THE INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PLAN (IEP)Definition of Individualized Education Plan An individualized educational plan (IEP) is designed to meet the unique educational needs of one child. The individualized education plan should describe how the student learns, how the student best demonstrates that learning and what teachers and service providers will do to help the student learn more effectively.
Before an Individualized Education Plan is written for a child with a disability, the school must first determine whether the child qualifies for special education services. To qualify, the child's disability must have an adverse effect on the child's educational progress. Merely having a disability is not sufficient for eligibility. To determine eligibility, the school must conduct a full evaluation of the child in all areas of suspected disability. Based in part on the results of the evaluation, the school along with the parents meet to review the results and the child's current level of performance and to determine whether special education services are needed.
If the child is found eligible for services, the school is required to convene a team to design a plan that outlines how the school will modify the child's education to meet his specific needs. Parents are considered to be full and equal members of the team, along with school personnel. Parents are crucial members of the team because they have unique knowledge of their child's strengths and needs. Parents have the right to be involved in meetings that discuss the identification, evaluation, IEP development and educational placement of their children. They also have the right to ask questions, dispute points, and request modifications to the plan, as do all members of the IEP team. Although IEP teams are required to work toward consensus, school personnel ultimately are responsible for ensuring that the IEP includes the services that the student needs.
The law, IDEA, requires that a child's IEP be developed based solely on the child's needs, and not based on pre-existing programs or services available in the district. Whether particular services are available in the district should not be considered when identifying the services a child needs to receive an appropriate education.
IDEA requires that the IEP be complete before placement decisions are made so that the child's educational needs drive the IEP development process. Schools may not develop a child's IEP to fit into a pre-existing program for a particular classification of disability. The IEP is written to fit the student. The placement is chosen to fit the IEP. The goal of the IDEA is that, as much as possible, children are to be educated in the same classroom as the child's non-disabled peers in the school nearest the child's home.
It is in the IEP that parents can have the greatest impact upon their child's future education. This decision should never be left to the school. The greatest weapon that the parent has is to not sign the individualized plan until they have reviewed it and made certain that it meets the needs of your child. Parental preparation and participation will guarantee the child an appropriate education with all the latest modifications and accommodations to insure that he is not only successful in public school, but that he is prepared to go on to college, or to become employed after graduation from high school. You may access additional information that will empower parents to meet this task in our parent guide.
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