This is a slide show about How to Write a High Quality IEP.

1. WRITING HIGH
QUALITY
IEP’S
By: Heaven Ball

2. PURPOSE OF AN IEP
 The student with disabilities have a access to a free appropriate public
education.
 Consider students with disabilities individual needs.
 Set reasonable goals for student with disabilities.
 State the services a school will provide to a student with disabilities.
 Allows for parents, teachers, school administrators and other related services
to work together to improve instruction for student with disabilities.

3. MEETING NOTICE
 Must be sent to the parents/guardians of the students in a reasonable
amount of time and be held at a mutually agreed upon time.
 Meeting Notice includes dates, times, location, purpose, and
attendees.
 Parents must be notified by phone, by letter sent home with students,
and by registered letter.
Don’t:
• Wait till the day before to call the parents and inform them of the meeting tomorrow.
• Send the Meeting Notice out after the old IEP expires.

4. IEP Members Needed to Present
 Parent/Guardian
 Student (over the age of 15)
 Special Education Teacher
 General Education Teacher
 School Psychologist or Person
who can interpret data
 Principal or principal designee
 If a person is going to be
absent they must send a
written report.
Don’t
Hold the meeting without
everyone above being present
unless the parent has given
permission.

5. Cover Page and Secondary Transitions
Cover Page
 Student demographics must be
written correctly.
 Projected dates for the beginning of
services and modifications, the
anticipated frequency, location, and
duration of services.
 IEP Signatures obtain during the
meeting.
Secondary Transitions
 Complete only for a child over the age of 14.
 Complete measureable goals based upon
age-appropriate transitions.
 Include transitions goals, post-secondary
training, employment projections
independent living, transition details, and
where student might like to go to college.

6. FACTORS FOR IEP CONSIDERATION
 Results of the initial or most recent evaluations of the students;
 The strengths of the student;
 The academic, developmental, and functional needs of the student;
 The concerns of the parent/guardian for enhancing the education of
their child;
 The communication needs of the student;
 The student’s needs for benchmarks or short-term objectives;
Don’t and Must
Don’t be too vague in writing the factors.
Must allow parents/guardians enough time to express their concerns. Don’t rush through this section. The
parents/guardian need to have time to discuss their child’s educational needs.
Must address the factors that need to be covered in the IEP.

7. FACTORS FOR IEP CONSIDERATION
 Whether the student requires assistive technology;
 In case of a student whose behavior impedes his/her learning or that of others,
consider use of positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports to
address the behavior;
 In case of a student with limited English proficient, consider the language needs
of the students as these needs relate as those needs relate to the student’s IEP;
 In case of being blind or visually impaired, provide services;
 In case of a student who is deaf or hard of hearing;
 Extended school year;
Before writing the positive behavior interventions, be sure to assess the students need by using a
functional behavior assessment. Then discuss the assessment results and write up all the factors
that are to be considered.
Continued

8. PRESENT LEVEL OF
PERFORMANCE (PLOP)
 Describes how a disability affects student’s
participation in general education/appropriate
activities and will address the individual needs of a
child that will be addresses by the special education
teacher.
 Establishes a baseline of measureable information
that are used to develop goals and objectives.

9. Characteristics of the PLOP
“Measureable (you can see it, hear it, count it)
Objectives (clear and concise)
Functional (useful in child’s daily life)
Current
Identifies any special factors
Describes both academic and non-academic areas
Includes results of most recent evaluations (formal and informal data)”
Directly quoted from the Virginia Department of Education PowerPoint-
“Individual Education Program”

10. Present Levels of Performance (PLOP)
Student’s Strengths This describes what the student must know or be able to do. Answer the question, did the student make
progress with performance in the general education class? Describes classroom academic performance
USE DATA for all discussions made.
Might include most recent evaluation scores.
Student’s Areas of
Need
Discuss were any intervention successful. (USE DATA)
Answer the Questions:
Did the student not meet any grade level standards?
Where are the gaps in knowledge and skills?
Effect of disability on
Student
Answer the Questions: (USE DATA)
Where is the student preforming in relation to the grade-level standards?
Where are the individual areas of need for the student to be able to access and master the general
education curriculum?
Give the parents/guardians an opportunity to express concerns.
Academic
Performance
Write the skills that the student is able/unable to perform.
What strategies were used to help the student be successful in the general classroom?
USE DATA: Class Grades, Benchmark Scores, PALS, AIMS Web, and many other assessments
Functional
Performance
What behaviors is the student able/unable to perform?
Does any functional areas affect involvement in the general education setting.
(social competence, self-determination, communication, behaviors, and/or personal management.

