How does a IEP work?

Question

When I was in special ed I never heard of a IEP.
You were in a special ed class and nothing was expected of you.You did time in the classroom
and I did not master my reading and math skills.
Don't you beleive a watered down curriculum
fails to prepare these kids for what is expected
of them down the road. That was 30 years ago.

Do they get a High School Diploma or
a Certificate of Completion which they can not continue on in higher education or is that on a individualized
basis?

Answer 1

It is now 2007 and things are MUCH different than they were 30 years age. An IEP is an Individualized Education Plan. This means that the Individual student has goals that he or she will work towards mastering instead of mastering all of the curriculum. It also gives the students accommodations that the students can use to help them achieve their goals wether it be in special ed or in the regualr ed classroom. And furthermore, the curriculum is not watered down...it is usually the same surriculumthat is bieng taught in the regualr education classes just taught at a slower speed with accommodations. Not all students in special education will master all of their goals. Even if they can get the basics and learn to cope with what they do understand and learn strategies to help them in their daily life, then special ed has done them good.

Answer 2

An IEP is an Individualized Educational Plan. Three of my children have them. Two of my children have diagnoses...ADHD, and Early Onset Bipolar Disorder. They are given to all children that have a diagnosis if the parents want them, and also to children with learning disabilities. The parents have to request an IEP through a letter to the Special Education office of the district that you live in. Then a meeting is set up with the parents, special education department, teachers, and counsellors in applicable. If further testing is neccessary then the school district will do it. An ed plan is developed that has specific goals, and accomodations that the child needs. These children do get diplomas, and the IEP helps them alot. They follow the same curriculum as the other children most of the time, just with accommodations. There are not many "Sped classes" any more. Most are integrated classes. Children with ed plans, and those without are in the same class. The children with the ed plan may have the extra help from an aide.

Answer 3

Chelly is right, but another goal of an IEP is to have the student eventually be able to participate too. It's used to determine goals for the student and how those goals will be met. A lot of schools are still "30 years" behind with special ed and I have seen those classrooms where kids are listening to inane nursery rhymes and not following any curriculum. There are still schools that deny access to education too, saying they don't know enough to support special ed.
But an IEP is a legally binding agreement to provide access to education in the "Least Restrictive Environment".

PS You seem to still not understand what an IEP does. It is not "the curricula" but a legal document that the team uses to determine how a student will meet certain goals. For instance, if a child needs special equipment or a personal aide or sensory breaks, this gets documented. It documents when/if a student will be mainstreamed, how and why. Severely impaired students that don't meet academic standards by the time they are 21 or 22 just quit going to school. But others may graduate like anyone else.

Answer 4

If a ESE or Special Education student has an IEP that means that the student has some learning disabilities. Many students have IEP, nationally around 15% of students have some type of learning disability. Some have normal or above normal IQ. Most kids are on regular diploma program.
Some students have more severe learning disability, mental retardation, lower IQ, and they are generally placed in a program called "Special Diploma", which is equivalent of a certificate of a completion.
Even though the curriculum is watered down, the benefit is learning social skills, interacting with others , learning daily living skills, cleaning, shopping, cooking and many others. It is a process of preparing students for a independent, sami-independent lives, in many instances. Is there anything wrong with that?

Answer 5

An Individualized Education Plan is a plan designed to help the education meet the needs of the student for whom it is developed. There are many different levels of special education, and the expectations are that students will achieve at the highest level possible. The curriculum is not always "watered down", but may be adapted slightly to meet the needs of the child. For instance, a student with a speech problem may be allowed to turn in a written assignment, where other students will be expected to give an oral report. A student with issues concerning motor skills may be allowed to do some written work orally. Dyslexic students may be allowed additional time to complete assignments involving reading. The goal of an IEP is to help all parties involved with a child's education to understand the particular disability or need, what is involved and needed as part of the educational process, so the student may achieve at the highest possible level.

Answer 6

Like chelly said 30 yrs ago things were different than today. Parents today are advocating for their kids to be sure they are educated. An IEP is set up by parents, teachers, the administrators, and therapists to help kids get an education by addressing their special needs. The goal is to try and keep these kids in "mainstream" classrooms as much as possible for class as well as therapy. Accommodations are made so the child can succeed within his/her abilities. It's an Individual Education Plan (IEP) Helps the child keep its goals on track and parents stay involved. this is a process throughout the school year until graduation and makes a world of difference whereas 30 years ago you had no plan and pushed along.

Answer 7

Everything everyone said is correct. A child with an IEP will get a diploma like the rest of their peers. Depending on the situation, they are then allowed to stay in school until the end of the semester after their 21st birthday.

An IEP follows a person even after they leave school. In the job situation, for instance, an IEP says that the person needs extra time to do something or needs things written down, when they are hired for a job, the employer must do their best to accomodate that person. An IEP also helps when a person goes to get SSI or other benefits.

Answer 8

An IEP is Individual Educational Planning. Yes curriculum can fail kids or kids themselves. But Certificates or Diplomas are decided for that particular individual by their special ed teacher and also even the department coordinator.

Answer 9

boiled down to its simplest terms an iep is the roadmap of your childs education.....it tells what the child is working on accomplishing for a specified timeframe, how they will work on accomp. the task and who at the school will be assisting the child in attaining the goal(classroom teacher, speech therapist, physical therapist,etc), and may also contain the "facts" of a child problems or differences, it will also contain the optimal location for the child to learn the tasks(reg class, special ed class, home, etc)as the law prescribes the "least restrictive" environment for the child to learn at the optimum level, it can also contain testing materials/and results to match up with the previous information, and previous results from older ieps.

30 yrs ago and even 20 yrs (when approx my son was in school and under an iep) there were older forms of ieps but often a parent did not become involved it was only school staff, doctors, therapists etc involved and it was not until more incidents of children falling thru the cracks were publicised that the general public became aware of the process.

many children still fall thru the cracks of the school systems but more and more parents, grandparents and foster parents are standing up for the rights of their children to be the best they can be

unfortunately there is not enough space here to describe and fully help you in understanding all of the whys and where fores of ieps but there is lots of information online and at your local library.

Answer 10

30 yrs ago things were different than today. Parents today are advocating for their kids to be sure they are educated. An IEP is set up by parents, teachers, the administrators, and therapists to help kids get an education by addressing their special needs. The goal is to try and keep these kids in "mainstream" classrooms as much as possible for class as well as therapy. Accommodations are made so the child can succeed within his/her abilities.