EFFECTIVE IEPS
Presented by:
Anne Goins and Patty Williams
EFFECTIVE IEP TEAM
MEETINGS
Let’s Cover Some Basics:
When
do I need to have an IEP meeting?
Any time there is discussion of topics related to an IEP/Special
Education Services for a child
Ex: Annual review, parent request, updates/changes needed to
any part of the IEP, re-evaluation, initial evaluation
Can
I make changes to an IEP without a meeting?
NO
Addendum?
Any
meeting that is held between annual reviews-an addendum
meeting can be held at any time that updates or changes need to
be made to a student’s IEP
A”me”ndment?
Oops
I made a clerical error on the IEP
IEP BASICS CONTINUED
Participants
Who has to be at the meeting for it to be an official IEP
meeting?
Required Participants:
-Special Education Teacher
-General Education Teacher
-LEA (administrator or principal designee on a limited basis)
*Parents (must receive appropriate prior notice to have
opportunity to attend)
Other Participants:
-other professionals as needed such as school psychologist,
liaison, SLP, OT, outside agency reps, etc.
IEP INVITATIONS



Create an invitation in Goalview as soon as a
meeting is planned and finalize it
Print a copy of the invitation to be placed in the
student’s Mod 2 (official record) and send a copy
home via the parent’s preferred communication
method
7-10 days notice for a meeting should be
provided unless a parent agrees otherwise
DRAFT IEPS



A draft of the IEP including (updated) present
levels and (updated) proposed goals and
objectives should be prepared for each meeting
Appropriate/best practice to provide parent
with a copy of the draft if requested prior to
the meeting
Project IEP for all to see during meeting and
update live as the meeting takes place
EFFECTIVE IEP MEETINGS
Make sure all participants and a draft are
prepared
 Start on Time
 Make Introductions
 Create and promote an atmosphere of mutual
respect
 Stay on task
 Selective seating for collaboration
 Be sensitive to parents feelings
 Pre-meet on difficult cases
 Provide evaluation results to everyone to review
prior to meeting (yes, parent if they request)

CASE MANAGER RESPONSIBILITIES/GOALS
FOR IEP MEETINGS
Schedule meeting and invite parents
 Ensure all needed documents are ready for
meeting (draft, signature pg, handbook, etc)
 Secure/prepare room and technology to
facilitate an effective meeting
 Collaborate with staff so that all are prepared
and know their role and responsibility for the
meeting
 Facilitate a timely, positive meeting
 Finalize IEP and provide to parents within 3 days
of the meeting (best to update live and provide
at end of meeting)

DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE
AND LEGALLY DEFENSIBLE IEPS

What is an IEP?

The term individualized education program or
IEP means a written statement for each child
with a disability that is developed, reviewed,
and revised in a meeting, and must include ….
(NC 1503-4.1)
PRESENT LEVELS OF
PERFORMANCE (PLOP)
(1) A statement of the child’s present levels of
academic achievement and functional
performance including-(i) How the child’s disability affects the child’s
involvement and progress in the general
education curriculum; or
(ii) For preschool children, as appropriate, how
the disability affects the child’s participation in
appropriate activities;…
NC 1503-4.1 (a)(1)
WHAT MAKES THE PLOP
SO IMPORTANT?
The present levels of academic achievement and
functional performance are the cornerstone of
the IEP. It is the source that drives other IEP
components, particularly goals and objectives.
The PLOP is the statement that links all
components of the IEP together.
PRESENT LEVELS OF
PERFORMANCE (PLOP)

Academic achievement

For school-age students:
child’s performance in academic areas
 How does their performance compare to gen ed curriculum
expectations?



For preschool-age students-performance compared
to age appropriate development levels
Functional Performance
refers to skills or activities that may not be considered
academic or related to a child’s academic achievement
 often used in the context of routine activities of everyday
living
 can impact educational achievement

PLOP SHOULD BE:

Should be:
Current
 Relevant
 Objective
 Measurable
 *Understandable*


Should include:




Strengths of student
Needs of student resulting from disability
Current and data specific information related to
current performance
Effects of the disability on involvement and progress in
the general education curriculum
WHAT TYPES OF DATA MIGHT
I REPORT IN THE PLOP?
Data from multiple sources
 Data that is current and relevant
 Possible data/info. sources(not an exhaustive
list)








Formal eval results
Classroom grades and assessments
Curriculum based assessments
Observations and supporting anecdotal records
Work samples
Progress toward goals
Information from parents
THE PLOP SHOULD ANSWER
THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS?



