EDLD 5344 School Law
Kristin Bryan ET 8032
Week 1: Analyzing IEP Policies
Overview
Special education law is a daunting subject for most educators. Many teachers are concerned
about how special education provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act of 2004 and No Child Left Behind affect their teaching. Understanding these
laws and how they affect special education evaluation and accommodation is key for today’s
school leaders. In this assignment, you will review current literature on special education and
evaluate how your school currently develops Individualized Education Programs for students
with special educational needs. (Remember, your goal is not to gather information on special
education students; it is to familiarize yourself with the special education policies and processes
that are currently in place in your school.)
2009 Lamar University
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EDLD 5344 School Law
Kristin Bryan ET 8032
Rubric
Use this rubric to guide your work.
Week 1: Analyzing
IEP Policies
Accomplished
Proficient
Needs
Improvement
Unacceptable
Part 1: KWL Charts
Completes three
KWL Charts in detail
(4 points)
Completes three
KWL Charts
(3 points)
Completes two KWL
Charts
(2 points)
Completes one KWL
Chart or does not
complete any
(0 points)
Part 2: Analysis of
Current State
Completes all 5
responses using a
minimum of 1
paragraph for each
(5 points)
Completes all 5
responses; not all
responses are a
paragraph in length
(4 points)
Completes less than
5 responses
(3 points)
Does not complete
any responses
(0 points)
Mechanics
No or few errors in
grammar, spelling,
or punctuation.
(1 point)
2009 Lamar University
Responses lack
clarity and depth
and/or have multiple
errors in grammar,
spelling, or
punctuation.
(0 points)
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EDLD 5344 School Law
Kristin Bryan ET 8032
Part 1: KWL Charts
Fill out all three KWL charts. Use the following statements to guide your entries for each topic
listed at the top of the chart:
 What I know about topics related to special education.
 What I want to know about special education to better serve students and teachers.
 What I learned from these articles that will help me in my educational setting.
Special Education Eligibility and Evaluation
What I Know
What I Want to Know
What I Learned
From my experience teaching
I have learn little bits and
pieces about special
education. I don’t feel like I
have ever truly understood the
laws behind special education
and I have been provided
information on a need to know
basis only. I think this is the
wrong way to go about
helping teacher understand
what they should be doing in
the classroom to help those
kids with special needs. I
know that special education is
in place to help students who
struggle to learn as well as
mainstream students do. I
know that an ARD takes place
to set special accommodation
for the child to successful. I
know that it is my job to follow
every accommodation to the
letter because if I don’t I am
breaking the law.
I want to know more about
how a student is evaluated for
special education. I want to
know if they are really meeting
that child’s individual needs or
are they just putting him in a
category with blanket
accommodation. How much
testing is being performed by
the school and who is the
expert on making decisions
and diagnosis when a child
has a disability.
I learned that IDEA (the
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act) guarantees all
students a free and
appropriate public education
(FAPE) in the least restrictive
environment (LRE).
There are 13 disabilities that
qualify a student for special
education.
I now understand the
differences between qualifying
for special education and 504
which assists students but
does not require an IEP
developed for them.
2009 Lamar University
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EDLD 5344 School Law
Kristin Bryan ET 8032
IEP Components
What I Know
What I Want to Know
I know that an IEP (Individual
Education Plan) is developed
specifically for a student to
help them best achieve
success in school. It sets forth
the special needs of that child
and must be followed by the
school and teachers. I know
that the IEP is reviewed
annually to make any changes
that the student may need.
How does the ARD committee
decide which assessment is
appropriate for the student?
If the student chooses to not
follow the IEP is the teacher
help accountable?
How much input does the
parent have in developing the
goals of the student’s IEP?
How does the ARD committee
or teacher decide when the
student no longer needs the
IEP?
Why does the IEP not lists all
assessments and services
that the student’s needs for
science and social studies?
2009 Lamar University
What I Learned
I learned that ARD stands for
Admission, Review and
Dismissal. The ARD
committee reviews the IEPs
regularly to make sure they
address the current levels of
performance for that year. I
learned that the school must
provide any service need for
the child to meet the IEPs
including any medically
related services that can be
performed without a doctor,
(such as catheterization.)
