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Alicia Finn (Parent Resource
Coordinator) with Washington PAVE is at the Achieve Center
Wenatchee
twice a week to talk with parents who may have questions or
concerns about their child's IEP.
Individual Education
Program
Regulations governing the
development and content of an Individual Education Program are
contained in Federal Law, the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), P.L. 105-17, and in the Washington
Administrative Code (WAC 392-172).
All students who have been
found eligible for special education must have an IEP developed
prior to the delivery of services. The first IEP must be
written within 30 calendar days after the completion of the
evaluation. Subsequent IEPs must be reviewed and revised, at
least annually. The parents and/or the school may request a
meeting more often than once per year.
A team of people, at least
consisting of: the parent, the student (when appropriate), a
district representative who is familiar with the general education
environment in the school district, a special education teacher,
and at least one regular education teacher, if the child is
participating, or may be participating, in the general education
environment, will participate in a meeting to develop a program to
meet the needs of the student as determined by the evaluation.
Others may be at the meeting if the parents or the school has
asked them.
The school district must
arrange for the meeting to be held at a mutually agreed upon time
and place, and they must tell the parents the purpose of the
meeting and who will attend the meeting. If the parents do
not read or understand English, the district must arrange for a
translation of written materials and an interpreter at the
meetings. The school district may have an IEP meeting
without the parents if the district can prove through careful
documentation that the parents will not attend. If the
parents cannot attend, the school district must take steps to
insure that the parents have the opportunity to participate.
The IEP has several parts:
Present Levels of
Performance -- A description of how the student is doing
at this time and how his/her disability impacts on his/her
involvement and progress in the general education curriculum.
Annual Goals and
Short-term Objectives/Benchmarks -- Statements telling
what the student will be expected to attain. They will
address ways in which to meet the student's needs that result from
his/her disability so that he/she will be able to be involved in
and progress in the general education curriculum. They must
be measurable, give information on how the district will asses if
your student has achieved the goals, and be based on your
student's unique needs identified by the IEP team.
Specific Special
Education and Related Services -- The supports and
services that a student needs to benefit from his/her special
education program, including frequency, amount, and location, as
determined by the IEP team.
Supplementary Aids and
Services, Program Modifications or Supports for School Personnel
-- Changes or alteration s of the general education curriculum
and/or presentation, and support provided on behalf of the student
to allow him/her to successfully participate.
Statewide and District
Wide Assessments -- Statement describing how the student
will participate, including the individual accommodations the
he/she will receive. In the event, the student cannot
participate, even with accommodations, why that assessment is not
appropriate, and how the child will be assessed.
Transition Services
-- Must be included for students age 14 and older -- a statement
of needs, goals and objectives focusing on the student's course of
study, defining a set of activities to promote movement from
school to post-school activities including activities such as
employment, continuing education, daily living skills. The
student must be invited to attend any IEP meeting
that includes transition.
Age of Majority Notice
-- Documentation that informed notice was provided to the student
and the parent at the IEP prior to the student's 17th birthday,
stating that the rights will transfer to him/her on reaching the
age of majority (age 18).
Projected Dates for
Initiation of all Special Needs Services -- Date services
will begin, as soon as possible after meeting.
Duration of Each
Service -- The number of school days, the number of hours
per day, and the length of the school year for services to be
provided, including the need for extended school year.
Progress toward the
Annual Goals -- Statements describing how the parent will
be informed of the student's progress and the extent to which that
progress is sufficient to enable the student to achieve the goal
by the end of the year.
Special Factors
-- Considerations made for each student in the areas of behavior,
limited English proficiency, blind or visual impairments,
communication needs, and assistive technology devices and
services. Each of these areas must be considered and if the
service is needed, the service and support must be described.
A student's placement must be
determined after the IEP has been written.
That placement can be in one or a combination of settings.
The IEP team designs the placement so that a student with
disabilities will be educated with the students without
disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate to his/her needs.
The school district must include an explanation of the extent, if
any, which the child will not participate with non-disabled
children in the regular class and in the education and related
services.
If the parents and the school
cannot come to an agreement on an IEP for a student, the parents
may sign the plan indicating the areas of agreement and
disagreement and the steps to be taken to resolve the
disagreement. If the parents refuse to sign the IEP, the
district can provide the parents with a written prior notice of
the proposed change, along with a copy of parent's rights.
At this time, the parents may initiate a due process hearing
and/or request formal mediation, to resolve the differences.
If the parents desire such a hearing, the Office to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction must be notified in writing.
If no hearing is initiated, the school district may implement the
proposed change in services (unless it is the
child's first IEP in the district).
If the parents refuse consent
for an initial placement in special education, the school district
may initiate a due process hearing to overrule the parent's
refusal. Until the decision is received, the student remains
in his/her present education setting.
REMEMBER The IEP must
be individualized to meet the student's needs.
If you have concerns or
questions about your child's IEP you can contact Alicia at (509)
664-7274, email her at
ncwpave@aol.com, or call the Achieve Center Wenatchee at (509) 888-2505. |
