So, you’ve scheduled the IEP meeting, and it’s approaching fast! Now, it’s time to write the IEP documents!
Nowadays, most districts have a digital system for IEP writing, including Infinite Campus, PowerSchool, or IEPWriter, but there are many others! Depending on the IEP program, the layout and order of the IEP components may be different, but all IEPs should cover the same information.
How much of the IEP you have written prior to the meeting depends on your district. In some districts, most of the IEP is written during the IEP meeting. While this lends itself to awesome collaboration, it also takes a lot of time. In other districts, like mine, resource teachers and the service providers create a draft of the IEP and review that draft at the IEP meeting, where anything can be edited, added,or removed depending on conversations with the IEP team.
In order to write a draft of an IEP, you need to know what each IEP section means and what kind of data you need handy!
Parts of an IEP
Student Strengths: Share about what makes the student shine! This can include their interests, academic strengths, and positive qualities. I promise that you can find something positive about every student you meet! If you are feeling stuck, think about their preferred activities. For example, do they love to talk during class? They are social and care about their friends!
Parent Concerns: This is where you document any concerns the parents have regarding their child’s progress and education. Parent concerns can be collected prior to the IEP meeting or during the IEP meeting. I always say something like, “Next is the parent concerns section of the IEP, where we can document any concerns you may have about your child’s academic progress. Do you have any concerns you’d like us to make sure are documented in the IEP?”
Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP): In this section of the IEP, you will record where the student is currently able to do in terms of their areas of need. What are their recent math or reading scores? You can collect data from district assessments, teacher-created screeners, or samples of student classwork. Social workers, speech-language pathologists, and occupational or physical therapists will also record their data in the PLAAFP.
Goals: The goals are one of the most important parts of an IEP. For each area of need, students should have a goal to focus on improving their abilities. Goals should be specific and measurable.
For more details on IEP goals, keep an eye out for a future blog post!
Accommodations: In this section of the IEP, you record what accommodations should be put in place to help even the playing field for your student and their general education peers. Common accommodations are extended time, small group setting for assessments, tests read aloud, or use of multiplication charts. If you aren’t sure what accommodations may be helpful to your student, try to compare their abilities to peers. For example, on one of our district assessments, the average time for completion is about half an hour. If a special education student takes an hour to complete this assessment, extended time would be a beneficial accommodation. To determine if a student needs a multiplication chart, I give a timed screener for multiplication and division facts. If they show weakness in math fact knowledge, I recommend a multiplication chart modification to help them focus on the math concepts being learned.
State Assessment Accommodations: We also need to add specific accommodations for state assessments. These should be similar to what the regular accommodations are but may vary based on your state test. For example, in my state (Michigan), the state test is not timed and students can take as long as they want on each question, so extended time is not needed.
Programming/Other: Most of the rest of the IEP is what I call the “nitty gritty” of the IEP. It lists the programs students will benefit from (Speech, Social Work, Resource, etc) and the minutes for each one per week or month. There’s a portion to consider student regression and their need for Extended School Year services to prevent severe regression.
Offer of FAPE: This is the section of the IEP that essentially seals the deal. I explain it to everyone by saying that we have put together a plan that we believe is truly what is best for the student, and by signing this section of the IEP, we are promising to follow through on all of the parts of the IEP as discussed at the meeting.
While writing an IEP, be sure you can back up each section with specific data. Considering student scores and abilities will help ensure that the IEP is truly individualized to the student, and not just what you copy and paste for every student in the building!
Lastly, while reviewing the IEP at the IEP meeting, avoid reading each section of the IEP word by word. Paraphrase the content and be sure to share the most important information. This makes it less intimidating for parents who may not understand all of the special education lingo and ensures that the meeting feels like a collaborative, team effort instead of a report.
If you are feeling anxious about IEP meetings, practice! Practice talking through sections of the IEP until you are comfortable. The more IEPs that you do, the easier this becomes!
In the next parts of the Easy Breezy IEPs: A Beginner’s Guide to Organizing and Leading IEP Meetings, we’ll talk about writing great IEP goals!
What are your questions about IEP meetings? Let me know in the comments!
Disclaimer: This blog post is not meant to serve as legal or lawful guidance on special education topics. It is only intended to share my experience as a special education teacher. Please consult with your state’s laws and school district’s guidelines when creating and implementing Individualized Education Plans and other special education services.