Individual-Education-Plan

Individual Education Plan (I.E.P.): The IEP is the plan that outlines the assistance
provided to students. It is developed by the school, in consultation with the parents. It must
include specific educational expectations based on the curriculum, an outline of the special
education program and services that will be received, and a statement about the methods
by which the student' s progress is reviewed. The IEP must be completed within 30 days
after a student has been placed in a special education program. Parents must receive a copy
of the IEP.
Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
What is an IEP
An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a written plan describing the appropriate special
education program and/or special education services to be received by a student with
special education needs.
The IEP is a working document. This individualized plan describes the goals that the school
team has set for the child for the school year, as well as any special supports that are
needed to help achieve those goals.
The IEP identifies the particular accommodations and/or modifications and/or alternative
expectations that are needed to help the student achieve his or her learning expectations,
given the student’s identified learning strengths and needs.
The IEP includes a transition plan for students who are fourteen years of age and older,
unless the students are identified solely as gifted. The transition plan is designed to help
students with special education needs make successful transitions from school to further
education, work, and/or community living.
The IEP is not a description of everything that will be taught to the student, or all of the
teaching strategies used in regular classroom instruction. It is a record of the specific
knowledge and skills that will be assessed and evaluated for the purpose of reporting
student achievement of the expectations listed in the IEP.
The development of an IEP is required for each student who has been identified as an
exceptional pupil by an Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC). An IEP
may also be prepared for a student who is receiving a special education program and/or
services but who has not been identified as exceptional through the IPRC process.
Parents are consulted in the development of a student’s IEP. Ongoing communication with
your child’s school and school team is encouraged, as the most effective IEPs are those that
are developed in partnership with parents.
More information regarding the IEP is available in the Special Education Parent Handbook.

Preparing for an Individual Education Plan (I.E.P.)
What is an I.E.P.
The Individual Education Plan (IEP) is an ongoing planning-tool and written record,
that should be developed by the school and family, to outline the programming needs
specific to the individual exceptional student. The development of an IEP is a requirement
of the Education Act for all students identified through the Identification, Placement and
Review Committee (IPRC) process. However, many school boards also develop IEPs for any
student who requires special education services.
Ontario Education law (Regulation 181/98) requires the development of an
Individual Education Plan for Identified students within 30 days of the IPRC, and many
school boards develop the IEP as part of the IPRC process. It is the responsibility of the
Principal to ensure that the IEP is developed, although other staff, including Special
Education Teachers and the Speech-Language Pathologists, may prepare the document.
Under the new Regulation, the Individual Education Plan must include:
• specific educational expectations for the pupil
• an outline of the special education program and services to be received by the pupil
• a statement of the method by which the pupil's progress will be reviewed
For students over 14 years of age:
• a transition plan describing the steps toward appropriate post secondary school
activities, such as work, further education and community living.
The Individual Education Plan must be developed in consultation with the parent,
and/or student, and must be signed by the parent or legal guardian.
Important Information to be included in an IEP:
• Student's strengths
• Student's Needs ( as recorded in IPRC)
• Relevant medical/health information
• Relevant tests or assessment results

• Student's current level of achievement
• Goals and specific expectations
• Program modifications
• Accommodations required
• Special Education and related services
• Assessment of strategies used and student's progress
• Regular updates showing changes
• Transition Plan (for students over 14)
What does an Individual Education Plan look like
The Ontario Ministry of Education Individual Education Plan (IEP) Resource Guide
provides a sample format for school boards, but many school boards have their own
formats. The design does not matter as long as the IEP includes all the critical elements and
is designed to address the learning strengths and needs of the student.
How is the IEP developed and what is the parent's role
The IEP process usually has several phases:
1. Gathering information
2. Developing the IEP
3. Implementing the IEP
4. Reviewing and evaluating the student's progress
The Individual Education Plan should be developed jointly by the child's teacher, staff
involved with the child's program (i.e., Special Education Teacher, Speech-Language
Pathologist) and the parent/guardian. This means that there should be lots of
communication with the school staff sharing information and ideas with the family, and
the student and parents sharing information and ideas with school staff. If everyone is
working together and talking with each other from the beginning, then the final
content of the IEP will not come as a surprise, and the focus of any meetings can be on the
details of making the plan work.
Parents should help the school staff and:

