The Dos and Don’ts of IEP Writing

New York State (NYS) regulations defines an IEP as a “written statement  for a student with a disability that is developed, reviewed and revised by a  Committee on Special Education, Subcommittee on Special Education or Committee on Preschool Special Education. The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the cornerstone of the special education process for each individual student with a disability.” 

Writing IEPs can be a daunting task. As educators, we are required by law, to create IEPs that are purposeful, student centered and legally defensible. 

Understanding the components of the IEP 

1. The Present Levels of Performance (PLOP) 

This section of the IEP should answer two questions: (1) how is the child currently performing and what are his/her strengths and weaknesses? Additionally, how does the child’s disability impact  his/her involvement and progress in the general education curriculum? The Present Levels are the starting point of an IEP and should paint a full picture of the child’s current strengths, weaknesses, assessments results, general education curriculum participations, parental concerns and more. 

2. IEPs include annual IEP goals and objectives or benchmarks for academic, functional, social, and behavioral skills.  

3. IEP goals should be S.M.A.R.T. goals, meaning each IEP goal should be specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound.

4. Progress Reporting discusses how the IEP team will keep track of the child’s progress towards IEP goal and objective mastery. This section also informs the team how often progress updates will be shared about the child’s progress towards the IEP goals and objectives, and how the progress updates will be shared. 

5. The services section of the child’s IEP includes the specific special education services the child will be receiving, for how long (most described in minutes per week), and the school personnel responsible for providing the service. This section also includes specially designed instruction, services outside of the regular school year, like Extended School Year (ESY), transition planning, and transportation.

6. Student supports include the accommodations, supplemental aids and services, and modifications that the child needs to make progress in the general ed curriculum. This section also includes Assistive Technology. 

7. Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is an explanation of the child’s participation with peers in general education classes and during other activities. This also includes any applicable state testing.  In this section, you will also include an explanation of the extent to which a child will not participate with non-disabled peers in class, and other nonacademic and extracurricular activities. 

DO write goals focused on an observable skill; DON’T use language that is not observable. 

Just like the present levels of performance, the statement of annual goals should be specific and use clear, descriptive language. The IDEA requires that goals must be measurable; meaning that you can see whether the student demonstrates the targeted skill or knowledge. Goals that start with “understand” or “know” are red flags. Instead, to be measurable, the goal should be written to allow the team to observe the student’s demonstration of that knowledge or understanding. For instance, using verbs like “identify,” “explain,” “read,” “solve,” “write,” or “begin work.”

DO write goals that are ambitious; DON’T write goals that are unachievable. 

Starting from the present levels of performance, be sure there is a baseline for the specific skill in the goal. After the IEP team reviews the PLOP statement, relevant data, and the student’s past progress on goals, the IEP team must develop IEP goals that the student can reasonably be expected to accomplish within a 12-month period. The purpose of annual goals is to ensure that every child can access and make progress in the general education curriculum, but that does not mean that goals should necessarily be set to achieve at grade level. Goals should be reasonable considering the student’s unique circumstances. 

DO include the details- DON’T include extraneous wording. 

The goal should include information about the circumstances under which the student will demonstrate the skill as well as how progress will be measured and what level of mastery is needed. 

With respect to the circumstances, indicate details such as whether the student will demonstrate the skill in the general education class or during individual speech therapy sessions; with prompting (how much) or  independently; using a new text or a familiar text. With respect to measurement, consider what the team will look at to judge the student’s  performance, such as daily assignment notebook checks, weekly quizzes,  a point sheet, or scores on a given assessment. And with respect to mastery, identify the level of accuracy (e.g. 80% accuracy or 3 out of 4 correct) and consistency (e.g. in 4 of 5 trials or for 3 consecutive weeks).

DO think critically; DON’T repeat goals. 

Generally, a student should not have the same goal from year to year.  Following the three tips above can help avoid the repeated goal pitfall because repeated goals are often the result of goals that are too vague, too ambitious, or lack detail. For example, if the goal is to answer 3 of 4 comprehension questions correctly on a grade level text that skill may continue to be applicable for a student for several years- but at higher levels of text complexity and/or independence. Specifying the text level, the type of comprehension question and response, and the level of independence will produce a more measurable and meaningful goal.  Additionally, writing a goal that is too high for a student may result in the goal being repeated the following year because the student was unable to reach the goal the first year. In that case, ensure the goal is relevant and attainable, also consider if different teaching methods, services, or accommodations are needed for the student to be successful.

DO write goals targeting each area of need; DON’T include the whole curriculum. 

Goals should be written targeting each of a student’s areas of need identified in the IEP. Teams should focus on priority functional and academic skills for the student. While the IEP should address all areas of need, the goals should not encompass every aspect of the curriculum or every skill the student will learn. IEPs with too many goals can lead to implementation and progress monitoring failures, while not supporting the student in their greatest areas of need.