Individualized Education Program (IEP)

1. Recognition
a. Teacher, parent, administrator, counselor or other caregiver recognizes a
consistent need or problem exhibited by the student.
2. Pre-Referral
a. Pre-referral intervention is to identify, develop, and implement alternative
education strategies for students who have recognized problems in the classroom
before the student is referred to special education.
3. Referral
a. The official referral begins the formal process of determining eligibility for
special education services. Once a referral is provided, the school must obtain
consent from the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) to begin the evaluation phase of
the referral process.
4. Evaluation
a. The evaluation is to be conducted by a multidisciplinary team that will consist of
individuals who can bring different perspectives and expertise to the evaluation.
5. Eligibility
a. Within 30 days of the completion of the evaluation, the individuals that took part
in the process thus far will meet to determine eligibility. A student is considered
eligible for special education services if (1) the child has a disability as defined by
IDEA which negatively impacts his/her educational performance, and (2) the
child needs special education services to benefit from education.
6. IEP Meeting
a. The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a legal contract between the
parents and the school district that describes the special education services to be
provided by the local education agency which is the local school district.
7. IEP Implementation
a. Once the IEP is developed and signed by members of the IEP team it is the
responsibility of the entire IEP team to ensure that the IEP is implemented. The
IEP team may meet as frequently as needed to discuss the implementation of the
IEP. School personnel are required to provide documentation of the mastery of
benchmarks and annual goals.
8. IEP Re- Evaluation
a. Each year, the IEP team is required to meet for the dual purpose of evaluating the
implementation of the current IEP and to develop the next annual IEP.
b. During these annual meetings, the IEP team should discuss the positive
and negative elements of the special education services provided and determine,
based on any new assessment data, what services should be provided in the
upcoming school year.
Personal Reflection:
Overall, I loved this IEP simulation. It was so interactive and we could build upon our
own thoughts and ideas. I have been in so many IEP meetings before as the student. This time I
was the Parent, I got to see and feel what my mom had to go through. Although I had my own
thoughts on what would work for this student, it was great to hear other classmates points of
views, and what they had to say. They had ideas that I would have normally never thought of. I
now feel that I have a greater understanding of what an IEP really does.
http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/special-education-referral-process/