11. COMMON ERRORS WHEN
WRITING A PLOP!!!
 Overreliance on test scores from the initial and three-year special
education evaluation.
 Vague descriptions on how the disability affects involvement and
progress in the general education curriculum.
 Absence of appropriate baseline data for developing the Annual
Goal/s
 Vague description of strengths and areas of need.
 Not using solid data measures to write the PLOP.

12. PURPOSE OF
ANNUAL GOALS
 Must be measureable.
 Student must be able to accomplish in one year.
 Must be written to help the student in the general
education setting.
 Can help meet other educational needs that result from
the child’s disability
 Must be clear and concise.

13. Writing Measurable Annual Goals and Objectives
 Must relate directly to the PLOP and describe their area of need that was identified.
 Must be written to specifically focus on one area of instruction
 Must be positive and describe a skill that can be seen or measured.
 Should answer the questions: Who, What, Where, How, When
 Answer the question: What challenging, yet attainable, goal can we expect the student to meet
by the end of this IEP period?
 Meet the child’s need that results from the child’s disability to enable the child to be involved in
the general education classroom.
 Should include a Positive Behavioral Intervention if needed.
 Must be meaningful and comprehensive.
 The ways a goal can be measured must be written as a rate, percentage, or time.

14. PRECAUTIONS FOR WRITING
ANNUAL GOALS
 Using subjective measures.
 Use of open ended statements.
 Teacher observations are not an adequate way to monitor
student progress.
 Examples of poor statements:
• The student will improve
• A goal of improving “reading comprehension or decoding
skills.”
• Don’t write more than one skill.
• Don’t copy the standard (SOL) and use it as a goal.

15. LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT (LRE) SERVICES
 The services for LRE is a statement of the program modification or supports for
school personnel that will be provide.
 The IEP must be written to place the student in the LRE.
 LRE must include interaction with non-disabled students to the maximum extent
appropriate.
 The description of the LRE should include: what service (setting), frequency, location,
instructional setting, and duration.
 Include a Placement decision- be specific, clear, and concise.
Be careful:
Don’t let a students behavior keep them out of general education classes unless the proper data is obtained.
Make sure the description covers the entire length of the IEP.

16. WHAT NOT TO DO
IN AN IEP MEETING
Least Restrictive Environment

17. Accommodations and Modifications
Accommodations are generally physical or
environmental changes:
Examples: the course, standard,
location, timing, and scheduling
Modifications involve deliberate intellectual
lowering in the level of materials presented.
Examples: change the standards to a
lower standard
 Must list all accommodations/modifications
along with their frequency, location,
instructional setting, and duration (m/d/y to
m/d/y.
 Must also list all testing
accommodations/modifications along with
their frequency, location, instructional setting,
and duration (m/d/y to m/d/y.

18. Participation in State and Division-Wide Assessments
Participation in Statewide Assessments
Must include the following information.
Test
Assessment Type(SOL, VGLA, VAAP)
Accommodations (Yes or No)
If yes, List Accommodations- must list all
accommodations that are listed on the
Accommodation/Modification page
Must answer all the Yes or No questions.
Participation in Division-Wide Assessments
Must include the following information.
Test
Participation (Yes, No, Not assesses or not enrolled)
Accommodations (Yes or No)
If yes, List Accommodations- must list all
accommodations that are listed on the
Accommodation/Modification page and on
Statewide Assessment section

19. PURPOSE OF WRITING THE
PRIOR NOTICE
It provide written notice to the parent:
 Provide comprehensive documentation of the proposed and refused actions.
 Make sure everyone is on the same page.
 Provide the parent a chance to voice any concerns.
 Provide the parent with sufficient information to ensure the parent
understands the IEP as written.
 Assist parent in determining the basis for any disagreements.

20. WHEN A
PRIOR NOTICE IS REQUIRED
Evaluation or Reevaluation-consent or refusal to test
Identification- change of categorical identification
Placement- initial change in the LRE
Provisions of FAPE- change in services, change in
accommodation/modifications, addendums

21. WHAT NOT TO DO
DURING AN IEP
MEETING.
IEP Perplexity Puppets

22. RESOURCES
 www.uky.edu/~kmkram1/eds513/iep/iep.../iep.pp
 faculty.virginia.edu/ape/LectureNotes/IEPProcess.ppt
 www.mde.k12.ms.us/docs/sped-powerpoints-
page/IEP_Basic.ppt?...2
 www.sps.springfield.ma.us/deptsites/pac/contents/Ac
comadations.pdf