THE IEP PROCESS: TEACHER EDITION
As an educator to children with exceptionalities, there will be times that you are pulled for IEP meetings. IEP is an acronym that stands for Individualized Education Program. IEP is not to be confused with EIP, which is an acronym for Early Intervention Plan. The IEP process is a long, involved one but in the end, it is worth it. If a child has an IEP in place, we can work to better educate that child with every possible resource. A child's IEP is written by teams that include school personnel, you as the child's teacher, and the child's parents or guardians.
The IEP features present levels of performance, goals that are measured annually if not more often, an assessment of those goals, the child's special education and related services, program modifications or supports, an inclusion statement, transition plan when appropriate, and a Behavior Intervention Plan when appropriate.
Trying to develop an IEP for a student is a long, often difficult process. There are many steps and procedures that must be followed along the way. Outlined below are the steps that are involved into getting one of your students special education services.
Step One: Identify a disability within a child. The process of identifying a child with special needs can be a complicated one. Many schools differ on the processes that they implement in order to identify children who may require special needs services. Although organizations like Child Find exist, sometimes schools go through lengthy identification processes on their own. Identifying children can be done through tests, assessments – both individual and school wide – and through private channels such as a professional doctor like a pediatrician. Some parents want to take the private route and have their children diagnosed by medical professionals. As an educator, you are not qualified to diagnose someone’s child with a disability. Please remember that you are not a doctor and you are not qualified to tell someone that you think that their child has “x” disability.
In identifying a child with special needs, there are multiple steps. First, a child must be recommended for testing. Children can be recommended by their parents, their teachers, and even their pediatricians. Identifying a child who may or may not have special needs can be done in more ways that just a written tests. Parents and teachers can provide background information on a student, such as behavior or past student data like tests and quizzes, which can provide the IEP team with information about the child's abilities. Children who are identified as possibly having special needs are sometimes given assessments, both written and verbal, that measure their abilities. We can use this information to decide what accommodations, if any, we can provide a child with.
Sometimes, children just need help in one area. If we're able to identify these children at an earlier time, we can get them the help they need before their need becomes more extensive. Early detection and proper services are key in making sure that our students get the best education possible. If we know that a child is in need of services, we must do everything that we can to make sure they receive them. When the request to have a child is identified and evaluated is granted, school system's have forty-five days to evaluate the child after the initial identification.
The identification process is the first step in the IEP process. If a child is recommended for special education services and we do not identify them in a reasonable time span, they will miss out on prime opportunities for learning. It is our duty as teachers to look out for the best interests of our students. Identifying children who may require special accommodations is extremely important. A program called Child Find is used in a lot of cases. For more information on Child Find, please click on the following link:
http://archives.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/160-4-7-.03_Child_Find_3-31-10.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F639AED53108800B27E0E8D731317E796571B68B422215B974&
Oftentimes, the RTI Model is used. RTI stands for Response to Intervention and this model is comprised of four tiers.
Tier I: Standards-Based Classroom Learning
Tier II: Needs-Based Learning
Tier III: SST-Driven Learning
Tier IV: Specially-Designed Learning
For more information on Identification and the RTI Model, please follow the link to the Georgia Department of Education's website: http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Curriculum-and-Instruction/Documents/RTI%20document%20Full%20Text.pdf
More information about the RTI Model is also available under the "Teachers" tab at the top of this webpage.
Step one of the process of getting a student special education services is comprised of multiple steps. These steps include:
Step 1A: Provide a Universal Screening Instrument.
-CRCT or district determined examination
Step 1B: Attend a Problem Solving Meeting
-GA RTI Tier I
Step 1C: Implement
-GA RTI Tier II
Review
Implement
-GA RTI Tier III
Step 1D: Review the progress that the child is making
Monitor the data that you obtain while reviewing this progress
Step 1E: After reviewing and monitoring progress, decide whether or not to continue with interventions, refer the child to special education services, or stop the process.
Step 1F: If the child is referred to Special Education, you must now complete the appropriate forms.
-GA RTI Tier IV
Step 1G: Attend Referral Review
-GA RTI Tier III
Step 1H: Provide the families of the child with safeguards and their legal rights.
Step Two: Complete evaluation.
Step Three: After completing the evaluation, discuss the evaluation results.
Step Four: After discussing the results of the evaluation, you must now come to a decision. If everyone agrees that the child qualifies for Special Education, the child progresses to GA RTI Tier IV. If the child does not qualify, they drop down a Tier in the process.
