EDLD 5344 School Law
Peggy Hale - #8014
October 17, 2010
Week 2: IEP Development
Overview
For the next three weeks’ assignment, you will work with Joseph, a fictional middle school
student enrolled at your school who requires an Individualized Education Program. Over the
coming weeks, you will need to develop an IEP, monitor how his program is implemented in the
classroom, and use your knowledge of student rights and school management to make sound
decisions when he engages in behavior that calls for disciplinary action.
To begin, in this assignment you will develop a remediation for Joseph. To complete the
assignment, you must familiarize yourself with both statewide special education policies and
those in place at your district and school. The assignment also requires you to use knowledge
gained from your lectures and readings and from communication with leaders at your school,
including your principal, special education coordinator, and classroom teachers. You are
expected to cite the relevant law and/or policy that you use to formulate your answers.
Rubric
Use this rubric to guide your work.
Week 2: IEP
Development
Needs
Improvement
Accomplished
Proficient
Identification
Correctly identifies
all (4 – 5) members
of an ARD
committee and their
roles in IEP
development
(3 points)
Identifies some (2 –
3) members of an
ARD committee and
their roles in IEP
development
(2 points)
Identifies 1 -2
members of an ARD
committee and
accurately describe
their roles in IEP
development
(1 point)
Does not identify
any members of an
ARD committee or
describe their roles
in IEP development
(0 points)
Steps
Details the steps
taken to determine
special education
eligibility
(3 points)
Generally outlines
the steps taken to
determine special
education eligibility
(2 points)
Vaguely outlines the
process of
determining special
education eligibility
(1 point)
Does not outline the
process of
determining special
education eligibility
(0 points)
Components
Details 4 – 5
components of a
student’s IEP,
including classroom
accommodations
and support and
Identifies and
explains some (2 –
3) components of a
student’s IEP
(2 points)
Identifies and
explains few (1 – 2)
components of a
student’s IEP
(1 point)
Does not identify or
explain the
components of a
student’s IEP
(0 points)
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Unacceptable
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EDLD 5344 School Law
Peggy Hale - #8014
October 17, 2010
assessment
accommodations
(3 points)
Mechanics
(1 point)
No or few errors in
grammar, spelling,
or punctuation.
(1 point)
Responses lack
clarity and depth
and/or have multiple
errors in grammar,
spelling, or
punctuation.
(0 points)
Week 2: IEP Development
Directions
Use information from your lectures and readings, as well as information you gathered for your
Week 1 Assignment, to walk your staff through meeting process for Joseph, a fictional student,
in the workspace below.
A new seventh grade student, Joseph, has enrolled in your school after having qualified for
special education in his former school district. His disability falls under the IDEA category known
as “emotional disturbance.” While he has always been educated in “regular” classrooms, he is
prone to brief, disruptive outbursts in class and has had trouble getting along with his teachers
and classmates. He also has difficulty paying attention in class and does not sit still during tests
and quizzes, often distracting his classmates while they are also taking their tests.
At the beginning of the school year, an ARD committee convenes and begins the process of
evaluating Joseph for special education services.
Workspace
Describe the members of Joseph’s ARD committee and their roles in the development of his
IEP.
There are five members of Joseph’s ARD meeting at the school. Deborah Cannon, the
principal, helps control the flow of the meeting and maintains a calm environment, keeping
angry statements to a minimum without stopping the progress of the ARD. The principal is
familiar with the school’s activities, procedures, faculty and staff. She is able to provide
assistance as a mediator in the ARD that ensures each member’s ideas and comments are
clearly understood. The most important member is Joseph’s mother, who is able to share
pertinent facts about Joseph that can help with the development and revisions of his IEP.
