Raven's Guide to Special Education: The IEP

The IEP

The IEP process | Parts of an IEP | IEP meetings

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the heart of special education. It has two main parts: the IEP meeting at which parents and educators develop an appropriate educational program for a disabled student, and the IEP document itself, which is a written record of the decisions reached at the meeting.

The purpose of the IEP meeting is to develop a written plan to help a disabled student achieve specific educational goals. The written IEP outlines the student's educational needs, the educational services the student will receive, who will provide those services, and how the student's progress will be measured. The IEP must be written and approved before providing a student any special education or related services.

The IEP process

Notice to parents. Schools must give parents prior written notice of proposed IEP meetings so they will be able to participate. Schools must notify them in their primary home language, write the notice in understandable language, and include the following information:

The time, date, location, and purpose of the meeting
The people who will attend
A way for parents to select an optional time or date
The parent's right to bring other people to the meeting
An explanation of the parent's procedural rights
A description of and justification for the actions being proposed or refused
A description of other options considered and reasons why they were rejected
A description of each evaluation procedure, test, record or report for the proposed or refused actions

Meeting participants. The following people should attend the IEP meeting:

A representative of the school district, other than the student's teacher, qualified to provide or supervise special education
A regular education teacher
A special education teacher
The student's parents or guardian
The student, if appropriate. If transition needs or services will be discussed at the meeting, the student must be invited to attend.
An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of the evaluation results
At the discretion of the parent or the school, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the student, including related services personnel as appropriate

Each IEP team must include at least one of the student's regular education teachers if the student is or may be participating in regular education classes. The regular education teacher also must participate in the development, review and revision of the student's IEP. If a student has more than one regular education teacher, the school may choose which teacher to involve in the IEP process. Other teachers must be informed of their responsibilities and the supports, accommodations, or modifications needed to achieve the goals in the IEP.

Parent participation. School staff must make a reasonable effort to ensure that one or both parents attend each IEP meeting. The meeting should be held at a mutually agreed-upon date and time. The meeting may be held without a parent attending if the parent is unwilling to participate; however, school staff must document that they made reasonable attempts to include the parent, such as telephone calls, letters, and visits to the parent's home. The school district is responsible for ensuring that parents understand the proceedings at an IEP meeting. This might include arranging for an interpreter for hearing impaired parents or for parents whose native language is not English. The school district must give the parents a copy of the IEP.

Starting services. Federal regulations require that a disabled student be placed in the agreed-upon special program immediately following the IEP meeting. Exceptions to this are when the meeting occurs during the summer or a vacation break, and when a short delay is required, for example, to arrange transportation. Initial placements require informed, written consent from the parents. The parents' consent is voluntary, and they may withdraw it at any time.

Progress reports. The special education teacher (and any related services specialist providing services) must send the student's parents a written review of the student's progress related to the IEP at least as often as progress reports for non-disabled students.

The annual review. The purpose of the annual review is for the IEP team to examine the student's educational progress and prepare an appropriate IEP for the following year. This review allows the team to judge how well the special education program has met the student's needs. The team should decide whether to continue or change the program. They also should compare the previous year's IEP goals and objectives to current evaluation information to decide if the student achieved intended outcomes. The amount of revision or change in the IEP depends upon the progress the student has made. If the student has not made satisfactory progress, the team should consider the following questions:

Was an appropriate evaluation used to write the IEP?
Does the student need additional services?
Did the staff working with the student have adequate resources?
Were the goals and objectives unrealistic?
Did the student progress in areas other than those in the IEP?

IEP changes. Changes in a student's special education program, after the initial placement, do not require parent consent, but they do require prior written notice to the parents and the development of a new IEP. When school staff recommend changes, they should hold an IEP meeting attended by the parents.

Ending services. The IEP team must review the student's educational program and progress and consider the need for a re-evaluation in deciding if ending services is appropriate. The team should consider whether the student has met the IEP goals and objectives and has shown an ability to succeed in the regular school program. The student's parents should be included in the review process, but their written consent is not needed to end services. If they disagree with the decision to end services, the team must advise them of their due process rights.

Resolving disagreements. The school's IEP team should make every reasonable effort to resolve differences with parents without resorting to a due process hearing. When the team and the parents disagree at an IEP meeting, they should try to develop an interim plan for serving the student (for example, a temporary special education placement) until they can resolve the areas of disagreement. If they cannot reach an interim agreement, the student's last agreed-upon IEP or current educational program will remain in effect until the parents and school district resolve their disagreement. When, for example, the disagreement is limited to a related service, the IEP team should carry out the agreed-upon basic IEP services and start procedures to resolve the disagreement about related services.

A sample IEP (pdf document) is included on this Web site.