Writing an Individualized Education Plan
The Logical Steps

The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is a document that must be written in a careful, thoughtful, rational manner. The Individuals with Disabilities Act, or IDEA, is the law that oversees how an IEP is written. Often the team sits down and very quickly is talking about possible placements for a child. This is like deciding who won the race before it was run. I think of the process this way.

The first thing that should happen is to draw a starting line that is measurable and visible to everyone. That is where the planning for a child should begin. I call the "Present Levels of Performance," the Starting Line of our race. Then, the next thing a runner must know is where the finish line is. That, too, should be a measurable distance and visible to everyone. This line represent the child's annual goal. In between the starting line and the finish line let's place some hurdles. At each hurdle is a tool that will help the runner towards the finish line. These hurdles will represent our Short Term Goals and Objectives.

Perhaps after negotiating the first objective, a wide span of soft sand, the runner picks up an oar to help him row to the other side of the lake in the boat that will be sitting on the shoreline. After he negotiates the lake, which is the second objective, he picks up a bike to help him reach the top of the steep hill ahead, which is our third objective. These tools have enabled him to finish the last lap of the race to the finish line, which in special education would be the annual goal. Let's look more closely at these steps. Just click here.

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