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Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
Jacqueline B. Willis
University of Kansas
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Introduction
This is the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for student name Izzy. Izzy has come to
the Elementary Day School which is a behavior school due to her behavior problems at her home
school. Izzy was suspended a number of times last year for behavior related problems. Izzy
would get mad and tear up classrooms by throwing chairs, flipping desk, ripping things off the
walls and ripping up work that she did not want to do. During this year her 5th grade year Izzy
started at the Day School at the beginning of the year. Izzy is a very intelligent girl. She is
working ahead of her class in multiple subjects. Izzy’s main problem is that her behaviors
sometimes hinder her ability to get assignments done in a timely manner. Included will be
information from Izzy’s old and current IEP.
Student Information
Student who shall be referred to as “Izzy”. Izzy’s strength is that she is able to read well
and keep up with her peers in Math with a minimum of help to complete her assignments. The
downside is that she will give up easily, or scream, throw materials or elope. At home Izzy does
not complete homework. Regardless of the efforts of staff and family.
The IEP states that Izzy’s behavior impedes the learning of self and others. When
Izzy has emotional outbursts it is impossible for staff to deliver to the appropriate educational
levels of material in a General Education setting. Izzy’s outburst outside of General Education
classroom do not allow for her to begin work in a timely manner, thus losing out on quite a bit of
instruction.
In academic performance for Reading, Izzy reads and comprehends well as per
Diebel’s testing and AR comprehension tests. In Math, during the year Izzy earned F’s for the
first three 9 weeks. During the 4th 9 week period she earned a C. Her work completion was
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sketchy. One day she would do well, and the next she would refuse to work. She was also very
indignant when she would get something wrong and was expected to re-do it. When staff would
attempt to help, she would argue, shut down, clear her desk or elopement. For Written Language,
Izzy did not have problems with spelling, handwriting or her language arts.
In order for Izzy to increase functional performance she will need:

A highly structured environment where she is able to cope with her social and
educational needs.

Identified needs: Highly structured educational environment.

Strengths: Very intelligent. Reads and comprehends very well, Math concepts are
strong and she has a good grasp of fundamental Math.
As per Izzy’s Behavioral Intervention Plan:
Izzy’s inability to control her behaviors make it difficult for her to progress academically
at the rate to which she should be. Her inability to control her behaviors also make it difficult for
her non-identified peers to progress academically at the rate to which they should be allowed to.
Her elopement from the General Education and Resource Room settings puts her into an area
which could be dangerous for her and staff.
Description of problem behavior(s):
1. Difficulty transitioning from one activity to another. Izzy may have
trouble transitioning from one activity to another, especially when it is
from a favored activity to one of less favorable appeal. She may tell you
“NO”, or use words like “I don’t think so,” or put her head down or sweep
all of the materials from her desk.
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2. Difficulty following teacher directions. Izzy, on occasions, refuses to
participate in activities less favored, tells staff to stay away from her,
elopes, and uses negative tone when she does not want to do what has
been asked of her.
3. Aggressive behavior. Izzy will express anger/frustration/non-compliance
by shouting, screaming, using vulgarities, or throwing a tantrum.
According to records this occurs when she is asked to do something she
feels she does not want to do.
4. Shouting/screaming. Izzy’s use of screaming/shouting in order to get her
way will detract from both her and her peers’ academic progress. Staff at
times, allows Izzy a more favored activity for a short period of time to get
her back on track.
The following Positive Strategies are included in her Behavior Intervention Plan:
Allowing Izzy to chart her own path. Giving her the power of choice so that she does not
feel pressured or trapped.
Examples include:

Time out of the classroom so she can cool down and get herself back into a better
frame of mind so that she is able to continue on her quest for peer socialization
and academic process.

Modeling behaviors necessary for Izzy to succeed.

Letting Izzy know early about changes, that is, when recess is almost over, or that
she will be moving from her current setting to a new one.

The ability to earn rewards by following her point sheet.
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
Reminding her of her target behaviors so that she is able to focus on them.

Allow Izzy at least 2 choices in order to avoid “power” struggles. Make
accommodations/modifications when needed in areas of art, computers, P.E., and
music. Make it as uncomplicated as possible for Izzy to adjust as possible.

Keep directions short and simple. If possible have her give you feedback and have
her tell you what she needs to be doing, but do not push it.

