Procedural requirements for development Determination of eligibility for special educationMembers of the IEP team

Procedural requirements for development

The outcome of the IEP development process is an official document that describes the education plan designed to meet the unique needs of one child with a disability.

[edit] Determination of eligibility for special education

For more details on this topic, see Special education in the United States.

Before an IEP is written for a child with a disability, the school must first determine whether the child qualifies for special education services. To qualify, the child's disability must have an adverse effect on the child's educational progress. Merely having a disability is not sufficient for eligibility.

To determine eligibility, the school must conduct a full evaluation of the child in all areas of suspected disability. Based in part on the results of the evaluation, the school along with the parents meet to review the results and the child's current level of performance and to determine whether special education services are needed.

If the child is found eligible for services, the school is required to convene an IEP team and develop an appropriate educational plan for the child. The IEP should be implemented as soon as possible after the child is determined eligible. IDEA does not state specific timeframes for each step. However, some states have added specific timelines that schools must follow for the eligibility, IEP development, and IEP implementation milestones.

[edit] Members of the IEP team

The IEP team must include the student's parent(s) or guardian(s), a special education teacher, at least one regular education teacher, a representative of the school or district who is knowledgeable about the availability of school resources, and an individual who can interpret the instructional implications of the child's evaluation results (such as the school psychologist). 34 CFR.321

The parent or school may also bring other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child. For example, the school may invite related service providers such as speech and occupational therapists. The parent may invite professionals who have worked with or assessed the child, or someone to assist the parent in advocating for their child's needs, such as a parent advocate or attorney. Many parents choose to bring at least one other person with them to IEP meetings because meeting with such a large group of school personnel can be intimidating to parents.

If appropriate, the child may also participate in IEP team meetings. For example, some children begin participating in their IEP meetings when they reach middle school age.

A typical IEP team meeting includes:

• One or both of the child's parents. Consistent with the IDEA's stated policy, parents should expect to be treated as equal participants with school personnel in developing the IEP.
• A representative of the school district (not the child's teacher) who is qualified to provide or supervise special education.
• The child's teacher(s). If the child has more than one teacher, then all teachers are required to attend.
• If the program to be recommended includes activities with general education students, even if the child is in a special education class in the school, a general education teacher is required to attend.
• Professionals who are qualified to explain the results of the testing. Usually this requires at least the presence of a psychologist and educational evaluator.
• Parents may bring with them any others involved with the child who they feel are important for the IEP team to hear; for example, the child's psychologist or tutor.
• Parents may elect to bring an educational advocate, social workers and/or lawyer knowledgeable in the IEP process.
• Although not required, if the child is receiving related services (such as speech therapy or occupational therapy), it is valuable for related service personnel to attend the meeting or at least provide written recommendations concerning the services in their area of specialty.

In some localities additional members are required. For example, New York State requires the presence of a parent member. A parent member is the parent of a child with a disability (not the parent of the child for whom the IEP is being developed) who has had special training in the workings of the IEP process.