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Special Education » IEP Contents

IEP Contents

IEP Contents

The IEP team will review all the evaluation material and will determine how your child is performing in school now. The IEP team will write annual goals and short- term learning objectives that can be measured and are designed to meet the needs of your child.

  • Annual goals will describe what your child can be expected to learn during the year
  • Short-term objectives or benchmarks are the sequential steps your child must take in order to reach these goals.

The IEP team will determine:

  • The special education services and programs to be provided to your child, which will be used to meet the individual needs of your child.
  • Where, what kind of, how much and how often special education and related services will be provided. For example, the IEP may say “individual speech therapy, 30-minute periods, three times per week, in the speech room.” Special transportation which is different from the mode of transportation utilized by other children in the neighborhood also falls under this category. For example, the IEP may say “a bus that will lift a wheelchair from the curb taking Jimmy form his home to school with a ride no longer than 30 minutes.”
  • The date services and programs will begin and how long they will last.
  • The tests or other methods of evaluation that will be used to decide if the student is meeting the annual goals and learning objectives and how and when this progress will be reported to you. Progress must be reported at least as often as progress is reported for general education students.
  • How much, if any, the student will NOT participate in the general class, or in the general education curriculum; when your child will be in settings with other special education students only; when your special education student will NOT be studying skills or knowledge that are directly linked to the skills and knowledge studied by the children in general education.
  • The adjustments in the general education setting, if any, for your child to succeed in a general education class. This could include, for example, giving the child un-timed tests or having someone help the child take class notes.
  • The adjustment needed, if any, for the child to participate in statewide or district-wide tests. If the child is not able to participate, even with adjustments, another assessment will be done that will show the child’s skills. Participation in this alternate assessment will be documented in the IEP.

In Developing the IEP, The Team Must Consider:

  • Your concerns
  • Whether a child exhibits behavior that interferes with the child’s learning or the learning of others and therefore needs a behavior management plan
  • The needs of children with limited English language skills
  • The use of Braille for children with visual problems
  • The communication needs of students, including students who are deaf or hard of hearing
    Whether the child needs assistive technology devices or services to communicate or participate in the activities which are going on around the child
  • Information on the following must be provided in the IEP, if appropriate for your child: children with disabilities losing many of their basic skills and taking a long time to get back those skills back once school begins again. Extended School Year (ESY) services are to be provided during breaks in the educational schedule to prevent this loss as part of a free appropriate public education.
  • Special or modified physical education (adaptive physical education) for children who cannot take part in regular physical education because of their disabilities.