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EDLD 5344 School Law
Kristin Bryan ET 8032
Implementing the IEP
What I Know
What I Want to Know
What I Learned
I know that the IEP must be
followed for the student just
as it is written. I know that it is
important to follow these on a
daily basis if they are how the
student will be tested on high
stake testing. It would be
useless to provide
accommodations for a student
that he or she is not familiar
with and has been give all
along.
What options do teacher have
leagally when implementing
IEPs for student who are not
cooperative? Is the teacher
help responsible when the
student refuses
accommodations that are
stated on their IEP?
What actions can be taken
against a teacher who fails to
implement the IEP?
I learned that Special Ed
student can be suspended
from school or place in an
alternative school for up to 10
days as long as an IEP
review meeting is held to
place that child.
I learned also that a teachers
can request to have an ARD
meeting if they feel that the
student’s goals aren’t being
met.
2009 Lamar University
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EDLD 5344 School Law
Kristin Bryan ET 8032
Part 2: Analysis of Current State
The second part of your assignment requires you to seek information from your school’s special
education coordinator or a teacher familiar with the IEP process. Begin by printing out your
state’s IEP document, which is located in the Resource section of this course. Use this form to
develop questions about the procedures your school uses in identifying, evaluating, and
accommodating special education students. Then, answer the following questions after
contacting staff members at your school who are knowledgeable in special education.
Each response needs to be a minimum of one paragraph. Type your responses in the
expandable boxes below.
Response #1
How do school staff members feel about the IEP process as a whole? Is it stressful? Do they
feel it represents a true collaboration between parents and staff members to best serve
students?
In general many teachers stress about IEPs because they do not fully understand the process,
how it works and why they are required to do what they are asked to do. In the past many
support assistants were not trained properly to help the students as it was stated. As staff
develops and becomes more trained and able to understand the purpose and motivation behind
the IEPs teachers are better equipped to follow the IEPs.
Response #2
Which aspect of the IEP process most confuses or discourages team members?
The working of the IEPs is most confusing to most team members. More specific definitions
need to be incorporated in to the IEPs so that the teacher can consistently help the student from
one class to the next. In the upper grades teachers work so independently from one another
that it is hard for the student to get accommodations in a consistent way.
Response #3
How does your school/district determine whether students are eligible for special education?
The first step would be a pre-referral by the general education teacher using an RTI (Response
to Intervention.) After sufficient time with no improvement, a child can be referred to special
education. At that time, data would be collected from teacher and parents and test would be
give to diagnose the problem.
Response #4
What do IEP team members say can be done to better improve the process?
The first thing that must be done to improve the process is training. Most teachers feel very
under qualified to implement all the accommodations to the students. Without proper knowledge
of the process teachers feel overwhelmed when they hear that if they don’t do everything
exactly right they can be help legally responsible. Communication also needs to be improved
upon. Once an ARD is completed and IEPs are written usually the only thing that happens is
2009 Lamar University
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EDLD 5344 School Law
Kristin Bryan ET 8032
that the teacher signs that she has received the documentation. Communications need to
improve by sitting down with the general education teachers to let them know what exactly was
set forth for this child, why and what they need to do individually to meet these
accommodations.
Response #5
Are students’ IEPs effectively implemented at your school? What can be done to improve
implementation?
It really depends on the teacher and the support assistant that the child has. Some teachers at
my school are very much on top of knowing what their responsibilities are and they work very
hard to help the student be successful. Other teachers spend more time trying to cover their but
than they do actually helping the child. If they really were doing what they were suppose to do
they would not need to worry about getting in trouble for not following IEPs. The support
assistants are another very important factor in meeting IEPs. I have worked with many different
co-teachers and I can say first hand that it makes a huge difference. This year I have a
wonderful SA who really knows her job well and is there to help every student succeed. She is
well organized and checks the IEPs on a regular basis to make sure each student is getting all
of their accommodations met. It takes a whole team working together to make sure the IEPs are
implemented effectively.
2009 Lamar University
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