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Developing IEPs''How can I possibly meet the curriculum standards for this

student? I`m especially worried that this child will take all of my attention

and that I won't have time for the rest of my students.``Scene 1—What Is My

Role as a General Education Teacher?, a student with a severe

learning disability, is entering my classroom this year. I've just been

informed that I'm going to be a member of 's IEP team. This is new

territory for me. What is my role? Each student who receives special

education and related services under IDEA must have an Individualized

Education Program, or IEP. And one of the most significant changes in the new

IDEA is the inclusion of at least one of the student's general education

teachers on the IEP team. As a content specialist, it's critical for you to

be involved in the process of developing 's IEP. You're the educator

with the knowledge base to develop an appropriate IEP as it relates to the

curriculum. You'll also be able to suggest supplementary aids, services, or

changes to the IEP that will help you do your job and help reach

her full potential.Who are the other members of the IEP team? The IEP team

should include the following people: • parent and/or legal guardian• special

education teacher• general education teacher• individual who can interpret

instructional implications of evaluation results • other individuals—at the

discretion of the parent or agency—who have special knowledge or expertise

about the student, including related services personnel• school system

representative who is qualified to provide or supervise specially designed

instruction for children with disabilities and who is knowledgeable about the

general curriculum and the availability of resources• transition services

agency representative, for students at least 14 and over• student, as

appropriateWill I get any release time for IEP meetings? Where and how often

will they take place?The IEP team usually meets at the school site at least

once a year, although additional meetings may be necessary. As the general

education teacher, you may not have to be present throughout an entire IEP

meeting, or participate in discussions about issues for which you have no

responsibility. The IEP team helps decide how much of your participation is

needed, depending on the nature of the student's needs and the purpose of the

IEP meeting.IEP meetings can be held at varying times. If necessary, you can

ask your principal for release time to attend these meetings. Some best

practices include writing release time into the IEP for future meetings,

holding IEP meetings during a common planning period, providing substitutes

for classroom teachers if the meetings are held during the school day, and

providing remuneration if the meetings are held after school hours. Some

school districts have contract language that promotes these practices.Whether

or not you physically attend the IEP meeting, the school district is required

to provide you with access to the student's IEP. In addition, you must be

informed of your responsibilities in implementing the IEP. For example, if

certain accommodations or modifications need to be in place in your

classroom, you should be notified.When will I get time to meet with members

of the IEP team outside of IEP meetings?During the course of the school year,

you may need to meet with the special education teacher or other members of

's team to share information and implement the program. Team members

need time to confer on an ongoing basis and the support of the administration

to provide for that time. Enlightened administrators are employing a number

of different strategies to provide adequate planning time for their staff:

Joint planning time. Several classes of students are scheduled to attend art,

music, or special lessons while their general and special education teachers

meet.Grade-level meetings. Special education teachers attend grade-level

staff meetings to confer with general education teachers. Weekly conference

times. Some districts have built weekly conference times into their teachers'

schedules. Also, individual teachers frequently establish informal meeting

times to confer.Whatever strategies you use, it helps to have supportive

administrators who realize that planning time is crucial.How do I make sure I

get the information and support I need to teach ?Supports for

personnel can be written into an IEP and can take a number of different forms:

Staff training. The team can write into the IEP that all staff working with

the student will receive appropriate training, at no extra cost to the staff.

