Writing Instructionally Appropriate IEPs
Special Populations Department
Tennessee Department of Education
Norms
We Will:
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Be open to others’ views and input
Share experiences and ideas
Determine roles and responsibilities
Ask questions within and outside of our own group
Provide constructive feedback
Be engaged in the presentations and group work
Be respectful and turn all technology to silent mode during work
time
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Procedures
Roles and Responsibilities of Group Members
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Make sure that each person in your group is serving in at least one role. If you have more than 4 people in your
group, have more than one Timekeeper/Gatekeeper. If you have less than 4 people in your group, have group
members serve in more than one role. Everyone should serve as a secondary facilitator, helping make the group’s
work easier.
Small Group Facilitator
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The Facilitator leads the discussion, making sure that everyone is fully participating.
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Examples of getting all to provide input: “Will each person give your thoughts about what data we should
include in our present levels of performance?”
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“As the most highly qualified professional providing the most intense intervention, what supports
would we have in place for our student? What do you all suggest? We will start with (name) and go
around the group”.
Scribe
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The Scribe writes the information for the group on the presentation chart
Reporter
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The Reporter reports the small group's work to the whole group.
Timekeeper/ Gatekeeper
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The Timekeeper keeps track of the time and makes sure that the group finishes the task on time as well as
ensuring everyone remains on task.
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Procedures
 This activity is meant to simulate the collaboration that is needed to
gather all the necessary information to write an instructionally
appropriate IEP.
 As a professional educator, there might be times when you receive a
file on a student and there will be things missing. This is a time
where you might have to go look for the information to make your
file complete.
– For example, you might need to discuss with the general education teacher,
special education teacher, school psychologist, and any one else necessary
to make sure all information is collected.
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Procedures
 Identify partners by colored folders
SLD Math
Ryan Calculation
3rd Grade
OHI Elementary
Skylar Smith
6th Grade
OHI High School
Kingston Smith
11th Grade
Autism
Andrew Smith
4th Grade
Speech/ Language
Olivia Brown
3rd Grade
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Phone A Friend
You have a file at your table, but the contents in that file are not an
exact match to your case partner’s file.
To find your case study partner, raise your “Phone a Friend” paper and
the facilitator can guide you, or go to the table with the same color
folders.
You may then collaborate with your new partners, much like we
collaborate with general education, psychologist, therapists, parents,
etc.
Any thing you learn in collaboration can now be used in developing the
IEP for your case study
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File Cabinet Search
Sometimes we, as special education teachers, are not given all the
information we require for IEP development. To simulate this, we have
created a “File Cabinet” for you today.
If you would like to search for more information or missing information,
hold up your “File Cabinet Search” paper and the facilitator will bring
you the “file cabinet” to search.
Items found may now be added to your case study.
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Clarifying Questions
This is difficult work and we realize that.
At any time, you can raise the “Clarifying Questions” and the facilitator
will come to your table to help answer or clarify anything that is related
to the 2 days of training or case study work.
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Developing A Strong Narrative
A quick snapshot describing the student’s strengths and
concerns
Must include:
• Student’s strengths
• Parent concerns in their own words to the greatest extent
possible
• Impact on mastery of standards
• Medical information, even if no concerns (don’t leave
blank)
• Must pass the “stranger test”
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20 Minute Timer
End
www.A6training.co.uk
Share Your Work
Reflect and make changes as necessary
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Developing A Strong PLEP
A summary of assessments aligned to area(s) of need
Must include:
• Student’s current assessment data
• Narrative description of ability level related to skills
• Impact on mastery of standards
• Exceptional: yes or no
• Positive terms and language
• Must pass the “stranger test”
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20 Minute Timer
End
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Share Your Work
Reflect and make changes as necessary
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Developing A Strong MAG
A clear description of an observable behavior a student will be
able to do within one year
Must Include:
• Condition
• Behavior
• Performance criteria (How well? How consistently? How
often? How measured?)
• Must pass the “stranger test”
 Look at the template provided
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Goal Setting with CBM data
_________
Initial Score
+
__________
(Goal ROI) X (# of weeks)
=
_____________
Goal Score
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20 Minute Timer
End
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Share Your Work
Reflect and make changes as necessary
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Characteristics of the
Most Intensive Intervention
Potential intervention components:
• specifically target student’s skill deficit
• are research based, explicit, and systematic
• are more intensive than general education interventions
• for academics, must be more intensive than Tier III
• provides support to students in addition to intervention
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20 Minute Timer
End
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Share Your Work
Reflect and make changes as necessary
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Accommodations
Accommodations change the “how”
Must address:
• Core instruction participation and access
• Assessment participation and access
• Student’s entire school day; not limited to ELA & Math
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Modifications
Modifications change the “what.” This is a very significant decision
that should only be considered as a last resort.
 Scaffolding, accommodations, support, interventions, and
additional adult assistance should all be tried first with data
collected to determine effectiveness and fidelity of each
accommodation.
 Modifications are restrictive by nature. They are only the Least
Restrictive Environment (LRE) once all other options have been
implemented with fidelity and data has been collected. Only then
can we determine that modifications are required.
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20 Minute Timer
End
www.A6training.co.uk
Share Your Work
Reflect and make changes as necessary
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Considerations of Service Delivery
• Least Restrictive Environment
– All students are general education students first
– All students receive high quality core instruction— for
students with the most significant needs, the “how” and
“where” is the “I” in IEP
• Areas of deficit
• Intervention required to meet student’s need
– Directly linked to the MAG
– A person is not an intervention
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Considerations of Service Delivery Cont.
• Student independence
– The MAGs should be increasing the student’s skills so he or she
requires increasingly less accommodation/modifications the
following year.
• Collaboration between general and special education teachers
• Training support for staff/peers
– May be noted in the MAGs under “details—supplementary
supports for school personnel”
Ex: A child has a visual schedule. A special education professional
would provide a fifteen minute training to all staff on that particular
schedule.
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20 Minute Timer
End
www.A6training.co.uk
Share Your Work
Reflect and make changes as necessary
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Sharing what has been developed
 Present Your Student (Case study)
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Moving Forward—Self Reflection
 What questions do you still have?
 Who on your team/school/LEA can assist you moving forward?
 How will you communicate about the changes to parents? When? In
meetings, prior, multiple times?
 What interventions do you have available at your school?
 What interventions might you need?
 How will your schedule be different next year?
If you have questions you would like answered, please place the index card
in the box in your room.
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Programming team
Joann Lucero, Literacy Intervention Specialist
Joann.Lucero@tn.gov
Ryan Mathis, Mathematics Intervention Specialist
Ryan.Mathis@tn.gov
Alison Gauld, Behavior and Low Incidence Coordinator
Alison.Gauld@tn.gov
Jill Omer, Speech, Language and Autism Coordinator
Jill.Omer@tn.gov
Tie Hodack, Executive Director, Instructional Programs
Tie.Hodack@tn.gov
Vacant, High School Intervention and Transition Coordinator
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