IEP Question

[Shari]

I got Wee's IEP in the mail last week. Even the they've agreed to almost all of my requests, a lot of them are still not written into the IEP. Such as 2 paras, and no more.
I've got to go thru it and compare it to my requests and notes to see what all is missing, but where should things like that be addressed in the IEP? In the modifications section?
Also, since not leaving him alone when he crawls under a table or chair has been a repeated problem for staff to get, I want that added, as well. Specifically. WOuld that go in the BIP?

 

[Shari]

Here's some of the specifics that they agreed to (and are doing) but aren't in the IEP. Should they be? And if so, where?

Limited number of paras (preferably no more than 2)
use of manipulatives for assignments
use of assistive tech software in the classroom
use of the "how your engine runs" chart across all environments in school
limited time in mainstream classroom, and all academic instruction in resource room
all persons involved meet to discuss the IEP/BIP so everyone knows what is going on
team meetings at least monthly
if he is sent home, a full incident report is given to me by the end of the day
triage at least once daily to reinforce good behavior from the day or previous day (bad behavior will not be discussed beyond the day in which it happens)

Also, in the present level, they have that last spring, he moved to self contained because he was unable to maintain for the duration of the day. He was moved to self contained because of the conflict with Mallory in his mainstream room, which had escalated to almost phobic levels. They also say his day was shortened due to difficulty attending for a full day. His behavior, way back when, wass worse in the afternoon, but it wasn't due to length of the day, it was due to inadequate staff. When they had me come in for his afternoon, we never had a single incident. So...I want to fix these things, also.

 

[gcvmom]

I don't know that you should have to tell them where to put those specifics in the IEP, that's really for them to figure out. Just the fact that they need to be spelled out in there is all you need to request I would think. So if it were me, I'd send it back to them unsigned with my addendum attached stating the line items that they "forgot" to include, per your last meeting with them and the agreement everyone committed to, and could they please incorporate those items as previously discussed so that you can sign the final document thankyouverymuch. Make sense?

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Shari,

I agree with gvc - if they've agreed with your list, it needs to be in the IEP or they have no reason to follow through - let them put them in where they belong. Obviously things like manipulatives would be in the accoms/mods section, but stuff like assistive technology needs to be much more specific. What does this mean - an electronic speller, an alphasmart, what? Never leave stuff like this open...Your last item is more what you would see in a BIP...

At this point I would just type up the list like you have done here and let them know that these were things agreed upon in the meeting that are not in the IEP and they need to be included before signing and implementation.

Sharon

 

[SRL]

I agree with what's been stated but I doubt most districts would commit on an IEP to a specific number of paras because the reality is a lot of things (para illness, someone quitting, immediate need elsewhere, etc) could disrupt the plan at any time and by specifying it they would be legally held to something that they wouldn't have complete control over. I could see them use more generic language in the accomdations section such as "Limited number of paras...".

I agree with the written list. Have your advocate forward a copy to both lawyers.

 

[slsh]

Shari - I *think* IEPs are supposed to be fairly standardized now, so I pulled out Boo's for this year. On page 2, there's a section "consideration of special factors", with- yes/no boxes. "Does the student require assistive tech devices and services?" and Wee's assistive tech software should be listed in there. The second question on there is "does the student have any special needs related to communication?" and again, his software should be listed there.

There should also be IEP goals re: the assistive software - either Occupational Therapist (OT) or speech, since there needs to be supervision, training, and tweaking of both Wee and classroom staff on the software. Wee will access his assistive software 8/10 time to complete written assignments within allotted assignment time 1 time a day 4 days a week (I'm making this stuff up, LOL).

Not sure what manipulatives are but I'm thinking they are concrete objects to assist with- conceptual tasks? If that's right, or close anyway, then that should be in the IEP goals - Wee will complete 8/10 math tasks correctly using manipulatives, X% of the time, 3 times a week.

If "how your engine runs" is a behavioral assist tool, that should be in BIP as well as IEP since IEP has (or most definitely should have) behavioral goals - Wee will utilize "how your engine runs" to self-monitor behavior (or whatever - again, not sure what the engine thing is).

Page 5 has how much time (broken out by subject) is spent in gen ed vs. sped environment, as well as what related and other services he requires in each setting. So for Wee, all the academic subjects should be falling under sped environment, with the related service of para.

Page 6 has supplementary aids and services as well as placement options. So on there under "additional information and/or supports needed", Boo has "individual nurse full time and on the bus" - that would be where the para should go, with the stipulation that there be no more than 2 per day.

Underneath that is educational placement considerations - basically an explanation of why self-contained is needed. Boo's explanation is total bologna, but we're almost done here so and I quit this battle several years ago. "Special education classes, separate schooling, or removal from the reg ed environment is required because the nature or severity of the student's disability is such that education in general ed classes, with the use of supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily." Then the placement options are listed. Reg ed is "rejected" by IEP team because it doesn't meet his needs. Then the self-contained is listed, accepted by the team, because it meets his needs.

On each IEP goal, there's a section "Progress Review" - for Wee, "other" should be checked in that box since the team agreed to meet monthly (and that should be indicated next to "other").

The triage thing should also be an IEP behavioral goal - Wee will meet daily with- ABC staff to discuss positive events from prior day.

The incident report should be part of the BIP if it's not already part of district policy (which it should be in my humble opinion).