For instance, if a student has autism, staff members may need training in how

to deal with that specific disability.Classroom aides. Some IEPs may require

paraeducators as classroom aides. Paraeducators who are properly trained and

supervised can work with individual students, small groups, or the entire

class. These aides may provide necessary physical, as well as academic,

support. Co-teaching. In many schools, general education and special

education teachers are co-teaching classes. IDEA '97 allows for increased

flexibility in addressing the needs of all students. One result is that

special education personnel can now teach within the general education

environment, even if the students they are working with are not identified as

having special needs. This can reduce the burden on both teachers and provide

a wonderful opportunity for all of the students to benefit from the expertise

and attention of two professionals. Release time. Conference time to plan for

IEP meetings can be included in the IEP under support for personnel.Supports

for the student, in the form of accommodations and modifications, can be

written into the IEP as well. Accommodations usually involve changes made to

materials, facilities, or work time. Modifications usually involve changes in

workload or curriculum expectations.Am I supposed to make sure

keeps up with my general education students? Yes, if that's the stated goal

in the IEP. Your expectations for 's performance level will depend

on what's in her IEP. Your general curriculum will not change. Instead,

you'll work in conjunction with 's special education teacher to

develop accommodations and modifications that will allow to learn

material from the general curriculum. For example, if has

fine-motor difficulties due to her disability, she might be allowed to do

part of the math homework, or she might need an assistive technology device,

such as a laptop, to help her complete all of the math problems. If her

disability involves memory difficulties, she might be allowed to use an open

book during an exam or listen to a book on tape. There are many examples of

assistive technology devices—such as laptops, books on tape, and voice

recognition software—that can help and other students with

disabilities access the general curriculum.But is it really fair for

to receive this special treatment, then be graded the same as the

other students?In such cases, the definition of fair does not mean equal

treatment. Fair means that each student receives what he or she needs to be

successful and reach his or her full potential. Teachers make reasonable

accommodations for other students on a daily basis. For example, eyeglasses

are an accommodation. If a student breaks or forgets his or her glasses, the

teacher would move the student closer to the board or have another student

read to the student who needs glasses. This is not considered an unfair

advantage, but something the student needs in order to be successful. If a

student in your math class has just arrived in this country and does not yet

speak or read English well enough to tackle math word problems, you might

allow the student to skip the word problems and just do the calculations. Or

you could have someone translate the word problems into the student's native

language. You've modified the work the student is doing but still provided an

opportunity for him or her to learn the material.Do 's other general

education teachers have a right to attend her IEP meeting if they have not

been asked to do so? How can only one general education teacher speak for the

other content specialists?You have the right to ask to attend a meeting and

the right to go, if invited by the parents or school administrators. If you

have not been asked to participate, however, the actual logistics are a gray

area. You may want to consider the following suggestions:• Suppose a

high-school student has five general education teachers, and they all want to

attend the meeting. Since, in some cases, general education teachers are not

required to sit in on the entire meeting, they may be able to rotate through

the meeting, replacing each other as soon as they've finished discussing

their subject area.• If the team's general education teacher has already been

designated, you can ask to attend as the individual who has special knowledge

or expertise about the student.`` As one of 's teachers, you fit

that description.• 's parents can invite you to be a member of the

IEP team if you have special knowledge or expertise about their child.

Parents can be your best advocates. Developing a good working relationship

with them can be an advantage to both you and your student. • Some secondary

schools are passing out forms to all of a student's teachers before the IEP

meeting. The filled-in forms are then shared at the meeting.• As one of

's teachers, you can request that an IEP meeting be scheduled in

order to discuss possible changes in her program. If the administration

chooses not to schedule a meeting, and your continued efforts to resolve some

of your concerns are not successful, you can contact your local or state NEA

affiliate to request assistance.What if I disagree with the other members of

's team on her placement or some other aspect of her program? Who

makes the final decision?IEP teams do not take a formal vote, but final

decisions are usually the result of a majority opinion. Once a decision is

made, an administrator cannot legally negate the team's decision; however, if

parents disagree they may follow due process procedures or opt for mediation.

If a teacher doesn't agree with the team, he or she can write a dissenting

opinion, which should be attached to the student's IEP form and become a part

of the record. Some districts have a place on the IEP form for dissenting

opinions. This document will be helpful later on if the teacher needs to call

another meeting and ask for changes or additions to the student's IEP.How do

I protect myself from retaliation if I'm in disagreement with the

administration or district over a student's IEP or my role in the process?Are

your concerns in your student's best interests? Individuals who are

advocating on behalf of the disabled are protected from retaliation under

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and Title II of

the Americans with Disabilities Act. Document all of your efforts, and if you

do have any problems, your local affiliate will be in a better position to

help you.Scene 2—What Is My Role as a Special Education Teacher?I'm a special

education teacher, and I've been told that the new IDEA requires me to write

IEP goals and objectives based on the state curriculum standards and the

general curriculum. This is not my area of expertise. Do I really need to

become a curriculum specialist to develop goals and objectives for my

students?No, you'll work with other members of the team to develop an IEP

that meets curriculum standards. As a special education teacher, you bring

your expertise on instructional strategies to the team, while the general

education teacher brings his or her expertise on standards-based information.