• Share any relevant reports or assessments
• Share their ideas and concerns about the child's abilities and school work
• Agree to the child doing any tests that may be helpful
• Agree to the school contacting any Doctors or other professionals that are helping the
child
• Sign any consent forms needed for the testing or the contacts with professionals
• Keep a good record of the reports, test results, appointments and discussions with the
school
1. Gathering Information:
In this phase, one of the staff involved with the student (usually the Special Education or
Learning Resource Teacher) is asked to gather information about the student. The
information may include previous IEP or IPRC information; report cards; assessments
or tests the student has completed; samples of the student's work and observation of
the student; consultation with student, parents, school staff and other professionals.
2. Developing the Individual Education Plan:
Once the information about the student has been gathered it is important to meet
together and discuss the student's strengths and needs, and identify the goals and
expectations for the student. This is usually done formally as part of the Identification,
Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) process, but may occur informally in
conversations or school visits.
Describe the student's strengths and needs:
The statement of decision of the IPRC will usually include the three top needs of the
student. Occasionally there will be more than three needs identified, but for most students
working on three problem areas is more practical and likely to lead to success. It is
important that the strengths of the student are also included in the IEP. All children
have abilities as well as activities that they like. This type of information will be very
helpful in deciding how to work on the student's needs.
NOTE: Many school boards use computer programs that have lists of possible goals and
strategies. These can be very useful if you can find a statement that describes your child's
needs (as they can be time savers). However, if there is not a good match you can modify the
statement or create a unique statement that describes your child's needs.
Decide on the goals:

The main focus should be on helping the student to be successful in the classroom and
participate in the curriculum. For many students this may mean that changes are needed in
how the material is presented or how the student completes the work. For other
students there may be more significant changes, like going to a quiet room or working on
different lessons. Or, the focus will be on other skills that are needed, like paying attention,
speaking clearly, improving hand-eye coordination or maintaining self-control.
The goals for each student should be reasonable and have a good chance of success. A
student that can not sit still, pay attention or print his name may become frustrated if you
try to fix all the problems at the same time. The priority need may be to get the student to
sit still, as it will increase the chance of him paying attention, and will decrease the
chance of him distracting other students. However, a goal of sitting through all lessons
every day is unrealistic, and a better idea will be to get him to sit for five minutes at a time
and build up to one complete lesson. This makes the problem more manageable and
increases the chance of success!!
Example: A student with a language impairment who has difficulty following
instructions may need to have lessons broken into small steps. A number of
strategies will be used including:
1 Student will sit in the front row
2 Student will be provided a set of cue cards developed by Resource Teacher or Educational
Assistant. (Cue cards may use words or pictures to illustrate work steps - finding text book, opening
work book, getting a pencil, finding correct page number)
3 After giving the class a set of directions, the Teacher will make eye contact with student and repeat
first instruction in simple words. Student asked to repeat instruction and show that he
understands.
4 Teacher will check to see if first instruction is completed before giving second and further
instructions. If student does not understand instruction, more information in different words will
be provided.
5 Teacher, student partner or adult support (paid or volunteer) will check with student at frequent
intervals to ensure that instructions are understood and student is trying to complete work.
Decide how to achieve the goals:
There are many ways to help a child. The strategies can be divided into two categories -
accommodations and modifications. Accommodations are those changes or strategies that
change the way a student completes their work, or where the work is completed. Large
print books, audio tapes, withdrawal to a quiet room, or extra time to complete projects are
all examples of accommodations. A modification involves a more significant change to the
curriculum or lessons being taught. This may include a student completing alternative
material or lessons that have been simplified. Ideally, the lesson content should still be
based on the school curriculum, even if it is at a different grade level.