Where does the child stand in terms of academic
and functional performance?
How are they performing compared to grade level
expectations or general education curriculum
benchmarks?
How does the child’s disability affect his/her
involvement and progress in the general
education curriculum and toward grade level
expectations?
PLOP EXAMPLE-READING


Patty is performing significantly below grade level in the area of reading.
While her decoding skills and ability to read accurately and fluently are
within a year of expected levels her ability to retell and answer
comprehension questions falls more than 2 grade levels below. This
impacts her ability to successfully read and understand material in a
meaningful way in all academic areas.
The following DIBELS scores provide specific information about her
performance compared to grade level expectations:
 ORF (Oral Reading Fluency)-87 words per (wpm) minute read
correctly at an accuracy level of 97%. The expectation for this point in
third grade is 100 wpm at 97%
 Retell-Patty is able to retell only 10 words per minute out of an
expected 30 wpm.
 TRC (Text Reading Comprehension)-independent level for Patty is
Level J and instructional level is Level K. The expectation is Level S.
She struggles with both oral and written responses to comprehension
questions
PLOP NON-EXAMPLEREADING


Patty is a sweet girl who likes to read but has
trouble understanding what she reads
Her current average in reading is a 76%
SPECIAL FACTORS/ESY
SPECIAL FACTORS
One component (required by law) of developing
an IEP is the consideration of special factors.
Consideration of the following special factors is
required:
Assistive Technology
 Visual Impairment
 Hearing Impairment
 Behavior Supports
 Limited English Proficiency

NC 1501-2.4
EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR SERVICES
(a) General:
(1) Each public agency must ensure that extended school
year services are available as necessary to provide FAPE.
(2) Extended school year services must be provided only if
a child's IEP Team determines, on an individual basis, that
the services are necessary for the provision of FAPE to
the child.
(3) In implementing the requirements of this section, a
public agency may not:
(i) Limit extended school year services to particular
categories of disability; or
(ii) Unilaterally limit the type, amount, or duration of those
services.
ESY CONTINUED…
(b) Definition-the term extended school year services
means special education and related services that–
(1) Are provided to a child with a disability:
(i) Beyond the normal school year of the public
agency;
(ii) In accordance with the child's IEP; and
(iii) At no cost to the parents of the child; and
What does this actually mean?
What types of services or things can be ESY be
provided for?
How do I determine a need for ESY?
ESY CONTINUED…

3 reasons ESY might be appropriate for a
student:

Regression and longer than average recoupment time

Prevention of significant regression

Window of opportunity
FINAL THOUGHTS ON ESY

Must be considered at least once annually

To be determined by the IEP team

Should be based on data and team discussion


Reminder that ESY is only considered regarding
IEP goals and objectives
Liaisons are to be consulted for students who
may be in need of ESY services
GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES
Now that I know how the student is performing
and how their disability is impacting their
educational performance, what do I do next?
CONNECTING IEPS TO STATE/DISTRICT
STANDARDS MEANS…



Referring to standards to determine
expectations at grade level
Conducting an analysis to determine the gap
between grade expectations and student’s
current skills/knowledge
Using the standards as a guide to determine
what is important for the student to learn or be
able to do in order to progress in the general
curriculum
MEASURABLE ANNUAL GOALS
The Individualized Education Program must include…
A statement of measurable annual goals, including
academic and functional goals designed to:
A.
B.
Meet the child’s needs that result from their
disability to enable the child to be involved in and
make progress in the general education
curriculum; and
Meet each of the child’s other educational needs
that result from the child’s disability;
MEASURABLE ANNUAL GOALS
For each area needing specially designed instruction, determine
the desired level of achievement or outcome for each goal for
a student by considering the following:

Primary concerns stated in the present levels of academic
achievement/functional performance.

Skills needed to progress to the next level of performance
and/or to work toward expected grade level outcomes

Behavior/skills that will improve with a more intensive level of
instruction/modifications.

Amount of time the student has left in school and the age of
the student.

Skills needed to achieve transition.
ANNUAL GOALS SHOULD BE…

Objective

Measurable

Observable

Relevant

Reasonable
MAJOR COMPONENTS OF MEASURABLE
ANNUAL GOALS

Any important givens/conditions (when, with
what, where)…as applicable

An observable learner performance (what the
learner will be doing, an action)

Baseline/current achievement and
target/expected achievement


A skill/domain area (academic, behavioral,
functional)
Supported by short-term objectives
SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVES
Short term objectives (also called IEP objectives)
are:
•
measurable, intermediate steps between the
present levels of educational performance of a
child with a disability and the annual goals that are
established for the child, and
•
developed based on a logical breakdown of the
major components of the annual goals; and can
serve as milestones for measuring progress
toward meeting the goals.
OTHER TIPS FOR STRONG
ANNUAL GOALS/OBJECTIVES


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We encourage not writing goals directly to the
NHCO probes but rather to student specific
needs and skill deficits
Ensure that you have a strong plan for measuring
progress that includes specific methods of data
collection
Rely on present levels to determine areas of
need for specially designed instruction which will
guide your goal and objective development
MONITORING/REPORTING
PROGRESS TOWARD GOALS

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Completion of IEP progress reports is required at
least once each nine weeks and should coincide with
report cards
IEP progress reports may be required on a more
frequent timeframe if determined by the IEP team
When reporting progress, you should include
information in addition to percentages and a selection
from the dropdown
Be prepared to explain/show data supporting
reported progress
Progress report to be updated and provided to
parents at annual review and a copy put in Mod 2 with
annual review IEP