Individual Education Plans in Schools

Written by Sasha Blakeley

What is an Individual Education Plan?

An individual education plan, or IEP, is a document that can help tailor certain students' educations to meet their specific needs. Having an IEP in school can allow students with disabilities and other unique needs to participate fully in a classroom environment. Individual education plans are written by teachers in collaboration with students, their parents, school counselors, and sometimes doctors, therapists, or other healthcare workers familiar with an individual student's needs. Teachers need to understand how to create an effective IEP so that students can thrive in the classroom. IEPs can also benefit teachers, giving them a road map to follow to assist in keeping all students on track.

IEPs can be written and formatted in various ways. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) helps regulate the creation and maintenance of IEPs. Any student who is part of any special education program in the United States must have an IEP to ensure they receive a high standard of education that meets their needs. IEPs allow for transparency and collective agreement about an individual student's education. They protect students by determining what must be done to help them learn effectively, but they also protect teachers by making a teacher's responsibilities toward an individual student clear. Certain information must be included in any IEP, although each document will, by its nature, be unique and tailored to the needs and experiences of a specific individual. IEPs are rewritten each year to meet students' changing learning needs.

Which Students Need an IEP?

Most discussions around individual education plans will focus on students with disabilities. Disabilities of all kinds can influence how students experience the educational environment. The standard educational model may need to be adapted for these students. However, not all students with disabilities will necessarily need an IEP; those whose disabilities do not impact their classroom experience, those who do not have or do not want a formal disability diagnosis, and those who are not part of a special education program may not have an individual education plan. On the flip side, some students who do not have a disability may still benefit from an IEP, whether they are required by law to have one or not. Students with learning differences that may not fall into a recognized disability category or students designated as gifted and talented may need or want an IEP to support their education.

Becoming a teacher is a lengthy process that requires a great deal of classroom education and hands-on experience in an actual teaching environment. During this education, teachers will learn how to work with students of all backgrounds. Understanding how to write a good IEP is crucial for teachers, not just because questions about IEPs might come up on the PRAXIS exam but also because these documents make a real difference in students' lives. An IEP might suggest just a few minor changes to a student's learning experience, or it could provide a complete overhaul of the curriculum to meet a student's needs.

IEP: Teaching Students with Disabilities

When teaching students with disabilities, IEPs often take center stage. Creating an IEP is one of the first steps in establishing clear accommodations for a student with disabilities. The IEP should account for the specific disability or disabilities that the student lives with, considering how those experiences influence the student's time in the classroom. It should also consider an individual's strengths in education: which subjects interest the student? What kinds of learning allow them to thrive? What skills, academic or otherwise, do they consistently demonstrate? The IEP should work with those strengths while supporting areas of difficulty. An important thing to consider when writing an IEP for a student with disabilities is that each student is unique; their needs may differ substantially from someone else with the same diagnosis.

A student with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) might be an excellent candidate for an IEP. Many students with ASD have specific, passionate interests that they might want to explore at a high level or to the exclusion of other academic subjects. An IEP could describe strategies for helping the student explore areas of special interest while still supporting learning in other curriculum areas. The student might complete bonus assignments or different assignments from peers that better support their academic levels in certain subjects. They might prefer to hand in written assignments instead of giving presentations if they are fully or partially nonverbal; an IEP could make that preference clear, avoiding conflict or stress during projects throughout the year.

IEPs for Gifted and Talented Students

Gifted and talented education (GATE) is a loose term for many educational programs in place across the country. Students can be designated as gifted and talented in one or more areas, usually through tests or behavioral assessments. When students receive a GATE designation, they may attend classes with other gifted and talented students or stay in mainstream education but attend drop-in GATE classes regularly. GATE students who spend their time in mainstream classes may have unique educational needs that require an IEP. For instance, a student who is gifted at math might need to do work from a textbook for the next grade up to remain engaged during class. A student with exceptional writing abilities might need alternative writing assignments to suit their level better.

One important thing for teachers to keep in mind is that GATE students and students with disabilities are not two mutually exclusive categories. Some students with disabilities may also be gifted in one or more areas and vice versa. IEPs are designed to be flexible, meeting the individual needs of a single student whose experience may be unlike any other student's. A single IEP might include information about disability accommodation alongside information about enrichment.

Creating an IEP

There are several steps to creating a good IEP. These steps include:

• Evaluating students to determine who needs an IEP
• Communicating with students and parents about the IEP process
• Drafting an individual education plan
• Editing and maintaining the IEP over the course of a school year

The process starts with evaluating students' needs to determine whether they need an IEP and what information it should cover. Teachers usually meet with students and their parents to discuss the IEP and get students' input on their own needs and experiences. The teacher will write the IEP, which may go through several rounds of edits before it is considered complete. After that point, the IEP is regarded as a living document. Teachers and students can return to it and make changes as needed. IEPs last for a school year before they are considered outdated, at which point they are usually rewritten to reflect a student's progress.

One of the major objectives of an IEP, according to the IDEA, is to ensure that students learn in the least restrictive environment (LRE) possible. ''LRE'' is an important acronym for teachers to remember throughout the IEP process. An intervention might technically meet a student's needs, but if it creates a more restrictive learning environment and separates the student from their peers, it may be worth re-evaluating to see if there are other better options.