Use verbal cues whenever possible to reinforce redirection. Sometimes subtle
hints work better than demands.
Observational Data
Izzy was observed during the week of September 15-19. In my observation, I have
noticed that Izzy does display the behavior of work avoidance. Izzy did have four good days
where she was on green, but received minuses for not following directions and not being
respectful. Izzy is given the opportunity to not get a minus by being reminded that she is not
following directions or that she is not being respectful, and if it continues, then she will receive a
minus. Izzy will often times ignore the warning, which was the case on Monday and Wednesday
during the week.
During Monday, Izzy had three different shut-downs. One lasting one minute and five
seconds, another lasting one minute and fifty-nine seconds, and a third one lasting twelve
minutes and twenty-one seconds. In the first two shut-downs, Izzy was able to regain control and
begin working. On the third incident, Izzy went into complete shut-down and was showing
aggression by throwing things and also slamming things on the table. She began yelling at staff
to shut off the timer because it was freaking her out. Izzy was also crying for the whole shutdown time. Staff reminded her several times that once she was ready to get back to work that the
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timer would be shut off, but it was up to her when that time was. Once Izzy did calm down, she
was able to get back to work and went about the day as if nothing had happened. Izzy then had
two shut-downs on Wednesday, one lasting for two minutes and sixteen seconds and the other
lasting for six minutes and sixteen seconds. Both of those times Izzy asked to go to the bathroom
and purposely took an extended amount of time in order to avoid doing work. On that day Izzy
also ended her day on yellow.
During this week, Izzy has been working toward a reward of watching a movie and
getting a snack on Friday. Izzy was made aware on several occasions that she had to end each
day on green in order to be able to attend the movie. In my observation, Izzy was aware of the
consequences of her actions, yet she was still unable to control her behaviors. During the week
each day Izzy was reminded of how many minuses that she had and how close she was getting to
yellow. Izzy had eight chances per day that she could get a minus and still end the day on green.
On Friday, the teacher announced in the morning that “If Izzy could do good the rest of
the day, and work on assignments, then she would be able to attend the movie, but would only
get to watch for the last thirty minutes.” Izzy did do well and worked hard. Izzy only received
two minuses for Friday, both in the morning. One was for not following directions and one was
for not being respectful.
My observation for this week did not turn out as I had planned. Originally, I had thought
that by giving Izzy a reward or having her work towards something, that her target behavior
would decrease and increase her good behavior would increase. However, in my observation, it
seems that even with a positive reward, Izzy still does her target behavior of work avoidance. I
will be collecting data on another reward that Izzy will have to work towards. This reward will
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require Izzy to be on green for a total of ten days. If Izzy is on yellow for one of those days it
will result in her not being able to go to the Pumpkin Patch with the rest of her classmates.
Analysis of Student
This student’s IEP is not very informative. I believe that the teacher who wrote it was
guided by the student’s behaviors more than her academic challenges. I have been told on more
than one occasion that our teacher at the Day School does not agree with this IEP. For example,
one of the student’s goals was that she attend the Day School. Coming to the Day School should
not be a goal for any student. Our goal at the Day School, however, is to help those with severe
behaviors to be able to return to their home schools with the tools they need to help them to get
through each day. Some other information that would be helpful is: 1) What was the student like
before the fourth grade? That seems to be the year that she had the most trouble. 2) What could
have been done or what was done at the school to try to prevent her behaviors from happening? I
think that both of those questions are the main questions I would want answered and for that I
would need to talk to both her fourth grade general education teacher and her resource room
teacher.
At this point and time, there are no school personnel other than a building Principal that
can help support the student One of the main causes to Izzy’s behaviors is that she has a teacher
that can be the antecedent to her behaviors. I think in order for her to be successful upon
returning to her home school, she would need the support of everyone- teachers, the Principal,
and paraprofessionals.
The information that we need to be collected is: 1) What is pushing her to have behaviors
at her home school that would merit her coming to the day school? We have yet to see a
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behavior such as the ones that are described in her IEP. Also, 2) What are we doing so differently
at the Day School that does not provoke the negative behaviors?
As far as team collaboration goes, our administrator for the COOP is on board and
attends most of the meetings. Our teachers at the day school, along with teachers and principals
at the student’s home school need to collaborate in order to ensure that the student is able to
succeed in her classroom. Right now, they feel as though there is one teacher that is not a team
player and could be contributing to the student’s outburst of behaviors. I think that in order for
her to move forward in a general education/resource room setting, she needs everyone on board