Also, academic standards are not the only expectations used to write a

student's goals and objectives; behavioral expectations may be written into

the IEP as well. As the special education teacher, you're no longer expected

to be the pull-out expert who takes students with special needs and ''fixes``

them in seclusion. IDEA '97 provides special education teachers with an

opportunity to work in collaboration with their colleagues as opposed to

working in isolation. As a result of this collaboration, special education

teachers are becoming more knowledgeable about the general curriculum, and

general education teachers are, in turn, learning more about appropriate

instructional strategies. How can the general education teacher and I work

together to develop goals and objectives that meet or address curriculum

standards?While general education teachers are content specialists, special

education teachers are well versed in instructional strategies and the types

of modifications their students need in order to be successful. If the

general education teacher says the class will be studying algebraic formulas

on a given day, you'll know whether your students can handle the lesson or

whether they will need modifications. Talk with the general education teacher

about the kind of accommodations or modifications he or she already uses in

the classroom to meet the diverse learning styles of the students. For

example, a primary teacher may give pencil grips to children whose

handwriting is not as well developed. And if students don't understand

instructions the first time, teachers will automatically repeat, rephrase,

and ask students to restate the instructions. A lot of teachers use visual

organizers in their rooms—for example, writing the day's homework in a

specific spot on the blackboard for students who are disorganized. Of course,

this happens to be a great help for students with significant language or

learning problems. Some California educators have been teaching bilingual

students with strategies and methodologies that are identical to those

special education teachers have been using for years. How can special

education and general education teachers get the support we need to actually

implement the IEP process? All members of the IEP team are important and have

specific responsibilities. But the person representing the school system is

key to actually carrying out the process. It's important that he or she has

the authority to commit school or district resources and to ensure that

whatever services are written into the IEP will actually be provided. It's

also useful to put someone in charge of coordinating and monitoring all the

services the student receives. The district is responsible for the following

supports:Time. As in dealing with any student, the school administration or

district is responsible for ensuring that teachers and related service

personnel have the time they need to meet, share curriculum goals and

standards, and determine appropriate instructional strategies. Also, adequate

planning time is an issue that can be addressed through the IEP and/or the

collective bargaining process.Personnel support. IDEA '97 allows the need for

''supplementary aids and services, program modifications, or support for

school personnel`` to be written into the student's IEP. Once in an IEP,

these must be honored by the school system because the IEP is a legally

binding document.Staff development. General education teachers may need

appropriate training to fully participate and understand their role in the

IEP process. Special education personnel may need specific training to help

them become more knowledgeable about the general curriculum, state standards,

and benchmarks. Some states are including mandatory special education

instruction for teacher candidates and veteran teachers. And many states

require ongoing professional development for practicing teachers in order to

maintain their licenses.Collaboration skills. The IEP team is comprised of a

number of people who must work together over a period a time to best meet the

needs of the student. Specific instruction in team decision making and

collaboration skills can help team members write and implement an effective

IEP. IDEA SAYSThe new IDEA emphasizes the student's participation in the

general curriculum and expands the IEP team to include general education

teachers.• The IEP must provide an explanation of the extent, if any, to

which the student will not participate with nondisabled children in the

general classroom.• At least one of the student's general education teachers

must be involved in the development of the IEP. However, the general

education teacher does not have to remain in attendance throughout an entire

meeting or discuss issues for which he or she has no responsibility.• The IEP

must specify the student's present levels of educational performance, how the

student's disability affects progress in the general curriculum, special

education and related services, supplementary aids and support services,

program modifications for the student, and supports for school personnel.•

When developing a student's IEP, the IEP team must plan appropriately for

what the law calls special factors, such as behavioral issues and the

student's specific communication needs (blindness or visual impairment,

deafness or hearing problems, or limited English proficiency). The team must

also consider whether the student requires assistive technology devices and

services.• The IEP team must review a student's IEP periodically, but not

less than annually, and more often if the parents or school ask for a review.

• At least every three years, the IEP team must review existing data and

conduct appropriate assessments to determine if continued services are

necessary.• IEPs must include a statement of transition planning for students

starting at age 14 or younger, if determined appropriate by the IEP team.

Transition planning focuses on the courses of study the student needs to

reach his or her post-school goals. Beginning at least by age 16, transition

services help the student move from school to adult life, which can involve

higher education, job training, or employment.Myth: The IEP can only include

supports for the student, not supports for personnel who work with the

student.Reality: Supports for school personnel to assist the student can now

be written into the IEP.

Mike Savory

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