Individualized Education Program

Individualized Education Program

Individualized Education Programs (IEP)

Introduction

In US, there has been a steady increase in the provision of education and care for children under the age of 12. During the 1997 and 2010, there were serious structural changes in the services provided by local authorities for children and young people. The Children Act (2004) led to the creation of multi-disciplinary teams within Children's Trusts, integrating health, education and social services. These aimed to increase collaboration between different professional groups and dismantle the barriers between services.

Discussion

If your child is facing the problem of visual/hearing impairments he or she is eligible for special education services, the school must prepare an Individualized Education Programs (IEP) for your child. An IEP is a written educational plan which is designed to meet the unique needs of your child. The plan describes the goals in the education of your child, the program and the services provided by the school and how it will measure progress towards achieving the targets. It is a written statement from a child's educational program, which identifies services a child needs so that he or she can grow and learn during the school year. The IEP outlines the special education plan by defining child goals for the school year, services needed to assist the child in reaching those goals and a method for evaluating student progress. As its name implies, Individualized Education Program must be written to reflect the child's unique individual. The program is written by the IEP team of the child. (If your child is eligible for services under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the school will prepare a plan under section 504 in describing the services your child will receive (Cohen,2000).

Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is the cornerstone for the education of a child with a disability. The definition of the IEP, as well as specific language, governs the IEP process. It appears in The Education Act for Individuals (IDEA acronym in English), (Code of Federal Regulations 300,346 [CFR acronyms in English]). The IDEA is a federal law that briefly explains the education of children with disabilities.

Once it is determined that the child receives special education services and other services related to it, the IEP team must meet and write the IEP over a period of 30 days. The team will include the following individuals (Weishaar,2001).

Parents / guardians

Minimum of a general education teacher

Minimum of a special education teacher

A school district representative who has knowledge relating to meet special needs and school district resources

Someone who can interpret data from assessment

Other people with expertise and knowledge, if so desired by the parents or school

Several goals and objectives

A description of current performance level of the child

Annual educational goals

A description of how progress will be measured when the child and the school report child's progress

Description of the services the child will receive both in classrooms, general and special education, and related services to them

Therapy and transportation

Description of the adjustments to be performed and the equipment your child will receive such as ...