Are your ready for your child’s annual IEP review??? Here is a quick review of some tips……
1. Make sure you have your documentation ready to go. Be prepared with all IEP progress checks, report cards, and any other testing information like the NECAPs etc.
2. Review what these documents say, and make sense of them before you go to the meeting. What do the results all mean? Is your child making progress in a way that is measurable and functional? Can you tell that he or she is making progress or not?
3. Write a list of any questions that you have so that you don’t forget to ask them.
4. Make sure that when the teachers review progress at the meeting that they are using specific examples and measurements of progress. Just saying that “he has come a long way” or “ she is doing great in class” doesn’t cut it. By how much have they improved? Has his reading level gone up ½ a year? Can she multiply fractions or not…to what degree can she do it? Etc… Remember to always ask for measurable and specific examples of progress.
5. Make sure the IEP is updated appropriately. Present levels of performance need to reflect the year’s growth (or lack thereof), add new strengths and needs as appropriate and make sure that all goals and objectives are rewritten. An IEP shouldn’t be the same year to year—progress is not being made if it is, signifying that the programming is not appropriate.
6. Do you have concerns about regression of skills over the summer, or that extra time is needed to catch up? If so, make sure you have a discussion about Extended School Year services. If your child will regress during the summer months without school programming, make sure you ask for specifically what you think is appropriate for your child.
7. Remember….document, document, document. Take your own notes from the meeting and get copies of the school’s notes.
8. If you are uncomfortable going into a meeting alone, remember that you can bring someone with you to the meeting for support.
9. Remember, you have 14 days to sign the new IEP. Do not sign on the spot. Take the document home and review it and make sure you are comfortable with it. Have someone else look at it and give you a second opinion.

This is probably a familiar story….it goes something like this…

The IEP team is sitting around the table developing the IEP. The parent brings up the fact that their child really needs some pull out type, one on one instruction in reading, or small group instruction with a reading specialist or something similar. The case manager, and even sometimes the person authorized to sign for services who should know better, says “Oh, well, we don’t do that here”.

This comment always makes my jaw hit the floor.

First of all, if a child’s needs indicate that some particular service is appropriate, that particular service should be included in the IEP when the IEP is under development. That is NOT the time for a school to discuss “placement” (think program-by even mentioning that they do not offer that there). IEP development comes first. Once the IEP is agreed upon, then it is the team’s job to look at the needed services and determine the best way to implement those services.

If a school does not have a particular program or service, then they need to do one of two things……find a placement/program that does provide it, or…..create it and provide it at their school.

Many times the school will try to tell you that they don’t offer any pull out services because they are a full inclusion school. They will try to make it seem that full inclusion is the law. But the reality of the matter is that full inclusion is a philosophy. And while admirable, and possibly appropriate for some kids, inclusion is not appropriate for all kids. The law says that a school is to provide a Free and Appropriate Public Education in the Least Restrictive Environment. In other words, the school needs to educate students with disabilities with their nondisabled peers to the maximum extent APPROPRIATE. It does not say that a child with a disability must be included at all times!

This is why the law provides for a “continuum of alternative learning environments”- everything from a regular classroom to full time residential placement or hospitalization is included in this continuum.

Bottom line…do not let a school try to convince you that a one size fits all approach is what is best for your child. The team needs to look at the INDIVIDUAL child’s needs and create an individualized program to fit those needs.

With many schools reviewing and writing new IEPs for the next school year this spring, are you ready to be an active, contributing member of the team? Here are some tips for parents in preparing for the important meeting……

