February 9, 2010

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Education

The Individualized Education Program (IEP)

The UCP "Unofficial" Guide to the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Finding your way through the Individualized Education Program (IEP) maze can be confusing and tricky. Here are some additional links you may find useful after reviewing the U.S. Department of Education's Guide to the Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Federal Statutes

• Individualized Education Programs & IDEA 97 - This piece is adapted from a training package on the IDEA Amendments of 1997 developed by the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education, the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY), and the Federal Resource Center for Special Education (FRC).
• What is the Individualized Education Program?—This piece is a summary by LD In Depth as taken from A Guide to the Individualized Education Program.
• How a Student Is Identified as Having a Disability and Needing Special Education Services—This piece also is a summary by LD In Depth as taken from A Guide to the Individualized Education Program.
• NICHCY Briefing Paper on Individualized Education Programs, LG2 (4th Edition) September 1999
• For complete information on IDEA '97, including full text of the federal statute and its implementing regulations, visit the Office of Special Education Programs' IDEA 97 Web site

IEP Meetings

• Ten Ways to Take Charge of Your Child's IEP Meeting or Family Support Plan, Janet Holmes - From the book, Learning Disabilities 101 by Mary Cathryn Haller. Great tips for parents on mastering the art of the IEP meeting.
• IEP Issues from CAUSE: This is an array of links that cover the multiple steps of the IEP process, and provide sample letters for requests, complaints, and reviews.
• The Importance of Good Communication Skills (PDF Format, Acrobat Reader required) A publication of the Fairfax County Virginia Public School written by Marcia Goldberg, Educational Specialist for The Parent Resource Center, gives basic points on resolving differences. To learn more, visit their site.
• Can I go to the IEP meeting? Laws now say that students should be asked to the IEP meeting. This is especially important if you are fourteen or older. Why would I want to go? What is an IEP meeting? What can I add?
• Did You See Your Regular Ed Teacher At Your IEP Meeting? Reed Martin, J.D. - An overview of the new requirement that regular education teachers attend IEP meetings of students included in regular education classes.

Developing/Writing IEPs

• Writing the IEP: The US Department of Education resource
• Creating Useful Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the cornerstone of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which ensures educational opportunity for students with disabilities. The IEP is a quasi-contractual agreement to guide, orchestrate, and document specially designed instruction for each student with a disability based on his or her unique academic, social, and behavioral needs.
• New IDEA '97 Requirements: Factors To Consider in Developing an IEP. Developing an individualized education program (IEP) is at the heart of providing a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The 1997 amendments to IDEA call for several changes in the IEP development process. One of these changes requires the IEP team to consider a specific set of topics, and to make statements in the IEP related to these considerations. ERIC Digest E578.
• Developing Legally Correct and Educationally Appropriate IEPs by Erick Drasgow, Mitchell L. Yell, and T. Row and Robinson (November 2001) [an abstract]
• Writing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) For Success, Barbara D. Bateman, Ph.D., J.D., LDA - This comprehensive guide to developing IEPs includes an in-depth look at transition planning.
• Your Child's IEP: Practical and Legal Guidance for Parents, Pamela Darr Wright, M.A., M.S.W. and Peter W.D. Wright, Esq., 1999- This guide will help parents understand their role in the IEP process, how to measure progress, and the implications of case law.
• Technical Assistance Guide: Helping Students Develop Their IEPs: This 2002 guide is directed to teachers, school administrators, and parents who would like to help students with disabilities become active participants in their own IEP meetings.
• Student-Led IEPs: A Guide for Student Involvement (PDF version)—The Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) developed this guide, which includes practical ideas and strategies for empowering students. It also includes information on communicating with administrators, ensuring confidentiality, involving parents, planning lessons, and working with groups of students. This guide can be obtained at no cost in PDF format on the CEC Web site. To order a paper copy for $17.95, please call 1-888-CEC-SPED (232-7733) or send an e-mail.

IEP and Discipline

• Manifest Determination Meeting - Manifest determination hearings follow disciplinary actions by the school that result in expulsion or a changing in placement. If a disciplinary action involves a request for a suspension or other actions involving removal from a program for more that ten days, the IEP team must meet to determine whether the misconduct resulted from the disability. This is referred to as a manifest determination hearing, review or IEP meeting.
• Intervention Central: Intervention Central provides free tools, resources, and information that promote positive classroom behaviors and foster effective learning for all children and youth.
• Positive Behavior Plans: IDEA requires the IEP team to pay special attention to a child's behavior if it gets in the way of his or her education or the education of others. The IEP team must consider the use of positive behavior interventions. Get a good idea what a positive behavior plan looks like by viewing sample plans for students with ADHD, autism and Asperger syndrome.

IEP Forms

• Understanding the IEP process. This article gives sample forms and links to Web sites that have even more information about the IEP process.
• Parent's Helpers - Useful forms that provide formats to help parents prepare for IEPs and keep records organized:
  
  • Report Organizer
    
  • Student Profile/Parent Form
    
  • Telephone/Visit Log
    
  • Student Profile/Student Form
    
  • Involving Teens in the IEP

Transition and IEPs

• Planning Student-Directed Transitions to Adult Life. 2000-03-00, Warger, Cynthia - Burnette, Jane, ERIC. Today, transition is seen as more than providing service routes in the individual's movement from high school to employment—it is seen as a comprehensive approach to educational program development consisting of an alignment of student goals with educational experiences and services.
• The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET): NCSET coordinates national resources, offers technical assistance, and disseminates information related to secondary education and transition for youth with disabilities.

Legal Issues

• Preliminary Findings: Internet Survey of IEP Document Alteration, Falsification and Forgery. (PDF format, Acrobat Reader required). A summary report from special education attorney Dee Alpert based on reports from advocates, attorneys, and past or present special education staff around the country, that falsification of documents and forgery of signatures may be common and widespread.
• Wrightslaw: Resource for parents, advocates, educators, and attorneys for accurate, up-to-date information about special education law and advocacy.

Additional Resources for Parents

• Special Education Services FAQ: KidSource Online provides this NICHCY question and answer sheet providing basic background on special education protocols.
• Individualized Education Plans (IEPs): This article from KidsHealth.org explains what IEPs are, eligibility, the referral and evaluation process, developing an IEP, and IEP-related legal rights.
• Preparing for Your Child's IEP: Parents United Together, a group of parents of children with a wide range of disabilities offers many links and information useful in the IEP process.
• Ideal Lives Project
  The Ideal Lives Project provides practical information, ideas, and internet resources to parents, teachers, and disability professionals.
• Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers: Parent Training and Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers in each state provide training and information to parents and professionals who work with children with disabilities.
• Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights (PACER): The PACER Center offers referrals and one-on-one assistance, as well as publications, to enhance the quality of life of children and young adults with disabilities.

Additional Resources for Educators

• National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals in Education and Related Services: NRCP provides technical assistance, addresses policy questions, and shares management information for paraeducators, teachers, policymakers, administrators, and other education professionals.
• Inclusion: An Essential Guide for the Paraprofessional: This book provides an overview of guidelines, strategies and ideas for paraprofessionals to implement in their classrooms.

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