with a plan.
When it comes to evaluating the instruction and the type of assessment that the student
will need, we find that she is very capable of grade level in reading and in math as her peers. She
does sometimes require a little more time to complete assignments and tasks, but that is due to
her wanting to make sure that everything is properly labeled and neat. She does most of her
multiplying and dividing by hand, but sometimes uses a multiplication chart. She is only allowed
to use calculators on parts of the assignment that specify its use. For all other subjects she does
quite well. She may need to go back and re-read instructions or information, but does well to
grasp what she is reading and her comprehension of it. For assessment, I don’t see any reason
that she cannot take the same assessment as her peers.
This student is very intelligent. Unfortunately, her behaviors have come in the way of her
being placed in her home school. I believe that with the collaboration of everyone including,
teachers, the Principal, administrators and parents that she can be successful. At this point in time
there are meetings planned that will transition the student back into her home school. We have
not seen or experienced the types of behaviors that are listed in her IEP.
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MAPS Analysis
In observing Izzy, I have become aware of some of her strengths, goals, ambitions and a
glimpse of what she experienced in her home school. I have also, come to know what Izzy goes
through on a day to day basis, both at home and at school. Izzy has talked on occasions about
what she does in her free time at home. Izzy’s usual answer is, “I watched T.V. or played on the
Xbox.” Izzy also goes to girls scouts, which from listening to Izzy she really enjoys going. Izzy
spends a lot of time with her aunt, Jennifer. Outside of school, Izzy does not have a lot of peer
interaction. Izzy does have a brother that is a year older than she is. Izzy’s lives with both
parents. Izzy’s mom is expecting another baby soon. Izzy’s parents are wanting Izzy to transition
back to her home school and be successful in that setting. Both Izzy and her parents want Izzy to
be able to interact with her peers more, so that she can build more positive friendships.
Strengths. Izzy has many strengths. Izzy is very intelligent. Izzy is currently in a 6th grade
level math class. Izzy is very artistic. Izzy likes to be hands on with projects and some
assignments. Izzy is very good with the younger children at school. Izzy knows how to be verbal
with how she is feeling, and is aware of when those feelings are starting affect her.
Needs. Izzy has some needs that she does need to work on. One identifiable need that
both Izzy and her parents identified was, Izzy’s anger management. Izzy tends to become
overwhelmed and in turn will get frustrated. A concern that the teachers have mentioned is the
need for Izzy to work on being more socially appropriate. Izzy tends to want all the attention on
her, and when she is not getting all the attention, she will act out.
Dreams. Izzy mentioned many dreams. One dream is becoming a chef. Having friends is
another dream. Before, Izzy would let her frustration and anger get the best of her, which pushed
a lot of her friends away. Izzy would like to go to college. Something that both Izzy and her
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parents would like is for when the new sibling comes, for Izzy to be a good big sister. Izzy
knows that it won’t be easy, since she won’t be the youngest, but she wants to be a good example
for her little sibling.
Goals. Goals that have been set up for Izzy by her parents and the IEP team include: 1)
anger control; 2) greater respect to peers and staff; 3) following directions at home and school. At
the IEP meeting, Izzy’s parents were concerned about how Izzy acts at home, specifically being
“bossy”. These goals will be worked on both at school and home so that Izzy can become
successful as she is transitioned back to her home school.
Supports. The supports that are available to help Izzy are: 1) parents; 2) Day School
teachers; 3) Home School teachers; 4) Home School Principal; 5) Day School administrator as
well as Home School administrator. With all the supports working together it can ensure that Izzy
is able to succeed when placed back in her home school environment.
Conclusion
The future for Izzy is what Izzy chooses. The Day School has given her tools that she can
use to help her to control her behaviors such as; taking a five minute break, realizing when she is
getting to the frustration point and doing something about it before she shuts-down completely.
Izzy had mentioned that she would like to go to school for cooking when she gets older. She is
reminded to keep that as a goal, but to know that it will take hard work and dedication to get
there. Izzy has a hard time with stress and coping with it in a productive and positive way. She is
reminded that when she enters a kitchen it is not always calm, but at times there is chaos. She
needs to be able to manage the stress and be productive at the same time. Izzy is very intelligent
she no doubt has a bright future ahead of her, but with that bright future are going to come
responsibilities that she will be held accountable for, and it will be up to her to make the good
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choices that may be hard rather than the negative choices that may seem like the easier route.
Izzy will also begin to transition back into her home school. Izzy has proven at the Day School
that she knows what good behavior is such as, following directions, being respectful to school
staff and parents, and not being verbally aggressive towards anyone. I believe that with the help
of faculty at her home school and the IEP team, Izzy will be able to transition back to her home
school and be successful into the future.