Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Collaboration

## Steps for Creating an IEP

### Step 1: Referral

Before a student can get an IEP, they must have a qualifying condition. If a family believes their child might qualify for an IEP, they can request an evaluation assessment. The school district has 60 days to complete the evaluation. Teachers can refer students for an evaluation, but they must first attempt to address the issue without special education services.

### Step 2: Assessment

After the referral, assessments occur. The following are appropriate assessments:

* Performance-based Tests (*Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery or School Function Assessment*)
* Cognitive-based Tests (*Wechsler Intelligence Scale*)
* Behavioral Functioning Tests (*Behavior Assessment System for Children or Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale*)

It's important to note a child **cannot** be evaluated without parent permission. The testing will be conducted by a licensed psychologist.

### Step 3: Team Meeting

The evaluation team will meet to discuss the results. The parent will be invited to this meeting. As a team with the parent, it will be decided if a student needs an IEP.

#### IEP Team

* Parents/Legal Guardian
* One or more general education teachers
* Local education agency representative
* School Psychologist
* The Student (when appropriate)
* Administrator

### Step 4: Creating the Document

The IEP will be created at the meeting if the student has been deemed eligible. The IEP is a legally binding document.

###### The IEP will contain:

1. A student's present level of academic performance
2. Placement of Classroom and Services the student will receive
3. Accommodations/Modifications
4. Goals are created based on where the student currently is and where they should be.
	* Appropriate goals are based on the student's area of needed growth.
	* Each goal has a benchmark of where the student should be and by what date.
	* Goals can affect curriculum design by allowing teachers to focus on where the student is deficit.
5. Signature page and meeting notes
6. If the child is over 16, they must have a transition plan and goal

After the IEP is complete, it is implemented with beginning and ending dates. The IEP is reviewed yearly with progress updates along the way. If the child has caught up to their peers, they may no longer require services.

## Further Understanding IEPs

Families should reach out to the special education teacher or the school psychologist for help.

They can also check out these links that help explain:

https://www.specialeducationguide.com/pre-k-12/individualized-education-programs-iep/the-iep-process-explained/

https://www.understandingspecialeducation.com/IEP-process.html

https://www.parentcenterhub.org/iep-overview/

## Examples of Pedagogical Practices in Inclusive Classrooms

### Supportive Teaching:

One teacher is the primary instructor while the other teachers moves around the classroom and provides support to individual student in need.

##### Advantages

* Individual help for students
* Easy to observe behavior

##### Disadvantages

* Unequal power distribution
* Often immediate help expected.

### Parallel Teaching:

Teachers that work with separate groups of students within the same classroom space with the same content at different paces

##### Advantages

* Working in small groups
* Each teacher has lesson ownership

##### Disadvantages

* Both teachers must have equal content knowledge
* Environment can be challenging for two lessons happening co-currently

### Station Teaching:

Teachers work in separate learning centers within the same classroom space teaching different lessons to smaller groups.

##### Advantages

* Increases student engagement
* Allows teachers to cover more material

##### Disadvantages

* Requires a lot of pre-planning
* Teachers may run into problems with timing.

### Alternative Teaching:

One teachers works with the majority of the students while the other teacher works with a smaller group with different paced material.

##### Advantages

* Allows for differentiated instruction
* Allows for classroom flexibility.

##### Disadvantages

* Requires a lot of pre-planning
* Teachers may run into problems with timing.

### Team Teaching:

Teachers simultaneously deliver a lesson or activity in the same classroom space.

##### Advantages

* Both teachers are presented as equals
* Both teachers can manage behavior effectively

##### Disadvantages

* Teachers may struggle to pass control back and forth.
* Students may try to play teachers against each other