Presented by: Ellen Steinbrick, Mom
Presenter Information: I have been Mom to Alex for almost 14 years. I have learned a lot through the process that needs to be shared. We have been through the wringer as far as obtaining a public school education. Alex is the very first child with the deaf/blind classification to attend school in our town. I have used a few of the remedies (complaint process) to make the program work for Alex instead of a cookie cutter program that was thrown together. Through the complaint process I have been able to meet people who have shared vital information that I was able to use to create a workable IEP.
I have also had my share of failures that have been wonderful learning opportunities that have allowed me to learn the law and its applications.
IEPs were designed to be the maps to our kid’s education. IEPs should be customized to your child’s exact needs to allow our kids to make meaningful progress. All too often IEPs are written with cookies cutter goal and objectives pulled off IEPgoalbank.com.
When speaking with the attorneys from Office of Civil Right I found the importance of the language written on the following pages of the IEP: These pages vary from state to state.
- Prior written notice page: the page that will list all actions proposed and denied
- Present levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance: the page that lists strengths, concerns and how the disability impact the child’s ability to access the general education curriculum.
- Program Accommodations and Modifications: the page that list modifications and accommodations to help the student make progress and be involved in general education. This is a VERY important page. (I did not prevail on certain areas of our complaint due to vague language on this page)
- Special Education, Related Services, and Regular Education: the page list how the service hours are broken down, who implements goals, the frequency, the responsible staff, and where the services will take place.
These pages are vital to the development of the IEP. Districts often use vague language that leaves them with little or no responsibility. During my OCR complaint an accommodation was listed “as needed” and did not list “all classes” OCR reluctantly found that although it was common sense for it to be used to the benefit of the student in all classes the district was not required if they felt it was unnecessary. The lesson learned is that these pages need to use exact language so that all using this IEP can implemented.
Many drafters of IEPs have explained they know what they mean when they write goals. I have learned the hard way that when a teacher would not be following my son to the next year as planned the new teacher did not know where to begin and it was a frustrating process. Working to keep the language clear and concise would have alleviated some of the delay that was experienced.
The page that reflect present level of performance written using exact language can assist the team in writing good measurable goals and objectives. Listing strengths, concerns and impact accurately without using vague statements allow a new team member to pick up the IEP and being implementation.
Districts often use words and statements that are specifically vague: These are excerpts actually written in my son’s IEPs.
- “As needed” for modifications (What criteria being used to determine the need?)
- “When appropriate” (What criteria being used to determine appropriate?)
- “When feasible” (What criteria being used to determine feasibilty?)
- “The student will use relaxation techniques to manager anxiety” (What are the relaxation techniques and how does this help manage anxiety?)
Often I have experienced goal writers to “know what they mean”, but some goals are not able to be implemented:
- “The student will safely cross the street”… Mastery criteria were listed as 80% of trials. (Wow what happens to the other 20% of the time?) I kept reading this to the OT and she did not get it. I finally said are you expecting him to get hit the other 20% of time?
When you read the IEP out loud and can say….
- How can this be done?
- When will this be used?
- Why is this being used?
- Is this a vague goal/objective that doesn’t reflect my child’s actual need?
- Will this be a life time skill or does it just fit district curriculum?
We all have these glitches in our IEPS and they are easily fixed. I have been lucky this year I asked for the case manager to give the goals ahead of time and we were able to discuss some changes that will make it a better IEP. We are all a team working to help children get an education.
