IEPs

O que significa IEP?
Alguma técnica para trabalhar em escola especial?

Our very large, urban district uses EasyIEP - a web-based product. The good news is that they are electronic (no more illegible hand written copies of copies!) and we have quick access to them via the Internet. One downside is that, in an attempt to have conformity with language (everyone was writing anything!) they have drop down menus for almost everything, including the goals and objectives. This sometimes takes the "individual" out of the IEP. You have the option to "customize" but they really discourage that. Again, the hope was to make the language uniform and in compliance.

I guess there are no "easy" answers. Even with all this uniformity, I still get IEPs that barely give you more information than the student's name! I try to write my IEPs with the idea that I'm not the audience reading it. I already know my student (hopefully); I'm writing the IEP for the person who DOESN'T know the student.

[quote]We still do handwritten IEPs and for many of the ones I read there is little or no relationship between the PLOP (Present Level of Performance) and the goals/objectives.

Do EasyIEP or the other program like that check for correspondence between the PLOP and the goals, or is it still possible to write a bad IEP using the software?[/quote]

EasyIEP does have checks and balances. You have to complete certain criteria before it will let you "finish" the IEP. If you have Literacy in the PLOP, then you have to have a Literacy goal, etc. However, you call still write a bad/inappropriate goal.

Some fields are drop down, others are free hand. They are continually tweaking the system to help make the IEP better. (Recently, the adjusted an "open" field so that we were forced to write more than "N/A".)

In the end, there are still not great IEPs but its better than it used to be.

I am in Texas. We have Special Education manager here.The software has all of the state curriculum requirements (TEKS) loaded as well as all of the pages required for the IEP meeting. We still have teachers writing awful IEPs either because there is NO mastery criteria or present level. The software company we are working with is trying to help us by putting in some kind of blocker that does not allow the iep to be submitted unless something is written on both of these lines.

We are also requiring all students who are in a modified curriculum to have a gap plan. Something written showing what additional and specialized materials that are being used to "close the gap."

Our district uses TieNet, and they are continuing to improve it with prompts and a model for writing IEP's. We are able to access the state standards although the alternate standards are not included on this link. I have to open a separate document to find the atlternate standards. It sounds similar to the Texas system. I still spend about 3 hours for each student in writing IEP's and progress monitoring takes about 2 hours for each student. Also we have to do additional report cards that are based on grade level standards. I do most of it at home on my own time.

Our district uses TieNet, and they are continuing to improve it with prompts and a model for writing IEP's. We are able to access the state standards although the alternate standards are not included on this link. I have to open a separate document to find the atlternate standards. It sounds similar to the Texas system. I still spend about 3 hours for each student in writing IEP's and progress monitoring takes about 2 hours for each student. Also we have to do additional report cards that are based on grade level standards. I do most of it at home on my own time.

In my district in Virginia we IEP on line. It's a mix of drop down menus, however, most of it is typed. My students are in inclusion classes. Like you, I spend at least 3 hours on my own time writing them. There's no time during "contract hours" for the paperwork. With the standardized tests that our state uses, the IEP goals and objectives become rather pointless. We must teach and the kids are suppose to learn the standards to pass the end of year tests. The PLOP gives the next year's teadher good information, and behavioral and organizational goals may vary from child to child. Accommodations are based on the child's needs. Basically, academic objectives are no longer individualized. the Federal government only requires that IEPs contained annual goals - our division still requires objectives.

At report card time, not only do I have to do report cards with my general ed. teachers, I also have to do IEP progress reports!!! I've had it with the whole thing.

I think we need one national/standard IEP. I have received transfer students from other states whose IEPs I cannot read, they are disorganized, and many still handwritten.