Evaluating Students

The first step in creating a good IEP is evaluating students' needs. Student evaluations can take several forms. Sometimes, a student already has a disability diagnosis or GATE designation, which the student or their parents can explain to the teacher at the start of the school year. In those cases, teachers can launch directly into the actual creation of the IEP document. In other cases, the student, their parents, or the teacher might suspect an IEP is needed based on how the student is doing in class. If everyone agrees that an IEP would be useful, the student can pursue a formal medical evaluation or diagnosis or create a more informal IEP based on collective agreement. A formal evaluation may involve teachers providing information on student progress, doctors and therapists familiar with the student's medical and personal history, parents' opinions, school counselor evaluations, and oversight by school administrators.

IEP Meeting Checklist for Teachers

The next step in creating an IEP is to have a meeting or a series of meetings between teachers, students, and students' parents or guardians. These meetings may feel daunting for teachers, especially for those conducting them for the first time. This IEP meeting checklist for teachers can help provide some important questions and topics to discuss to ensure that all necessary information is covered and everyone is allowed to express their thoughts. Important topics to cover during an IEP meeting might include:

• How the student is doing in school
• Any current or pending disability diagnoses
• Whether the student has a GATE designation
• Areas where the student thrives or needs enrichment
• Areas where the student is struggling
• The student's educational goals
• The teacher's expectations for the student
• What everyone hopes the IEP will help achieve
• How the student and their parents feel about having an IEP
• What an ideal educational experience would look like

During these meetings, teachers should be prepared to provide their own thoughts on the student's progress and needs. However, for the most part, teachers should focus on listening to students and their parents during these meetings. Foregrounding the student's voices is particularly important, as they will be the ones experiencing the IEP's educational interventions daily. Students will generally be the best equipped to describe their own needs and experiences, though parents may also have important insight to share.

Before the meeting, teachers should brief parents on what to expect and ask them to bring any relevant documentation or information about the student's needs and history. Some students and parents might be delighted at the prospect of having an IEP, while others may have more complex feelings on the matter. Some students and parents may find it challenging to acknowledge a student's disabilities, so teachers should always be sure to be understanding, presenting the IEP as a potentially helpful tool. Teachers should do their best to be open to these varying perspectives and be prepared to answer any questions parents and students have about the IEP process.

Components of an IEP

IEPs do not always have to follow a particular format, but there are certain components that they almost always include. IEPs usually begin by detailing a student's current performance in school. What are they struggling with? Where are they excelling? The document should list any formal diagnoses or designations the student has, as well as any unofficial traits or experiences the student and teacher think are relevant to include. IEPs should clearly list the student's educational goals for the term or school year. They should also detail how and when those goals will be measured.

If the student is part of any special education program, the IEP should include that information and say how the program is integrated with the regular educational curriculum. It should then clearly state how the teacher and student will work together to create a functional learning system that meets the student's needs. This is the most crucial part of the IEP, as it is a road map teachers can refer back to throughout the semester. Ideally, the teacher, the student, and the parents will all agree on these strategies, and everyone will do their best to uphold their portion of the agreement.

IEPs should be reasonable and realistic. Some educational interventions might be ideal, but that is beyond the scope of what the school budget or the teacher can offer. If the teacher worries about student accommodations they can't provide, they should speak with school administrators and discuss the problem carefully to find potential solutions. By the time the document is complete, everyone involved should feel comfortable with the information it contains. It should be a useful, actionable document that makes a meaningful difference in students' lives.

Editing and Maintaining an IEP

An IEP should always be considered a work in progress. Initial meetings should establish a working draft with the understanding that it may be necessary to make changes throughout the term. When changes are made, teachers should consult with and notify students, parents, and other IEP team members. Sometimes, an educational intervention sounds good to everyone but does not actually work very well in practice. Sometimes, a student's needs or diagnoses may change over the course of a school year, so an IEP can help ensure that interventions remain up to date.

Teachers should aim to revisit their students' IEPs every month or so or more often if possible. They should reflect on how the past month has gone, measuring students' successes in the classroom against their stated goals. They should be open to feedback from students and parents about what could work differently. Speaking to other teachers and keeping up to date on research concerning inclusive learning and students' disabilities are also good ways of ensuring that existing IEPs do not get out of date or fall by the wayside.

What is a 504 Plan vs. IEP?

IEPs are sometimes compared to another kind of document called a 504 plan. Teachers need to understand the differences between these two documents to support students who have either one. A 504 plan is a document that outlines the accommodations and supports that individuals need in school, a workplace, or another environment. According to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, individuals with disabilities cannot be discriminated against based on disability. A 504 plan is a formal way of ensuring that an individual's needs are met, reducing the potential for discrimination in schools or at work.

The primary difference between a 504 plan and an IEP is how each document influences a student's schooling experience. An IEP works specifically to explain the academic interventions that a student needs to thrive in a school environment. A 504 plan lists accommodations and supports for individuals but makes no claims about academic changes to the curriculum. For example, a blind student's 504 plan would likely discuss the forms of assistive technology that need to be available in that student's classes. Braille books, a specialized keyboard for taking notes, wide aisles between rows of desks, and a mandate for the teacher and the other students to keep the classroom floor free of clutter would all be good starting points. The plan might also specify that this student is permitted extra time on tests or is not penalized for lateness to accommodate any difficulties they might have in getting around the school or completing assignments using alternative methods.

In this case, the blind student might not need any changes to their academic curriculum but would still need accommodations to succeed in a school environment. 504 plans and IEPs are not mutually exclusive; a student might need both documents. IEPs are usually rewritten yearly to account for the student's changing needs as the curriculum advances. 504 plans are typically revisited every three years unless there is a compelling need to examine an individual's accommodations more regularly. Teachers should be familiar with how 504 plans work, just as they should understand how IEPs work. Both documents can support students with diverse needs, ensuring that classrooms remain inclusive of everyone.