5 Signs of a Good IEP

While there are most certainly more than 5 things you need to watch for in developing your child’s IEP, I’d have to say that these are my TOP 5 – no matter who the child is or how much special education they’re getting.

If you’re not getting a draft of your child’s IEP, that’s the number one thing to ask about. Some districts provide it as part of their protocols, but even when my son was little and this wasn’t yet a “thing”, I always asked for a draft so that I knew in advance what we’d be talking about. The one thing you DO NOT want on IEP Day is to be surprised!  That can easily blow the whole meeting, as you sit and dwell on something that you might have no control over at the moment.

Tips of What to Look For

1. A Present Level of Performance that’s “present”, with data from assessments that actually mean something. This might sound nonsensical, but I read IEPs all the time that include data (scores from assessments) that is 6 months old. That is NOT “present”. Or there’s no assessment data at all. On the IEP document itself, there is a section for “Assessments” – it’s usually on the very first page, and very often that spot is blank. Check your IEP to see if there’s anything written there. If there’s not, then ask the school for updated assessments and make sure the scores are added to the plan. 

2. Indicators that progress has taken place. Schools are required under federal law to provide something called FAPE (free and appropriate public education). The tricky part is that FAPE is different for each kid. What’s FAPE for your child may not be FAPE for other kids in his class, and usually is not. FAPE requires that your child get what he needs, when he needs it. If the Present Level of Performance and the assessments I mentioned in #1 shows that your child isn’t gaining traction, then call an IEP meeting. Do NOT wait until the end of the year, beginning of the year, after the summer, after winter break, etc etc. The time to address concerns is when they come to your attention. Don’t forget to have Parent Teacher Conferences. These are NOT IEP meetings. Yes, at IEP meetings you will talk about your child’s progress (or lack thereof), but a Parent Teacher Conference should happen outside (preferably before) an IEP meeting, so that you’re not blindsided at the IEP. 

3. Goals that are meaningful and measurable. When you get a draft of the new IEP, pull out last year’s IEP. Look to see if the goals are the same. I can’t tell you how often I see drafts that include the same Present Level, the same goals, the same placement, etc, year after year. If your child is spending their days at school, they should be growing, changing, developing, and getting better at certain skills. It doesn’t matter what level your child is on; they SHOULD BE making progress. If they’re not, then something is broken, and it’s NOT your child.  Goals should also be written on the things that have the potential to impact them as adults. For instance, if your child isn’t keeping personal space (hugging other kids in school who aren’t asking for hugs), this is a problem. If your child lacks social skills to join other kids in play, and comes across as rigid or bossy to his/her peers, that needs to be addressed as it can very easily lead to anxiety, isolation, and depression. The time to address these issues is NOW. Waiting for kids to outgrow the challenges they face nearly never works.  

4. Accommodations that promote inclusion. The purpose of special education is to give kids what they need SO THAT they can perform better in the regular education setting, and this is true for all kids. While there are some kids who need a hefty amount of instruction in special education, the goal should always be to integrate them into a regular setting. I don’t know a parent whose goal isn’t for their child to grow up to be an adult who has a job doing whatever they love, in an environment that’s included with everyone else. So, no matter if that’s a job at Amazon, Starbucks, Disney, Publix, Home Depot, hospitals or the police department, places of employment are almost always inclusive of people who don’t have disabilities. Our special ed programs should all offer kids the opportunity to be and feel included so that they can adequately be prepared for the world that’s just around the corner as they grow into adults, who hopefully will have a job. 

5. Services that yield positive results. Oftentimes, we put services on an IEP, like Intensive Instruction in Academics, Behavior, Independent Functioning and Communication (code for a cluster or segregated classroom). If this setting is actually “intensive”, then we would expect meaningful and documented progress to take place. So, if your child’s IEP looks the same year after year, then this setting is NOT working, and the team should be having serious conversations about what else can be done. Far too often, these classes have 15-20 minutes, once per day, of what schools refer to as “teacher time” (one on one or very small group instruction with the teacher). 15 minutes per day isn’t likely to amount to much; plus, if they are placed in this separate class to actually get “intensive instruction”, then it should LOOK “intensive” – Nothing about 15 minutes per day screams “intensive” to me, but maybe that’s just me.

My overall message here is to look at your IEP, determine if progress is happening, and if there is a problem, don’t wait. Call for an IEP meeting now. You don’t want to get to next year and be at the same place as you are today… but most often the only one who can change that, is YOU.

If you need some ideas on how to make things better… https://www.amazon.com/Parents-Guide-Creating-Meaningful-Goals-ebook/dp/B0094JEZWW?ref_=ast_author_mpb

Hope this helps!