. Usually, an IEP team is responsible for the development of the IEP document.
*An IEP team usually consists of many people. Usually, a Child Study Team consists of a caseworker, a school psychologist, speech, O.T. and P.T. therapists, special educator, regular educator, learning specialist, reading specialist and the parent(s) or legal guardians.
With the end of the school year approaching us quickly, public school students are in need of having their IEPs reviewed. You may need to address changes in learning goals, extended school year (ESY), and more. If you have not had your IEP reviewed yet, you can request a session through your child study team if your changes cannot be made through a simple request with the special educator.
So you know, most schools will work IEPs throughout the entire summer. The child study teams work the whole summer and do not get the same time off as the teachers, per se. So recognize changes and meetings may occur but you may not have the "teachers" in the room. Some schools will have the teacher via conference call so the new teacher will have input and awareness of the incoming student for the following year.
A good conversation to have with yourself to prepare for your meeting to ask yourself some logical questions. For example, what worked well for your child this year? If you can identify these services or approaches than you will want to make sure they are carried over into the following year.
Be sure to review your child's present level of performance which is strengths and weaknesses. If there are methods that were used that were not helpful than start researching for alternative approaches that are researched based programs or methods. For example, lets say your child is weak at reading and the school used a program that was researched based that came from Houghton Mifflin. This program did not make progress in your mind. Look at other programs that schools work with to see if its a good fit. You may look into Wilson Reading, Project Read, LindaMood Bell, or others.
For Extended School Year (ESY) services, all I need to say here is that this area of discussion is not just for summer school that occurs at your school. Your child is able to be exempt from the extended school year and receive a teacher from the school as a 1-1 tutor for the summer. You and your IEP team will agree upon tutoring in which areas of basic skills/academics and how many hours. The teacher can come to your home, if they agree or you meet at the school. The school pays for the tutoring.
If students are transitioning to a new school – say intermediate/middle/high schools, then you are wise to take a separate tour of the school facilities with the receiving child study team. Your child will most likely receive a tour from within school. You can most certainly receive a personal tour from the new school at your time during active school hours. Why? This way you know what your child is walking into and can prepare to support them.
You can also find out the hours/days the school will be open during the summer and have your child go with you a few times to get the feel for the new territory. Let them roam around and find the cafeteria, gym, music, woodshop, nurse and the main office.
If your child is just starting with lockers, your child study team can make arrangements to have your child's combination available for practice. Once the main office receives the information for all students, you can be given access to your child's info and let your child start to practice. This is an agreement that needs to be made during your end-of-year IEP or in a follow-up phone call.
Lastly, parents, be nice! Prepare an agenda with your concerns and be sure to provide the agenda to the IEP ahead of the meeting date. Bring extra copies with you for any surprise attendees. If you need to send a letter for followup or thank you or to request a meeting, be wise and hand deliver this letter to the child study team leader. Be sure to make copies of everything for your own reference and history.
Good Luck IEPing parents! Remember – I am available to attend IEPs if needed. I am there to introduce and relay information about my Student Transformation Program. Schools are usually glad to hear about the program because we help their teachers do their jobs a bit easier and more successfully. Their students are arriving with a "clean slate" and able to process/retain/recall easier and more efficiently.
Click here for a listing and definitions on Special Education Terms relating to IEPs.