1. Make sure you have your documentation ready to go. Be prepared with all IEP progress checks, report cards, and any other testing information like the NECAPs etc.
2. Review what these documents say, and make sense of them before you go to the meeting. What do the results all mean? Is your child making progress in a way that is measurable and functional? Can you tell that he or she is making progress or not?
3. Write a list of any questions that you have so that you don’t forget to ask them.
4. Make sure that when the teachers review progress at the meeting that they are using specific examples and measurements of progress. Just saying that “he has come a long way” or “ she is doing great in class” doesn’t cut it. By how much have they improved? Has his reading level gone up ½ a year? Can she multiply fractions or not…to what degree can she do it? Etc… Remember to always ask for measurable and specific examples of progress.
5. Make sure the IEP is updated appropriately. Present levels of performance need to reflect the year’s growth (or lack thereof), add new strengths and needs as appropriate and make sure that all goals and objectives are rewritten. An IEP shouldn’t be the same year to year—progress is not being made if it is, signifying that the programming is not appropriate.
6. Do you have concerns about regression of skills over the summer, or that extra time is needed to catch up? If so, make sure you have a discussion about Extended School Year services. If your child will regress during the summer months without school programming, make sure you ask for specifically what you think is appropriate for your child.
7. Remember….document, document, document. Take your own notes from the meeting and get copies of the school’s notes.
8. If you are uncomfortable going into a meeting alone, remember that you can bring someone with you to the meeting for support.
9. Remember, you have 14 days to sign the new IEP. Do not sign on the spot. Take the document home and review it and make sure you are comfortable with it. Have someone else look at it and give you a second opinion.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions of the school team. It is part of their job to make sure you understand what is going on and what it all means for your child. If you have questions, let me know and I can try to help! Good luck.

One of the most often asked questions has to do with how to access disability services at the college level. Parents and students are often confused, but they are not the only ones. Some special educators and guidance counselors in the schools don’t know the real score either.

There are a few things to remember when it comes to college disability services. Having an IEP or Section 504 plan in high school does not guarantee services at the post secondary level. Colleges make their own determinations of whether or not a student has a disability.

The process is this:
A student needs to “self-disclose” a disabling condition to the college’s disabilities services office. When a student wants to access services, he or she needs to go and meet with the folks in the disabilities services office, discuss with them the kind of disability he/she might have, provide documentation of the disability, and request assistance.

Disabilities Services staff will then review the documentation and evaluations provided to them, and if the student qualifies as a student needing services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the student will be offered an “accommodation plan”.

The best way to prepare your student for accessing college level services is to work with the high school team on a proper transition plan. Make sure the courses the student is in during high school are preparing him for the rigors of college. Then, make sure the documentation of the disability will be up to date when the student enters college (done within the last 3 years). Also, make sure your student can speak about his strengths and challenges, and that he is well able to communicate his needs.

Help does exist at the post secondary level, but rather than the school coming to the student and asking him if he needs help, the student needs to take control of the situation, and ask for the assistance and follow through with the recommendations of the disabilities services office.

What are IEP Goals?

Wrightslaw has written a great book, called “From Emotions to Advocacy”. It is an excellent resource, and I recommend that everyone involved with special education…either a parent or teacher or advocate, read this book and learn from it. One of the things they talk about, in chapter 12, is writing SMART IEPs. S=Specific, M=Measurable, A=Action words, R=realistic and relevant, and T=Time limited.

IEP goals and objectives need to be specific in nature and measurable. How are we going to measure progress if we don’t know specifically what we are going to work on and how we are going to assess it? Many IEP goals are very vague and open…..as a parent you need to avoid that. An IEP needs to include Action Words. That means it should reflect what the school and the child will actually be able to do…nice strong verbs that describe the desired outcome. Goals and objectives also need to be realistic…can the child realistically work toward that goal and reach it during the current school year. In order to be relevant, the goals need to connect to the real world and to the current curriculum in the classroom, and move the child from their current level of performance to the desired level of performance. IEPs also need to be time limited…objectives need to be completed within a time frame…the first quarter, semester, half a year, the full year.

With these types of goals, the school team can be held accountable for their actions and their implementation. A parent can ask for measurement or assessment of each goal…how far has the child come? If the child has met an objective, then that item can be taken off of the IEP and a new objective can be put in to replace it. Using this method, if a child is making progress, then IEPs should be different each year. If the child is not making progress toward the goals, then the IEP and programming needs to be reviewed. A child with the most significant disabilities should be able to show progress in some area, even if it is a small amount of progress. If assessment reveals no progress is being made at all, go back to the drawing board and rework the IEP. The programming is most likely inappropriate if there isn’t any progress being made.
Questions?? Let me know!