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Directed Questions
IEPs
Directed Questions for Developing Standards-based IEPs
Multiple Choice
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1.
According to the U.S. Office of Education, what are the major purposes and functions of the IEP document and meetings?
example:
(1) The IEP serves as a communication vehicle between parents and school personnel and enables them, as equal participants, to jointly decide
what the child´s needs are, what services
will be provided to meet those needs, and what the
anticipated outcomes
may be.
(2) The IEP sets forth in writing a
commitment of resources.
(3) The IEP serves as an evaluation device for use in determining the
extent of the child´s progress
toward meeting the projected outcomes.
2.
Confusion abounds about IEP goals and when they must be written. Explain which services require goals and which do not. Discuss possible negative consequences of writing unnecessary goals.
example:
Goals are needed only for the special education a child receives. Many IEPs, perhaps most, include goals for related services. This is not necessary since related services are designed to support special education. That is, the needed goals are the goals for the special education (the specially designed instruction) which is supported by the related services,
not
for the related services
per se.
If a service isn´t required to assist a child to benefit from special education, then it is
not
a related service at all and the child is not entitled to it. It is important to remember that an IEP must address the services necessary to enable the special education student to
access
the general curriculum whether that general curriculum is offered to the student in a regular class, a special class, a special school, home, hospital, or institution. The difference between a goal for a service a student needs in order to
access
the general curriculum and a goal for a student´s performance in the general curriculum is huge. The special education services which are necessary for a student to
access
the general curriculum require goals related to such skills as reading, following teacher directions, paying attention in class, asking relevant questions, raising one´s hand before speaking, etc. Goals related to performance in the general curriculum itself and
not
needed on an IEP would include such elements as comparing Greek and Roman literature, government, or architecture, or enumerating 5 reasons that clear cutting forests is detrimental to the welfare of Earth and its inhabitants.
Possible negative consequences of writing unnecessary goals are (1) they make the IEP too long and too time-consuming to prepare, and (2) they may cause the district to exceed federal requirements when that really isn´t the district´s intention.
3.
Name and briefly describe two common barriers to full parental participation in the IEP process.
example:
Two barriers, among others, that frequently sabotage parental participation in the IEP process are (1) menu-driven district approaches, and (2) "teachers know best" mind sets. These are both very widespread and detrimental. When parents are truly knowledgeable about IDEA, they will know that menu-driven approaches (e.g., For LD students we have a resource room, for speech-impaired students we have 30 minutes of group speech therapy a week, and for students with mild mental retardation we have a collaboration model) are a violation of the law, and that teachers know best about some things, parents know best about others, and the best IEPs are cooperatively designed.
4.
Briefly explain each of the two purposes of an IDEA evaluation.
example:
Evaluation has two major functions under IDEA: (1) to determine whether a student is IDEA eligible, and, if so, (2) to determine all of his or her unique educational needs. The last step in evaluation is the first step in IEP development - to convert
needs
to
present levels of performance.
5.
What is the relationship of the IDEA evaluation of the child to the IEP for that child?
example:
One purpose of the IDEA evaluation is to determine the content of the IEP by identifying all of the child´s special education and related services needs, whether or not those needs are commonly linked to the disability category in which the child has been classified. The initial question the IEP team needs to ask is, "What are this child´s unique needs?" The teacher and parent are likely to know the most urgent needs, e.g., he needs to learn to play cooperatively with other children without hitting, to improve his rote counting skills and one-to-one number-numeral correspondence, to learn to print his name more legibly, and to state his name and address when asked. These observations and others like them are at the line where evaluation and IEP development intersect. Some of the observations need to be described objectively, e.g., "mouthing off" to the teacher. When the observation is quantified, such as "inappropriately mouths off to the teacher 3-5 times daily", it becomes a present level of performance and, as such, is put on the IEP. Similarly, a "need" for better handwriting becomes "copies 10 words a minute with 2-4 words illegible." (Note: if the issue is handwriting, we don´t want to confound it by including ideation, so we use copying rather than story or sentence generation.)
6.
Explain why it is
educationally
essential that PLOPs and goals/objectives/benchmarks are measurable. Explain why it is also
legally
essential, i.e., why does the law
require
measurability?
example:
Educationally Essential
Measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives are critical to the strategic planning process used to develop and implement the IEP for each child with a disability. Once the IEP team has developed measurable goals for a child, the team can develop strategies that will be most effective in realizing these goals. Without measurable PLOPs and goals/objectives, neither teachers nor parents can effectively determine whether or not a child is making progress.
Legally Essential
A major focus and intention of the changes Congress made in IDEA 1997 was to
improve educational results
for students who have disabilities. By developing measurable, intermediate steps (short-term objectives), the IEP team enables parents, students, and educators to monitor a child´s progress during the year, and, if appropriate, to review the IEP consistent with the student´s instructional needs.
7.
Every one of us has thousands of performance levels. How do we decide - i.e, what are the criteria - what PLOPs to put on an IDEA student´s IEP?
example:
The IEP team decides what PLOPs to include on the student´s IEP. The team will need to prioritize the student´s needs if there are many of them. Several guidelines were presented in this lesson that IEP teams should use to guide their selection of PLOPs. First, only areas of performance affected by the disability (or otherwise contributing a unique educational need) need be included. A related way to approach the selection of PLOPs is to ask, "What are this child´s unique
needs
?" She needs better handwriting, she needs to manage her anger better, to get to school every day and on time, and to read better. Again, these "needs" can then be expressed as PLOPs. Each PLOP will then be addressed by a service and a goal (with objectives).
8.
IDEA requires that the IEP team ´consider´ certain factors. What are those considerations?
example:
The team must consider:
the strengths of the child and the concerns of the parents, and
the results of the most recent evaluation of the child.
In addition to these considerations, for certain students, there are other factors which the district must consider;
Positive behavioral interventions for students with problem behaviors
Language needs for child with limited English proficiency
Need for Braille instruction for child who is blind
Communication needs for child who is deaf or hard of hearing
Need for assistive technology
9.
Why is it important for IEP teams, including the IDEA-eligible student, to discuss the student´s transition from high school to adult life?
example:
Many students with disabilities may need assistance in order to make successful transitions from school to life as a young adult. By beginning discussions about transition when a student reaches the age of 14, or younger if the IEP team thinks it advisable, there is time to provide a student with the support needed to make successful transitions. At age 14, the student should be part of the IEP team´s discussion about his or her course of study in the coming years, and the student´s preferences and interests need to be taken into consideration. As a student with a disability moves through high school, his or her IEP team, including the student, must begin to examine whether or not the student will require any community services after leaving high school. Representatives of agencies which provide such services (e.g., Vocational Rehabilitation, Mental Health agencies) should be invited to the IEP meeting so that needed services can be arranged for
before
the student leaves high school. This ensures a smooth transition for the student from high school to adult life in the community.
10.
´Personalized instruction´ is part of the U.S. Supreme Court´s definition of FAPE. What do you understand the term to mean?
example:
IDEA continually stresses that IEPs must focus on
individualized
instruction to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. An IEP team must identify a student´s present levels of performance and needs, and designate what individually designed special education and related services are needed to address the student´s needs and to enable the student to benefit educationally.
11.
When is it appropriate to include methodology on a child´s IEP?
example:
It is appropriate to include methodology on a child´s IEP when the IEP determines that the child´s unique needs require a certain method of instruction. If a specific methodology is required to ensure that a child receives FAPE, then it must be included on the child´s IEP.