It is important that the strategies (accommodations and modifications) that are
developed are realistic, in terms of the resources available, and meaningful for the
student. School boards have a legal responsibility to meet the needs of students, but do not
have the money to give every child a personal teacher. It is, therefore, important that the
strategies be carefully developed.
The resources and supports that are needed should be clearly described in the IEP.
The person responsible and intensity of support should be detailed. Any special
accommodations or materials should also be listed. The curriculum modifications should
also be articulated with the grade level indicated, or alternative outcome expectations
described.
Other strategies may include reducing distracting noises or visual material from
classroom, providing student with additional time to complete lesson or allowing student
to go to more private location.
Including a Transition Plan (for students over 14 years):
Under the new regulations an Individual Education Plan for a student over the age of
14 must include a Transition Plan describing how the student will prepare for
appropriate post secondary activities, such as work, further education, and community
living. For students with speech and/or language impairments transition planning
will require the team to consider the listening, speaking, reading and writing
demands of post secondary or workplace setting. The team will need to identify the
student's strengths and needs, and the compensating strategies that the student will need
to function in the workplace or in a post secondary institution. In addition, the plan will
need to identify the qualifications, information and other resources that will be
needed for the student to apply for their chosen career or further education.
Transition Plan Example: A student is interested in a career which involves working
with children. In the first year of the transition plan, the goals and strategies may be:
1 To research possible careers that involve working with preschool children
2 To identify college courses that may be required and the high school credits necessary for admission
into the program.
3 To complete six Grade 9 compulsory credits and two optional courses
4 To develop student's study skills including strategies for improved listening skills, note taking, test
performance, and small group or class participation
5 To volunteer at a day care after school on a regular basis.
The goals and strategies included in the IEP Transition Plan will depend on the age of
the student and the eventual destination. It will be important to have a career or post
secondary education goal, and to identify the short and long term strategies to get there.
The Transition Plan is a useful tool that can focus the student, school team and family

on identifying where the student is heading and what skills, credits and other resources the
student will need by the time they leave school.
Each year the transition plan will become more focused on specific credits, skills and
supports required for a selected post-secondary course or work place. By starting the
planning early it is more likely the student will be ready to graduate and be prepared for
further education or the workplace.
3. Implementing the Individual Education Plan:
The most important part of implementing the IEP is to share a copy with the student,
family, school staff and other professionals. It is important that everyone be aware of
the goals and strategies to be used in teaching the student, and that the families and school
staff are working together. There are lots of ways that families can support the plan.
Parents can help to implement the IEP by:
• Making sure they understand the plan and who will do what
• Explaining the plan to the student
• Giving the student a quiet place to work at home
• Helping the student to practise new skills at home
• Talking to the student about school and their daily work
• Letting the teacher know how the student is doing at home or in the community
• Keeping in touch with school staff regularly to follow - up on the plan
4. Documentation of medical and health needs:
The IEP should include a section for recording medical and health care needs. It may
be labeled as "Related Health Issues" or "Health Care Needs". This section is to be used to
record any relevant diagnosis, such as Cerebral Palsy or Muscular Dystrophy, and to
document any services the student is receiving through the School Health Support
Services.
This section should be completed and health supports and services documented. It is
also important that any program goals are recorded and that strategies for evaluation are
identified. If a Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist is involved on a regular basis the
contact schedule should be included. In developing a program plan for a student all the
factors should be considered and prioritized. For example, a child who has had major

surgery or a serious illness may need to have a greater focus on their physical recovery and
a physiotherapy program.
The IEP provides a formal process to identify needs, but more importantly it
provides the opportunity to prioritize program goals. Health care needs must be
considered and prioritized within the overall IEP. We must keep the whole child in mind
and make sure all the expectations on the child and support personnel are reasonable and
achievable.
5. Reviewing the IEP and student progress:
Because the IEP is an ongoing planning tool, it must be reviewed and revised on a
regular basis. The IEP will be reviewed at least once a year, as part of the annual
Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) process. However, you can
request a review whenever you feel changes need to be made to your child's
program, but not less than three months since IEP was implemented.. Remember,
changes do not always refer to difficulties or negative aspects, but could also be a result of
something positive.
If your child's needs have changed significantly, and the IEP needs to reflect this, it is
best to submit the request, in writing, to the school principal with a copy to the teacher.
Remember to keep a copy for your own records. You may want to request a review if:
your child has met one, or several of the goals written in the IEP
your child does not seem to be making any progress toward one, or several, of the
goals written in the IEP
you feel additional strategies should be considered in order for your child to progress
you feel a service is no longer necessary in order for your child to succeed
your child has experienced major changes, such as illness, surgery, or injury
A copy of the Individual Education Plan should be placed in the Ontario
Student Record, but other copies should be shared with all the Teachers,
staff and family members who will be helping the student and using the plan.
A copy of the IEP should be provided to the parent with each report
card. The student's Report Card should compliment the IEP and show where
the IEP has resulted in changes to the student's program, or outcome
expectations.
The Individual Education Plan is meant to be helpful for
families and the school. Try not to view it as a chore or a burden
but as a tool that will help your child to succeed at school!