Individualized Education Plan

According to Bailey (1994), an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is "a document describing children's skills and stating goals for services as well as strategies for achieving those goals" (p. 29). This formal written document is required for a child to receive special education and related services.

Wolery (1994a) describes the information that is required on an IEP:

• "A statement of the child's present levels of educational performance, including academic achievement, social adaptation, prevocational and vocational skills, psychomotor skills, and self-help skills.

• A statement of annual goals which describes the educational performance to be achieved by the end of the school year under the child's Individualized Education Program.

• A statement of short-term instructional objectives, which must be measurable intermediate steps between the present level of educational performance and the annual goals.

• A statement of specific educational services needed by the child (determined without regard to the availability of services) including a description of:

• All special education and related services which are needed to meet the unique needs of the child, including the type of physical education program in which the child will participate, and

• Special instructional media and materials which are needed.

• The date when those services will begin and length of time the services will be given.

• A description of the extent to which the child will participate in regular education programs.

• A justification of the type of educational placement that the child will have.

• A list of the individuals who are responsible for implementation of the Individualized Education Program.

• Objective criteria, evaluation procedures, and schedules of determining, on at least an annual basis, whether the short-term instructional objectives are being achieved. (Federal Register, 41[252], p. 5692)"

Bruder (1994) emphasizes that an IEP is part of a collaborative effort:

References