The goals and objectives are to be written at the actual IEP -correct?

Question

Is this stated explicitly in the law? We spent the majority of the meeting going over test results and I never actually heard any specific goals, objectives, or how we were going to measure his progress during the meeting - any advice?

Answer 1

Do you have a copy of child's IEP plan? Does it have anything listed that you mentioned?

In the IEP meeting, ALL these things are suppose to be talked about, agreed upon, and written into the IEP plan  AT the IEP meeting.

And you are to leave the meeting with a copy of IEP plan in your hands.

If you didn't even get to talk about these things, then they can't be in teh IEP plan.

Schools are famous for this. Dragging, stalling and confusing the parent to get out of putting what is needed intot the IEP plan.

You need to call your state dept of education and ask for the special ed dept. Then ask for information for the federally funded parent advocacy agency.

Each state has one and they help parents with IEP issues for FREE.

Schools and parents must follow federal law IDEA 'individuals with disabilties education act'   that outlines the procedures and process for everything having to do with special education.

From what you have written they did not do this (not surprising)  and you'll need the help of the advocacy agency.

You can also email me if you would like  [e-mail]

Answer 2

The goals for the IEP are on the goal pages of the IEP.  The goals are typically written before the IEP meeting, that is why the copy you see at the meeting is just a draft.  Each page of the IEP is then gone over with parents and the team.  Any changes that the team addresses can be put on the draft and changed on the final copy that will go into the permanent file.

If you were at an IEP meeting and spent most of the time going over the test results, then they should have scheduled another meeting with you to complete the IEP.  The pages you should have covered in the IEP include the present level of the child, service summaries pages, goals/objectives, placement considerations, transportation, service summary, etc.

I would contact the school and find out exactly what type of meeting you were in and why there were no goals addressed, if it was an IEP meeting.

Answer 3

According to the law, yes.

In practice, the school staff can make up "tentative" goals & objectives, writing them on the IEP forms prior to the meeting, but if anyone at the meeting objects to them or the team decides on changes, then, of course, the changes will be made.

You should not leave a meeting without being offered the papers with goals on them. If you are, you should be offered that you will get the goals in a few days, or whatever, and you have the freedom not to sign the IEP form until you get them.

Answer 4

The law says that as a parent you are a member of the team that develops the IEP.  Many times the draft of the IEP is developed prior to the meeting to facilitate a quicker meeting.  Each person completes the portion that they are the expert on.  So if your child has more then one teacher each teacher will propose goals.  As the parent you sign that you attended the meeting, then participated in the development of the IEP and approved the final plan.  In California there are three signatures or initials one for each responsibility.

As a parent, if you are not clear on the goals or for any other reason, you can request an additional IEP meeting at any time.  Do so in writing and copy the principal on the request.  I would suggest that you read your parental rights which you should have received before the meeting or at it.

Answer 5

Someone suggested that you contact the state's family rep to help you with this IEP issue.  I can promise you that unless the school is completely uncooperative, calling and involving the advocate is a mistake.  It's a sad truth but children whose parents tick off the people providing the services rarely get as much help and you are less likely to ever get the team's cooperation easily on your own.  If there is a real problem then of course you should have the support you need to get the best services for your child, but if it is a problem that can be solved more easily and politely do it that way!

If your school is anything like mine there was a draft of the IEP before you got there and they should have gone over it in addition to the test results and then asked for your input.  As a teacher, I always schedule a parent conference (even over phone) to discuss my drafted goals and explain the meeting process (I teach K so my parents aren't always experienced).  At the meeting I try to listen with an outsider's ears for things that might not be clear to the parent and I stop the meeting periodically to ask if they have any questions.  I also always make myself available to the parent after the meeting or in the next couple of days so that if they have questions I can address them.  

Balancing the need to have comprehensive collaborative discussion about your child's progress and the VERY busy schedules of those involved at your meetings is very difficult.  You might ask your child's teacher or whomever schedules the meeting for either a pre or post meeting conference with a member of the team to answer any further questions you might have.

Answer 6

The following comes from the US Dept. of Education's IEP Guide (it is based on what is required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act -IDEA).

Writing the IEP:

To help decide what special education and related services the student needs, generally the IEP team will begin by looking at the child's evaluation results, such as classroom tests, individual tests given to establish the student's eligibility, and observations by teachers, parents, paraprofessionals, related service providers, administrators, and others. This information will help the team describe the student's "present levels of educational performance" -in other words, how the student is currently doing in school. Knowing how the student is currently performing in school will help the team develop annual goals to address those areas where the student has an identified educational need.

The IEP team must also discuss specific information about the child. This includes:

~the child's strengths;

~the parents' ideas for enhancing their child's education;

~the results of recent evaluations or reevaluations; and

~how the child has done on state and district-wide tests.

In addition, the IEP team must consider the "special factors" (down below).

It is important that the discussion of what the child needs be framed around how to help the child:

~advance toward the annual goals;

~be involved in and progress in the general curriculum;

~participate in extracurricular and nonacademic activities; and

~be educated with and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children.

