Developing culturally responsive and relevant individualized educational programs (IEP) is becoming increasingly more important as the student population becomes more diverse. Current supports available for IEP teams primarily address the technical aspects of the IEP (e.g., writing goals that are measurable) but offer little assistance in…

Although varying among and within the states, the percentage of students with 504 plans is steadily and significantly increasing as a national average. Although the professional literature addresses the legal standards for eligibility for 504 plans, it has not provided up-to-date information to practitioners as to the legal standard for the…

Adolescents with disabilities experience co-occurring mental health needs at higher rates than their peers without disabilities (Blake, 2017; Milligan et al., 2015; Poppen et al., 2016; Thornton et al., 2017). Mental health needs often become more prominent as individuals with disabilities transition from childhood to adolescence (White et al.,…

"Students with Cochlear Implants: Guidelines for Educational Program Planning" (2015) provides support to teachers of an increasingly diverse population of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The "Guidelines" include three main sections: Student Background Summary, School-Based Language Competency Checklists, a Team…

To provide a missing piece to the legal foundation of professional development and practice for the individualized education program (IEP) process, the authors report the results of a comprehensive systematic analysis of court decisions specific to IEP-related procedural violations after the 2004 amendments of the Individuals With Disabilities…

The purpose of this brief is to help families and educators understand the right of students with disabilities who need accessible educational materials to receive these materials in a timely manner. This right is based on provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as well as in the disability civil rights statutes…

The purpose of this article is to discuss major substantive errors that school personnel may make when developing students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). School IEP team members need to understand the importance of the procedural and substantive requirements of the IEP, have an awareness of the five serious substantive errors that IEP…

In this report, the Rennie Center for Education Policy & Research focuses on Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs) as a key tool that districts and schools can use to prepare students for college and career success, as well as the costs districts incur to implement ILPs. In Massachusetts some public school districts have utilized ILPs to pursue…

The individual education program (IEP) is of critical importance to educators, parents, and students. Through the IEP process school-based teams (a) assess the educational needs of a student, (b) develop meaningful and measurable goals that direct the student's program, (c) develop and implement a program of special education and related services,…

The Council of Chief State School Officers' "Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate the Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities" was first developed to establish guidelines for states to use for the selection, administration, and evaluation of accommodations for…

Describes a decision analytic approach for multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) in planning special service programs. Presents evaluation information on its application by MDTs in planning individualized education programs, and outlines a six-step process. Suggests utilization of approach allows a complex program planning situation to be disaggregated…

A classroom communication system is described whereby the teacher of a handicapped student can manage the classroom activities conducted by other disciplines as stipulated for the child's individualized educational program. Samples of the weekly planning sheet, individual sequence sheets, and data/progress sheets for learners are provided. (CL)

This paper has been developed by the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children to serve as a companion document to the 2003 joint position statement "Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment and Program Evaluation-Building and Effective, Accountable System in Progams for Children Birth through Age 8" of National…

This booklet offers a humorous perspective on important guidelines for developing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities which respect the values of collaboration, student and family leadership, and full inclusion. Humorous section titles and cartoons illustrate important principles: "Developing an IEP Shouldn't Be…

The Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) special education programs function with a multidisciplinary team called the Child Management Committee. The Child Study Committee, which usually meets once a week, develops, implements, and monitors comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessment procedures; summarizes assessment results in written…