factsfacts

The IEP

is at the heart

of your child’s

right to a free

appropriate

public

What is an IEP?The Individualized Education Program(IEP) is a written education plan for yourchild that describes the special educationand related services your child willreceive. Each child, ages 3 through 21,who is eligible to receive specialeducation and related services must havean Individualized Education Program(IEP). If a service or accommodation isincluded in the IEP, your child has theright to receive it.

Your child’s �rst IEP must be written 30days after he or she quali�es for specialeducation. After the IEP is written, yourchild’s services must be provided as soonas possible. You have the right to receivea copy of your child’s IEP, and the IEPmust be accessible to each teacherworking with your child.

Before your child receives specialeducation and related services for the�rst time, you must give written consent.

The Individualized EducationProgram (IEP)Parents know their child better than anyone else. Theinformation parents share with their child’s team not onlyhelps them get a better picture of the child as a total person,it also helps the team develop an education plan that is basedon that child’s individual needs.

You have the right to revoke your consentfor special education services at anytime, evenafter the IEP has been implemented.

Who is responsible for developing the IEP?Your child’s IEP is developed by a teamthat includes

• parents, guardian, or educationalsurrogate parent

• at least one of your child’s regulareducation teachers

• at least one of your child’s specialeducators or special educationservice providers

• an individual from the school dis-trict who knows about the dis-trict’s resources, can provide orsupervise special education servic-es, and is knowledgeable aboutregular education. This individualis referred to as the local agencyrepresentative (LEA).

• your child whenever appropriate• other individuals at your request or at the school’s request

education.

Section five of the IEP should describe howoften and how long services will be provided,where services will take place, and who willprovide them.

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One member of the IEP team should alsobe able to explain evaluation results. At age 16, your child will be invited to attend IEP meetingswhen the team discusses transition services.

When does the IEP team meet?Parents have the right to request an IEP meetingany time they believe the IEP should be changed.The school may either honor or refuse yourrequest. If the school refuses to hold a meeting, itmust notify you in writing about its reasons forthe refusal and provide information aboutparents’ rights to disagree.

The school is responsible for scheduling IEPmeetings at a time and place that is agreed uponby you and the school. If agreement cannot bereached, the school must use other means toensure your participation in the IEP meeting, suchas an individual or conference call or videoconferencing. The school can hold an IEP meetingwithout your participation when it is unable toarrange a meeting.

When can a team member be excused from anIEP meeting?If you and the school agree in writing, a teammember may be excused from attending all orpart of your child’s IEP meeting when

• their area of the curriculum or relatedservices is not being discussed or changed

• the team member whose curriculum orrelated service area is being discussedprovides written information about IEPservices to you or other team membersbefore the meeting.

What should be included on an IEP?The IEP is a road map of the educational servicesand support your child will receive.

• On the first page , your child’s name, date ofbirth, and grade are included. You will �ndtime frames for IEP services, summerservices, if provided, annual review, andreevaluation. A list of IEP team membersand their roles also appears on the �rstpage.

• Section two of the IEP describes your child’spresent levels of academic achievement andfunctional skills. These skills include

communication, social skills, self-care skills,motor development, language development,vocational skills, or recreation skills.Information gathered through an evaluationand from you, teachers, and others should beused to complete this section of the IEP.

Information about how your child’s disabilitya�ects progress in regular education or howyour child participates in activities appropriatefor a preschooler should also be included onthis page.

• The next section contains annual goals, short-term objectives, and procedures and dates forevaluating progress. Annual goals andobjectives should be written in a way thatallows the school to measure progress. IEPgoals and objectives should also allow yourchild to participate in the same curriculum oractivities as other children without specialneeds.

• For students age 16, or younger if appropriate,section four addresses goals for the transitionfrom high school to adult life. Information fromvocational assessments should be used todevelop measurable goals to prepare yourteenager for work, further education, andindependent living.

• Special education services, related services,and education placement and characteristicsare outlined on section five of the IEP. Specialeducation is specialized instruction designed tomeet your child’s individual needs, such as one-to-one instruction in reading or math. Relatedservices help a child bene�t from specialeducation. Examples include speech andlanguage help, physical therapy, transportation,and therapeutic recreation. If the team decidesthat your child needs extended year servicesduring the school year or over the summer, adescription of those services is included in thissection of the IEP.

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The school is only required to list the type ofprovider that will be working with yourchild, not the person’s name.

Children receiving special education servicesare entitled to be educated in the “leastrestrictive environment” (LRE). LRE means thata child must be included in regular classes,community-based preschools, and in theirneighborhood school to the extent that it isappropriate for that child.

The IEP should include accommodations,support, and services to allow the child to besuccessful in typical educational environments.If your child cannot participate fulltime in theregular education environment, the school mustdocument the reasons on the IEP.

