1. An IEP is an Individualized Education Program.

It is a legally binding document that puts a

plan into place to help an individual student succeed in school. An IEP can take into account
learning disabilities, behavioral concerns, physical impairments, and much more. It looks at all
of these factors and informs the teacher, parents, and administrators on how they can and will
provide accommodations to help that student succeed. An IEP document is written in an IEP
meeting with all of these parties present, and also occasionally the student themselves. This
document is important because it can help all the aspects of the students life come together to
design a plan to help the student succeed. They look at where the student is currently, and where
they should be. Taking all the factors into account, the IEP designs accommodations and
strategies to reach these goals. It is also important since it is legally binding, it requires the
school to follow through on these promises.

2.
1. Demographic Information- Just as it sounds, this section contains basic information about
the student who the IEP is for. This can include name, language, date of birth, school ID
number, home phone number, and more. The date of the IEP meeting is also found in this
section
2. Documentation of Participation- This is the section where all of the participants in the
IEP meeting sign as proof of who was present and helped write the IEP.
3. Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)- This
section talks about how the child is doing academically presently. It usually has scores
from different evaluations, grades, etc. It shows how they are currently engaged in and
handling the curriculum at the time of the IEP meeting.
4. Special Factors- The fourth section considers the multitude of factors or specific needs a
student may have. These can include any assistive technology they need, any difficulties
with communication, behavioral problems, difficulty learning English or Limited English
Proficiency (LEP), deaf/hearing impairment, or blind/visual impairment. These factors
will imfluence the goals and accommodations needed.
5. Measurable Annual Goals- These goals are meant to be realistic goals for the particular
student to achieve in the year of the IEP. Each goal is divided into smaller, easier to attain
objectives. There are multiple goals that could be academic, social, behavioral, or any
combination of these. These goals should be specifically aligned to the PLAAFP results.
6. Progress Reporting- This is where the team decides how and when progress towards the
goals will be documented and reported to parents. This can coincide with report cards or
be on a separate schedule.
7. Instructional and Assessment Accommodations- This section describes in detail what
accommodations the student needs to be able to learn the content appropriately as well as
be fairly assessed so their achievement is measured correctly. This can include additional
resources, a scribe, extended time, and much more.
8. Participation in state and PEA-Wide Assessment- This section again looks at
accommodations, but this time for state testing or PEA-wide testing. On standardized
tests, only standard accommodations can be made, and only if they are also made for the
student in the classroom. In the case of cognitive disabilities, some students can be
eligible for an alternative assessment, but most students must take the state and PEA-
wide tests.
 9. Special Education and Related Services- This section will describe if the student is to
receive any help from the special education team or any other resource at the school.
Some students may not need this if their IEP can be implemented only in the classroom,
but many need additional resource time outside of the general classroom. These resources
should be described specifically in this section.
10. Participation in Activities- This section details the reasons that the student is pulled out of
the classroom for any time during the school day. If the student is not able to do any
extracurricular activities, that will be described in this section, along with the reasons
why.
11. Least Restrictive Environment- The least restrictive environment section is where the
team assesses the environment the student is currently in and looks very closely at all the
factors to make sure that this is the best environment for them. Moving them to a
different environment can have a major impact on the student and should be looked at
very carefully before a decision is made.
12. Extended School Year Services- This sections decides if the student can meet these goals
with services only during the school year, or if they require services to extend to an
extended school year.

3. The stakeholders in the IEP process include the parents, the general education teacher, the
special education teacher, the school or PEA representative, the student, and anyone else present
at the IEP meeting. The parents and students are involved by provided information that may not
be available or obvious to those from the school, such as behavior at home, attitude towards
school, medical diagnoses, etc. The general education teacher is generally the most
knowledgeable about how the student is doing in the classroom academically and behaviorally.
The special education teacher is knowledgeable about what resources the special education team
can provide to help the student and what accommodations can support the students learning.
Finally the PEA representative can make sure everything is done correctly and according to
district, school, and state guidelines.

4. The IEP document is created in an IEP meeting with all of these stakeholders present. This
meeting must be planned far in advance to get all parties present and all necessary data ready and
organized. During the meeting, the team looks through data, discusses the needs and factors
affecting the students performance, and devices goals and a plan to meet those goals in the
school year. The document is filled out as the team progresses through the sections, and then the
document is reviewed and completed and the IEP is put into effect.

5. One thing that really helped me was the description of all the different acronyms in the IEP
such as PEA, PLAAFP, LEP, and others. I had seen IEPs before but all of the different acronyms
were a little overwhelming.

I also liked seeing (reading) the action of making an IEP and seeing the roles of each of the
different people and how they can all work together towards the common goal of helping the
student succeed in school.

Finally, I found it interesting how much of a process it is for one IEP and it goes to show how
much goes into these programs and making sure students get the help they need.