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How to write an iep step-by-step | Samples for Real Teachers
If you are a teacher or iep team member who wants to write a great individualized education program. Then you are in the right place. Our full length guide offers text examples for easy use in your IEPs or as a time saving framework to individualize for your students. This simple guide can cut your individualized education program writing time in half.
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We know that a special education teacher's job can be stressful and overwhelming, so we've created this easy-to-use template to help you write an individualized education program. It includes all the necessary components of an IEP in one place, so you don't have to waste time searching through other resources or trying to piece together information from different sources. You can use our templates as they are written or customize them with your reporting style. Either way, it will save you valuable time and energy!
You'll never have to worry about missing any important information because our guide covers everything from goals and objectives, assessments, other special education services, accommodations, and modifications. With our step-by-step instructions and helpful examples, amazing IEP writing has never been easier!
The IEP meeting will go smoothly if every area is covered thoroughly and specifically for the student's academic success, thanks to the inclusion of specific and individualized material. With succinct justification statements, there is little wiggle room for questions from the IEP team regarding the IEP goal.
How to write an iep step-by-step | Samples for Real Teachers
Review Individualized Education Program (IEP) Invitation
When writing an invitation to an IEP letter, special education teachers should include the general education curriculum that their students are following. This will help parents understand what their children are learning in school and how it is linked to their overall education. Teachers should also provide an overview of the accommodations and modifications that have been put in place for their students. This will help parents understand how their children are being supported in the classroom. Finally, teachers should remind parents of the date, time, and location of the upcoming IEP meeting.
Section One - Setting Up the Meeting
Contact Attempt Report
A contact attempt report is a document that is used to outline the attempts that have been made to contact a parent or guardian for an IEP meeting. It should include the date, time, and method of contact that was attempted. The report should also list the name of the person who made the contact, as well as their title or position within the school district.
Section Two - IEP Cover Page
Things to include:
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Student Name, grade, age disability, and primary language
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Most recent evaluation date and expiration date
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Attending school and if it is their home school district or are they accepted on a waiver
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IEP start date and expirations date (often call next start date)
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Date parents or guardians were notified of the meeting
Section Three - Team Considerations
Student Strengths
How do I write the strengths of the student and the concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child section of an IEP?
When you have a structure to help you, creating a student strength statement is not difficult. A well-rounded declaration includes up to three choices from each area, with any number of strengths shown. Keep it simple and straightforward, but be honest in your descriptions. Always seek parental and general educational instructors' input before deciding which talents to exhibit the student's best side.
A well-written IEP should include at least three strengths statements for the student.
Before choosing your choices keep in mind:
Skip any strength area if it does not apply to the student and their needs
Skip strength areas that are not within his/her control(ex: It may be important to acknowledge a love of reading but this is something we cannot change, eliminate this from the list)
Skip any academic strength area if it does not fit within a special education program.
Student Strengths Statement Framework
When writing a profile of the student's strengths, think about the child as a whole. Every person on the IEP team should provide input.
What are the strengths that make the student academically successful?
What are strengths that the student has that make them socially adaptable or socially accepted?
Both of these questions lead to academic and behavioral success in the classroom. Both items combined will be at the forefront of any student's strength profile.
Sample:
Sam has a strong character, is eager to learn, and is curious about a new subject. In his classroom behavior, he demonstrates responsibility by coming prepared to class with materials ready to learn. His positive work habits show that he follows rules and routines, can ignore distractions, and is a self starter in classroom activities.
Use this framework to help guide the writing process:
__________ has a strong character, is _______________, and is _______________. In his/her classroom behavior, he/she demonstrates responsibility by _______________. His/her positive work habits show that he/she _______________, can _______________, and _______________.
Sample:
Megan is a hard worker in the class. Her math skills are a strength, as are her reading comprehension skills. She enjoys working with peers and completes tasks on time.
__________ is a hard worker in class. Her/His __________ skills are a strength, as are her/his __________ skills. She/He enjoys __________ and __________ .
Sentence starters for student strengths statement in an IEP
These helpful sentence starters can be best used with the assistance of the student and parents. Have them fill out what their best answer are and then compare to find commonalities.
__________ is best at…
__________ has an amazing ability to…
__________ always takes pride in his/her work when…
__________ is frequently recognized for…
__________ participates the most when…
__________ does this better than any other student…
__________ is highly motivated by…
__________ is highly interested in…