• Section six requires information about thepercentage of time your child will spend in theireducational placement and the type ofplacement in which he or she will receiveservices. Early childhood program, specialeducation class, regular education class aresome examples of educational placements.

In addition, section six describes how your childwill participate in state-level assessments, suchas the Developmental Reading Assessment orthe New England Common Assessment Program(NECAP). Your child’s IEP team will decidewhether your child can take regular assessmentsor will need alternate assessments.

The last section of the IEP describesaccommodations, program changes, aids, andsupport your child will receive as part of specialeducation. Examples include text books on tapeor CD Rom, preferential seating, extended timeon tests, assistive technology, training ofpersonnel working with a child, and home-school communication log.

In developing the IEP, is there other informationthe team should consider?To ensure that all children receive an appropriateeducation, there are several areas the team shoulddiscuss. These areas include

• the language needs of children with limitedEnglish pro�ciency

• instruction in Braille and the use of Braille

for children who are blind or visually im-paired

• the communication needs of a child who isdeaf or hard of hearing

• the child’s needs for assistive technologydevices and services

• the child’s need for instruction and supportto learn positive behavior skills.

How often does the team have to review an IEP?The IEP team must meet at least once a year toreview your child’s current IEP and develop a newIEP for the coming year. Changes to the IEPshould also occur when your child is not makingprogress towards goals or in the general educationcurriculum, after a reevaluation is completed, orwhen there is new information to share about thechild.

Can the IEP be changed without a formal meeting?After the yearly review, you and the school mayagree to make changes to the IEP without holdinga meeting. Any changes made to the IEP will be inwriting and the school should give you a copy ofthe amendments you agreed upon.

To document the agreement, the school will askyou to sign a consent form agreeing to changeyour child’s IEP through an informal discussionrather than a team meeting. You are entitled to acopy of this written agreement.

What role do parents play on the IEP Team?Parents should be involved in all steps of the IEPprocess. You have speci�c rights, including theright to

• participate in any meetings to develop theIEP

• be noti�ed of IEP meetings early enough tomake arrangements to attend

• be noti�ed about the time, place, and pur-pose of IEP meetings and who will attend

• have meetings at times and places that areconvenient for you and the school

• participate in meetings by other means,such as by telephone or videoconferencingif you cannot attend in person

• receive a copy of your child’s written evalu-ation report and review your child’srecords before IEP meetings

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© 1/09 by the VermontFamily Network

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ResourcesFor help understanding your rights,contact any of the organizations listedbelow. Also available from VFN areadditional fact sheets about parents’ rights.

Vermont Family Networkhelp for families navigating the educationprocess

(802) 876-5315 • 1-800-800-4005info@vtfn.org • www.vtfn.org

Vermont Department of Educationhelp with special education issues for schoolsand families

(802) 828-5114 ( V/TTY )www.state.vt.us/educ/

Disability Law Projectlegal support for special education services

(800) 747-5022 Burlington/Champlain Valley

(800) 789-4195 Central Vermont(800) 769-7459 Addison/Rutland/

Bennington Area(800) 769-6728 Northeast Kingdom(800) 769-9164 Windham/Windsor Area(800) 889-2047 StatewideAll phones ( V/TTY ).

• bring a friend, advocate, or some-one else to the meeting who youbelieve has special knowledgeabout your child’s special educa-tion needs.

If my child is not making progress, whatcan I do to change the IEP?If you believe that your child’s IEP goalsor services need to be changed, there areseveral steps you can take. As a parent,you have the right to request an IEPmeeting to discuss your concerns andrequest changes to the IEP.

You may also request a reevaluation ofyour child by the school to gather newinformation about current levels ofacademic achievement and functionalskills, especially in the areas in which youfeel your child is not making progress.

If you disagree with the school’sevaluation, you have the right to requestan independent evaluation at the school’sexpense. The school must consent to thisevaluation or initiate a due processhearing to prove that its evaluation wasaccurate.

If we cannot resolve a disagreement with the school over our child’s IEP?

The special education process providesthe following options to resolve disputesbetween parents and schools. You can

• request mediation with an impar-tial, trained mediator. Mediation isvoluntary and you and the schoolhave to agree to it. The VermontDepartment of Education providesmediation services free of chargeto parents and schools.

• �le an administrative complaint ifyou believe the school has notcomplied with special educationrules regarding your child’s educa-tion plan. You must write yourcomplaint to the Commissioner ofEducation.

• �le a due process complaintagainst the school with the Com-missioner of Education. A hearingwill be scheduled by a hearingo�cer to decide on the complaintunless you and the school resolveyour di�erences at a resolutionsession or mediation meeting.

You may contact the VermontDepartment of Education, 802-828-3136 orhttp://education.vermont.gov/, or theVermont Parent Information Center, 802-639-7170, for copies of forms and otherinformation to assist you in �lingcomplaints or requesting mediation.

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