Parents are the most familiar with the student’s behaviors and actions away from the school
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EDLD 5344 School Law
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October 17, 2010
setting. It’s important to note if Joseph’s same behaviors at school are similar at home. Also in
attendance is the general education teacher, Monica Diaz, who gives information about
Joseph’s work habits and behavior in class and during the school day. The general education
teacher is able to provide written samples of work and teacher observations that occur in the
school environment. This regular teacher spends the greater part of the day with Joseph and
can share many examples of behavior and academic progress through the year. An additional
member is the special education coordinator who is most knowledgeable about resources in the
district and is able to give various strategies to use for Joseph. The special education
coordinator is most familiar with the state and federal laws and regulations in special education
and makes sure that the IEP follows those guidelines and provisions. Last in attendance is the
guidance counselor of the school who may provide behavioral information about Joseph that
she has helped him work through and can work through the testing data to show patterns or
gaps in learning. The counselor is knowledgeable with behavior issues and can assist the team
in coming up with a workable BIP for Joseph if one is needed.
How will Joseph’s current academic and behavioral levels best be determined?
The current IEP for Joseph should contain his present levels of academic achievement and
functional performance. But it would be valuable to use other data to help evaluate Joseph.
Using the observational efforts of the parent and general education teachers is one avenue.
Accordingly, taking observations from personnel who have had contact with Joseph during the
school day could help too. Also valuable are samples of Joseph’s school work to determine
where Joseph is functioning academically. Not only written work, but formative and summative
assessments can be used as well as Joseph’s report card. Careful analysis of his grades and
tests results thus far can show gaps and the identify areas that Joseph needs improvement.
Therefore, it is important to look at multiple data collections when determining a students’
academic and behavior levels. The ARD committee’s next task is revising Joseph’s Individual
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October 17, 2010
Education Plan (IEP) and deciding on the best education needs for him.
How will the ARD committee determine whether Joseph qualifies for special education services?
What factors go into making this determination? How will the committee select the related
services for which Joseph will be eligible?
Joseph has already qualified for special education in his former school district with his
disability listed as “emotional disturbance.” The ARD committee can request a Full and
Individual Evaluation (FIE) for Special Education services. Since he was already identified and
in Special Education services at another district, the guidelines and eligibility requirements can
be compared and discussed to see if Joseph falls within the eligibility requirements now. Each
district uses a different method for evaluation. Most uses their Response to Intervention (RtI)
criteria to identify at-risk students. Data from RtI can be used to determine whether Joseph
qualifies form special education services if in fact, Joseph has been through the three tiers. The
ARD committee could choose the reevaluation method to make their determinations if they feel
they do not have enough data. To select the needed services for Joseph, the ARD committee
will work together to come to a consensus for the best possible education plan for Joseph.
They will decide on annual goals and objectives, how they will measure these goals, anticipated
needs, educational concerns, and other services that may be requested. More importantly, for
Joseph, a behavioral intervention plan may be addressed and considered for positive
reinforcements and other strategies to help with his behavior problems.
Based on what you know of Joseph’s background, what classroom accommodations would you
recommend for him? Do you feel that he will need assessment accommodations? What
assessment accommodations do you suggest?
Based on Joseph’s background, I would continue Joseph’s current placement in the general
education classroom. I would place Joseph on a Behavioral Intervention Program to help
alleviate his outbursts in class. Part of the BIP would provide anger management tactics by the
school counselor for him to learn to use during tests. Knowing that his outburst usually occur
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EDLD 5344 School Law
Peggy Hale - #8014
October 17, 2010
during tests, I would allow Joseph to leave the classroom to complete his assessments in a
quiet setting. If this proves helpful, I would let that be an option for Joseph to choose after a
period of time during tests, when he feels frustrated and angry. If Joseph could be provided a
peer buddy to help him study before a test, this may give him extra confidence. For other
behavior problems, I would have the teacher give Joseph one warning and then on the next
incident, he is asked to leave the setting until he calms down. Joseph can be provided a place
to “chill out” until his anger is gone, then he can return to class when he is calm. I would
consider giving Joseph some management skills, and provide assistance to learn tips to help
with scheduling his assignments and give him study tips to prepare for classes and tests.
Building his confidence and having him prepared for class and tests will help boost his selfesteem and hopefully, get him back on track with his classes.
.
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