Step Five: If you decided that the child qualifies for special education based on their evaluations, you now schedule an IEP meeting. The parents of the child must be invited to this IEP meeting.
Step Six: Now you write the IEP with SDI. SDI is an acronym for Specially Designed Instruction.
Step Seven: As an educator, it is your job to know the goals and objectives of every child's IEP. It is also your job to provide these services for the child.
Step Eight: As the services are provided over time, gather data.
Step Nine: Annually, it is your duty to meet with the IEP Team and review the IEP. The IEP may be reviewed more often if requested by the child's parents.
Step Ten: A child must be reevaluated every three years unless parents give permission otherwise.
As an educator for special needs children in public school setting, the school that you are employed at has a responsibility to it's students. These responsibilities include:
1.) Provide Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE)
2.) Provide IEP/IFSP
3.) Provide non-biased testing and evaluations
4.) Place a child in their least restrictive environment (LRE)
5.) Assure confidentiality
6.) Provide due process rights.
As an educator, sometimes the lines between helpful and unhelpful can be blurry. We never want to overstep our boundaries and sometimes, the process of helping a child gain special education services can be both confusing and frustrating. Below are a list of Do's and Don't's that I hope you will find helpful as you continue your journey into Special Education.
DO:
>Answer questions.
*The parents of your students will often have questions about this process. Please be sure to set aside time for them to ask their questions. Oftentimes they are just confused and concerned. Provide data, options, and allow time for emotional responses.
>Listen.
*Focus on the things that can be done. A lot of the time, a child's parents just want to be heard. They want their questions and concerns validated. Tell them what is being done, what can be done, and what you see. Avoid using labels when referring to children.
>Provide helpful responses and data to what is being done now.
*Be available to meet with parents. Allow them to be emotional. As an educator, you need to understand the grief cycle. Parents go through a cycle of emotions while their child is being evaluated for special education services. When they have questions, do your best to answer them with evidence and reasons rather than constant placating.
>Provide avenues of action.
*Make suggestions about how the parent could be involved. Ask for ideas. Keep you child's parents as involved in this process as possible. It will give them a sense of purpose but understand that a part of the grief cycle is depression. Your parents will withdraw at times and feel that all hope is lost. Understand that this is normal and do not judge or think poorly of them because of it.
>Invite parents to activities.
*Invite the parents of your child to activities held by the school that their child will be attending. This will allow them to focus on their child's growth if they are able to watch their child interacting with other students. Mention the positives in the classroom and focus on their child's improvements.
>Educate the parent about new ideas.
*Instead of giving parents list after list of ideas and plans and suggestions, ask them for their input. 'What have you tried that you see working?' is something that you can ask them. If they feel like they are a part of the decision making progress, they may wish to become more involved.
DON'T:
>Point out past issues of the parent.
*As I've mentioned, this process can cause grief. If a parent has fallen into depression but has come back to meetings, don't bring up their past behaviors. It's normal in the grief cycle to fall into a period of depression. Forgive past behaviors and move forward for the good of the child.
>Overwhelm the parent.
*This is a process filled with steps and procedures that can be extremely overwhelming. Do not focus on negative issues and overwhelm the parents of a child. Instead, give the parent short-term tasks to be done.
>Focus on the gap between the child and other children.
*Do not compare the child to other children. We have to focus on the child as an individual and treat their needs specifically. Don't compare them with a typical child with the parents. Every child moves at their own pace and we've got to accommodate them personally.
>Don't give negative feedback.
*It is very likely that parents are doing the best that they can. Don't tell them that what they're doing is not helping. Do not give them negative feedback or nag them.
>Do not resist ideas that your parent gives you.
*If a parent suggests something, consider it. Do not tell the parent what to do and do not take their anger personally. Anger is a natural part of the grief cycle.
>Do not rush the parents.
*Do not stress that an immediate response is necessary. You do not want to pressure the parents. They are already stressed enough. If they are emotional, understand that it is natural. Provide the parents with more than one option.
Above is a graphic of the Grief Cycle that I've mentioned. It's perfectly normal for the parents of a child to grieve through this process. Also remember that it is a cycle and it will revert and start over multiple times. Just because a parent has accepted that their child is a child with a disability does not mean that everything will be smooth afterwards. Even though they've accepted it, they can still go through the entire cycle again, sometimes multiple times. Remembering these Do's and Don't's will help you navigate the tricky waters of Special Education.