TO HELP DESIGN A GOOD PROGRAM FOR YOUR CHILD, THE
REPORT SHOULD ANSWER, AT MINIMUM, THE FOLLOWING
QUESTIONS:

-Does your child qualify for special education services?
-What are your child's current skill levels?
-In which skill and behavior areas does your child have problems?
-In which activities does your child succeed and what are his or
her strengths?
-What is your child's learning style and what teaching strategies
work best with your child?

-What type of specialized instruction is needed for your child to learn?
-What are your long-term goals and priorities for your child?
-What kind of help will your child need to make progress in the
general curriculum?
-What kinds of extra help will your child need to participate
and succeed in regular education classes?
-If your child already receives special education, has he or she
made progress in skill and behavior levels since the last evaluation?
-If not, why not?
-If your child has behavior problems, when do those problems
occur?
-How can problems be avoided, and what should happen when problems do occur?
-What types of related services are needed (such as
transportation, speech, physical, occupational or counseling services?

CONTENT OF THE IEP
The IEP of each eligible child must include the following
information:

CURRENT EDUCATION LEVELS

What are the student's levels in academics, social and living skills? How does the child's disability affect his or her involvement and progress in the regular education curriculum?

ANNUAL GOALS AND SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVES

What do we want the student to learn this year, and what are the steps towards those goals? What is needed to help the child be involved - and progress – in regular education? Goals and objectives must be clear and measurable.

SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION TO BE PROVIDED

What special methods will be used to help your child learn and make progress? What type of help is needed for your child to participate and progress in the general education curriculum?

This is one of the most important parts of the IEP, as it must tell you exactly what school personnel will do to help your child learn.

TYPE, AMOUNT & FREQUENCY OF RELATED SERVICES

If your child needs a related service, such as transportation or physical, occupational or speech therapy, what type of service is needed?
How often will it be provided and the duration of each session.

HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOUR CHILD IS MAKING PROGRESS How will we know if the program is working and the child making
progress towards the goals? What objective methods (not simply "teacher observation") will be used and who will collect that information? How will the parents be regularly informed of the amount of progress?

STATE AND DISTRICT-WIDE ASSESSMENTS

Will your child be able to participate in state and district-wide assessments? Are modifications or adjustments needed in view of your child's learning differences? If the student cannot participate in district and state-wide regular assessments, what alternative assessments will be used?

CLASSES & ACTIVITIES WITH REGULAR EDUCATION
STUDENTS

Which parts of the school day will your child be with regular education students? What supports are needed for your child to succeed? Does your child need more time to take tests or a special teacher or aide to help? What supports will the regular education teacher need in the classroom? If your child will not be participating in regular education classes with supports, the IEP must explain why.

AMOUNT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

Does your child need special education for only some of the day? Most of the day? All day?

TYPE OF PLACEMENT

Is there any reason the IEP cannot be implemented in the neighborhood school? If not there, in another nearby public school? The law requires that your child receive services with children who are not disabled, unless your child's needs (not the needs of school officials) require a different setting.

DATE SERVICES BEGIN & END

Will all services begin immediately? Will all continue through the school year?

SIGNATURES OF IEP TEAM MEMBERS

Those who attend the IEP Team meeting sign the IEP.

IF NEEDED BY YOUR CHILD, THE IEP MUST ALSO DESCRIBE BEHAVIOR PROGRAMS

If your child has emotional or behavior problems in school, how will they be handled? Consideration must be given to providing behavioral interventions to all children who have behavior issues that interfere with learning.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVICES

Does your child need special equipment or technology? Do your child, the teacher or family need training with an assistive device?

VOCATIONAL PROGRAM

Would vocational training be a good idea? For what type of employment should the student be prepared?

INSTRUCTION IN BRAILLE

If your child is blind or visually impaired, should instruction in Braille and the use of Braille be included in the program?

COMMUNICATION PROGRAMS

Does your child need a language/communication program? If your child is deaf or hearing impaired, does the program provide opportunities for the child to be with peers and adults who use the youngster's mode of communication?

EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR (ESY)

If breaks in the education program will have a negative impact on your child, a summer or other ESY program may be needed.

ADAPTIVE PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Are special gym classes needed?

TRANSITION SERVICES

What skills will your child need for adult living? Are the needed skills being taught? Are services from other agencies needed? Transition planning begins when the student reaches the age of 14.

HEALTH CONCERNS

Does your child have any medical or health problems that need special attention?

IEP MUST ADDRESS YOUR CHILD'S
NEEDS:
Don't accept an IEP that isn't based on your child's special learning needs. For example, if your child has trouble reading, the IEP should include reading strategies based on how your child learns. Sometimes, districts try to give parents an IEP that is just a form checklist, or one that includes only a "watered-down" version of regular education goals and does not focus on the student's particular learning differences.

You should insist that the IEP contain all programs and
services necessary to meet your child's needs. If it doesn't, you
should disapprove the IEP - in writing.


THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO LEARN. It
might be helpful to try to answer such questions as:

-What subjects and skills are other students learning at
your child's age and in what subjects and skills does your child need special help? Are some of these especially "high priorities" in your mind?

-What kind of help does your child need in these areas? For example, what teaching methods work best with your child and what types have been tried and have not worked? Does your child learn best by repetition? Does your child need to see the material as well as hear it? What needs to be "special" about the way your child is taught?

-What activities interest or motivate your child? Are enough of these
included in your child's school day? Is there a need to give your child
more opportunities for success in school?

-Are there parts of the school day that your child finds particularly
frustrating? How can they be improved? Are there activities that
shouldn't be included in your child's program at all?

-Should your child be spending more (or less) of the day in regular
education classes? Which ones? Should your child be spending
more time with peers who do not have disabilities in activities
such as gym, music, art and lunch?

MAKE A LIST of some specific ideas of what you'd like to see
included in the IEP and of any questions you have. Take the list
with you to the IEP conference. Remember, you are free to bring up for discussion anything you think is needed as part of your child's school program.

School officials may or may not agree with you, but they have to discuss your ideas with you.

QUESTION the school staff concerning what teaching methods work
best with your child.

If your child already has an IEP, has he or she made progress in the current program? Have goals been reached? If not, what changes are needed? If you don't know why your child is not doing well in school or what goals would be appropriate for your child, ask the teacher and evaluator for their opinions. If no one seems to have the answers, you may also want to request some additional evaluations of your child.