Based on the above discussion, the IEP team will then write the child's IEP. This includes the services and supports the school will provide for the child. If the IEP team decides that a child needs a particular device or service (including an intervention, accommodation, or other program modification), the IEP team must write this information in the IEP. As an example, consider a child whose behavior interferes with learning. The IEP team would need to consider positive and effective ways to address that behavior. The team would discuss the positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports that the child needs in order to learn how to control or manage his or her behavior. If the team decides that the child needs a particular service (including an intervention, accommodation, or other program modification), they must include a statement to that effect in the child's IEP.

***Special Factors****

Depending on the needs of the child, the IEP team needs to consider what the law calls special factors. These include:

!If the child’s behavior interferes with his or her learning or the learning of others, the IEP team will consider strategies and supports to address the child’s behavior.

~If the child has limited proficiency in English, the IEP team will consider the child’s language needs as these needs relate to his or her IEP.

~If the child is blind or visually impaired, the IEP team must provide for instruction in Braille or the use of Braille, unless it determines after an appropriate evaluation that the child does not need this instruction.

~If the child has communication needs, the IEP team must consider those needs.

~If the child is deaf or hard of hearing, the IEP team will consider his or her language and communication needs. This includes the child’s opportunities to communicate directly with classmates and school staff in his or her usual method of communication (for example, sign language).

~The IEP team must always consider the child’s need for assistive technology devices or services.

*****What must be included in the IEP:*****

By law, the IEP must include certain information about the child and the educational program designed to meet his or her unique needs. In a nutshell, this information is:

~Current performance. The IEP must state how the child is currently doing in school (known as present levels of educational performance). This information usually comes from the evaluation results such as classroom tests and assignments, individual tests given to decide eligibility for services or during reevaluation, and observations made by parents, teachers, related service providers, and other school staff. The statement about "current performance" includes how the child's disability affects his or her involvement and progress in the general curriculum.

~Annual goals. These are goals that the child can reasonably accomplish in a year. The goals are broken down into short-term objectives or benchmarks. Goals may be academic, address social or behavioral needs, relate to physical needs, or address other educational needs. The goals must be measurable-meaning that it must be possible to measure whether the student has achieved the goals.

~Special education and related services. The IEP must list the special education and related services to be provided to the child or on behalf of the child. This includes supplementary aids and services that the child needs. It also includes modifications (changes) to the program or supports for school personnel-such as training or professional development-that will be provided to assist the child.

~Participation with nondisabled children. The IEP must explain the extent (if any) to which the child will not participate with nondisabled children in the regular class and other school activities.

~Participation in state and district-wide tests. Most states and districts give achievement tests to children in certain grades or age groups. The IEP must state what modifications in the administration of these tests the child will need. If a test is not appropriate for the child, the IEP must state why the test is not appropriate and how the child will be tested instead.

~Dates and places. The IEP must state when services will begin, how often they will be provided, where they will be provided, and how long they will last.

~Transition service needs. Beginning when the child is age 14 (or younger, if appropriate), the IEP must address (within the applicable parts of the IEP) the courses he or she needs to take to reach his or her post-school goals. A statement of transition services needs must also be included in each of the child's subsequent IEPs.

~Needed transition services. Beginning when the child is age 16 (or younger, if appropriate), the IEP must state what transition services are needed to help the child prepare for leaving school.

~Age of majority. Beginning at least one year before the child reaches the age of majority, the IEP must include a statement that the student has been told of any rights that will transfer to him or her at the age of majority. (This statement would be needed only in states that transfer rights at the age of majority.)

~Measuring progress. The IEP must state how the child's progress will be measured and how parents will be informed of that progress.

Goals can be figured by the each individual on the IEP team ahead of time but have to be discussed by the IEP team members at the IEP meeting and if everyone agrees then those goals, objectives, etc are written in the IEP. They cannot just add those without discussing it with the other IEP team members. Regardless of what type of IEP meeting it was..all test results, goals , objectives, related services, etc must be discussed. Never sign the IEP until you have reviewed the info contained within it..they cannot implement the IEP without your consent. If you cannot come to an agreement on  the goals, objectives, etc of the IEP then there are steps you can take to help resolve the issue.

By law they are suppose to give you a copy of the IEP upon request (some will give you copy without a request - eg at the end of the meeting), if you're not sure if any of the info you stated is in the IEP then you need to review the IEP and if necessary request an IEP meeting to include the goals, objectives, etc. If the info is contained on the IEP and it was never discussed in an IEP meeting then you need to request a new meeting to discuss this info. This is also included in the IEP Guide. The also talk about each IEP Team members role in the IEP.

Answer 7

Schools can have predefined goals, in a draft IEP. However, you have complete say in what the goals are. If you never heard any specific goals, you should not have signed any paperwork other than the form that shows who has accessed his files.

I would write a letter asap and ask when you will be discussing the actual document rather than the testing. It sounds like your IEP team has not gotten this far yet, and are still in the approval for services phase.

Answer 8

To my knowledge, you can have the entire IEP written before the meeting just put in big bold letter on the top of it saying "DRAFT COPY"  and collect them at the end of the meeting so you can make changes.  Having a draft copy can keep a meeting moving and sometimes can really help when a parents don't agree (divorce).  On initial IEP's this can be tough to do.