QUESTIONS/CONCERNS REGARDING IEP PROCESS
Special Ed Action Team Meeting – November 15, 2011
IEP MEETING: EFFICIENCIES-QUESTIONS
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Why does it ‘seem’ to be the decision of a school psych. examiner to make the eligibility decisions
when it is a ‘team’ decision?
How can IEPs be less like parent/teacher conferences?
How can IEPs be more efficient and less time consuming? Lots of time, sometimes little result.
How can we be more efficient with time?
How many teachers need or should be present? How can content be shared both ways more
efficiently?
How do you ensure that parents truly understand the IEP and the process?
How can the IEP process be streamlined?
How can we be more efficient with time?
Are particular staff members required to be part of a student’s IEP?
Who really, ultimately needs to be present at an IEP?
How can we explain that “services” are to teach (learn) and not about work completion. This will
help avoid misunderstandings later?
What are some other administrative conveniences to avoid in an IEP?
IEP Meeting: Efficiencies -CONCERNS
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Parents making the IEP about what they want not about student needs.
Amount of time that meetings are held, too long takes teachers away from kids.
Having support and guidance from other administrators when they attend IEPs that are lacking
compliance/procedures. I would like help with this.
Information contains a lot of jargon and terms that parents do not understand.
That we listen with intent to support the student. Listen to all voices at the table.
Gen Ed teachers and or administrators not attending some or all of the IEP meeting.
It seems to be a complex process – easy to err.
Concern regarding Gen Ed teacher participation.
Developing IEP practices and protocols that make the process efficient and meaningful for all
parties involved.
Decisions are made prior to the IEP group decision. Difference of opinion not welcomed.
Assigning minutes to services – discussing schedule in IEP (what are we pulling from and for
what).
IEPs can absorb a lot of teacher’s plan time, before or after school time that could be used to
work directly with students needing help.
Making decisions based on resources available.
Sometimes I think we “bend over backwards” for a parent when it is not best for the student.
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All decisions/plans made and implemented in best interest of child by all IEP team members.
Sometimes IEP seems to be approached as a meeting or event rather than an ongoing process.
Sometimes “minutes” are given because that is how it is always been.
Many IEPs appear to be centered around negotiating grades and or assignments rather than
student learning.
There are students who should be taken out of special ed, but parents etc. what to keep them
on case load.
IEP WRITING; GOALS, ACCOMODATIONS-QUESTIONS
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How can we better align IEP goals to curriculum or core standards?
How do we make sure goals are measurable and appropriate for every student?
Implementation of goals; content/direct instruction
What is the system for ensuring effectiveness/quality of IEP writing?
Should determining who is responsible for ensuring each accommodation/modification is
implemented be part of the IEP process?
If a student is OHI or is below grade level in reading, what should accommodations look like?
What standards are used when student academic goals are set (does the team use
GLEs/CLEs/Common Core)?
What input is provided and /or invited by special area teachers who determine goals for special
instruction for PE, music, art?
What procedures are in common across the district to determine student IEP’s? People on
committee, evidence of student needs and behavior, who makes decisions?
Are the ‘practices’ for IEPs in Parkway consistent across the district?
Is SSD ready to move to standards-based IEPs?
When will SSD and Parkway implement standards-based IEPs?
Are there any new changes (law) in the IEP process? Future changes that are coming?
IEP WRITING, GOALS, ACCOMODATIONS-CONCERNS
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I have noticed at the elementary level that students are always pulled during social studies. Is
this the result of a decision at the time of the IEP?
My role when an IEP is not being followed with fidelity.
I am concerned about the continuity of curriculum for students who receive a great amount of
minutes.
Do we sometimes focus too much on the standard methods of intervention instead of the needs
of a student in a class?
IEP IMPLEMENTATION-QUESTIONS
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How can teams implement practices that are student centered and outcome focused while still
meeting all the procedural requirements?
Who is accountable for IEP outcomes and progress on goals?
When an IEP is written in the spring and an aide is in the IEP, what should happen when budget
cuts cause us not to the aide?
How do we ensure teachers are consistently following the IEP?
How can all staff be trained in IEP processes; gen ed, special ed, counselors, etc?
IMPLEMENTATION-CONCERNS
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That all stakeholders understand their accountability for an IEP.
Accommodations are included without much discussion (or process to determine which
accommodations are really necessary/required) often included by parent request without
accountability or monitoring of accommodations being provided.
I am wondering if sometimes the physical needs of student with IEPs are priority. Can they
become to ‘cookie-cutter’ like for convenience of scheduling?
GENERAL-QUESTIONS
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Who is the component district rep when the student is not a Parkway resident (attending a
county-wide program) Parkway or home district?
What are the connections and missing connections between procedures for identifying
interventions for students with disabilities and non-identified disabilities?
When do students get services? Is the curriculum parallel to what they are missing?
What are the recommendations or requirements for gen ed interventions prior to a special ed
referral?
Why are there students who are “too low” for special ed services?
GENERAL-CONCERNS
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Continued good relationship between the two districts.
There seems to be confusion around various topics (what is classified as ‘district assessment”)
ESY as needed only in cases of regression/recoupment.
Reliability of data.
I am concerned that only verbal feedback documents implementation of
adaptations/modifications. Need real evidence to do our best.
IEP concern that decisions + interventions are curriculum based.
IEP process is reactionary in our school.
Data analysis follow up.
How does ‘due process’ work? How is the team held accountable?