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DIY IEP: About IEPs

There are eight essential sections to an IEP.

1. Present levels of performance: what are your child's current skills? These can be academic skills, life skills, social skills, or behavior. Schools usually use formal assessment scores, but the present level of skills can also be determined based on observation.
2. Measurable annual goals: what do you expect your child to learn in the coming year? Again, these can be academic skills or functional skills. Part of this section will be short term objectives that lead to the goal. More on that later.
3. Progress measurement: how will you know when your child has achieved his goal? This could be a standardized test or observation and a less formal portfolio. Daily tracking is a critical part of measurement.

These three sections will be the core of the DIY IEP. Other IEP sections are

4. Description of special education services: which placement will the child need (resource room, in-class assistance or a full day program)? This could include speech or other therapies.
5. Participation in regular education: will the child spend part of the day in regular education programs? This could be classroom time, PE, music or other "specials."
6. Testing adaptations: can the child be tested with the rest of the class? Does he need one-on-one testing or would a skills portfolio be more appropriate?
7. Length and duration of services: when do services begin and how long do they continue? IEPs are usually written for one year in duration. This section also addresses how often services are provided: daily, weekly, etc.
8. Transition plan: for students 14 years or older, vocational and independent living skills are addressed. This may be relevant for the older home schooled student.

So that's an IEP. As stated before, the first three sections will be of most concern to the home schooling parent. We'll cover those in depth. But first, a disclaimer.

Although you know your child best, you may find school personnel who challenge that fact. Don't expect your DIY IEP to carry any weight with a local school district in the event you enroll your child in public school at some point. They will be required to conduct their own testing and will draw their own conclusions. It may not be the best system, but it is what it is.