After about two weeks from the IEP meeting we receive the proposed IEP. We make it very clear that we regard this document as the first IEP draft. See below the letter we sent to the team leader, detailing our comments and requests for editing regarding the proposed IEP. We go through as many iterations of IEP draft/request for modifications as necessary.
I should mention that the school did not agree to provide a summer placement. We sent a second letter regarding our request for extended school year and requested a second meeting. In the end, my son will be place at the inclusive town camp where he will receive support services (math, reading, speech and OT).
You will notice that I'm providing our comments without providing the actual IEP draft, only the final accepted IEP. Hopefully this is still helpful for you. The important thing is to get an idea of the extent of communication we have with our team regarding the IEP process. I encourage you put challenge your team to put forward the best possible plan on behalf of your child.
Here is the actual document. Parental comments to the proposed IEP draft
7 years (kindergarten to first grade)
March 2015
Dear Team Leader,
Thank you for the proposed IEP we have received on March 2015. We appreciate the time and effort that you and the team members have invested in this document. Attached to this letter are our initial comments on the proposed IEP. Please make the modifications possible at this time. We are hoping to receive a new draft within the next two weeks so we can act on it before the spring school vacation. We appreciate your help.
Sincerely,
The parents
Re: Parental comments to the proposed IEP for STUDENT
1. We would like to remind the team of our request to have access to the 1st grade benchmarks and to the typical day schedule from one of the current inclusion classrooms. We require this information in order to understand the proposed IEP (goals and support) in the context of the academic expectations for next year.
2. General Curriculum Accommodations (page 5).
a. Please move here the details regarding the support STUDENT requires in the general education classroom, provided by a full-time special education para-professional during any academic instruction. This will ensure that all accommodations pertinent to the general education classroom support are in the same place and are easily accessible by the classroom teacher.
b. Based on current communication between team members regarding STUDENT’s toileting issues, and on the newly added activities of daily living goal, we believe STUDENT will require 1:1 supervision in accessing the bathroom when transitioning to the 1st grade. The supports should include establishing and reinforcing boundaries when using the restroom outside the classroom.
3. Other Educational Needs Accommodations (page 8).
a. Accommodation regarding 1:1 support during activities such as physical education, computer, art, music, library... Please change to „This support will be faded as determined by the classroom teacher and the occupational therapist.” Given that the classroom teacher doesn’t attend alternate activities on a regular basis the decision to withdraw support should be made with specialist input.
b. Accommodation regarding 1:1 support during lunch... Please change to „This support will be faded as determined by classroom teacher and occupational therapist”. Given the goal #5 regarding activities of daily living, the decision to withdraw support should be made with specialist input.
4. Goal #3 Speech and Language (page10). STUDENT has trouble differentiating between teens and tens. We believe he should improve his articulation regarding both sets of numbers.
5. Goal #4 Fine Motor (page 10). Per math report, „STUDENT is able to write numbers 0-20 that have been dictated to him with approximately 70% accuracy” (page 11 of IEP). For third benchmark, we believe STUDENT should be able to write numbers 0-100.
6. Goal #5 Activities of Daily Living (page 10). During the IEP meeting, we discussed about providing STUDENT with support to use the locker in the 1st grade. Is this an area in which STUDENT will need support?
7. Goal #6 English Language Arts (page 11)
a. Please clarify the first benchmark (STUDENT will read leveled sentences with 80% accuracy). What is the targeted reading level? STUDENT is already reading leveled sentences (at least DRA level 3) with great accuracy.
b. While STUDENT has a solid sight word vocabulary, he has very few, if any, decoding strategies. In addition, per teacher report, STUDENT is unable to blend or segment syllables in words of up to three syllables. We believe STUDENT requires support in acquiring decoding skills.
8. Goal #7 Mathematics (page 11)
a. First benchmark. We believe STUDENT should continue to work on skills similar to the those outlined in his previous math goal - count to 100, and skip by 10s to 100.
9. Service Delivery (page 13). Please add the classroom teacher to the parent consult (currently there is only the parent and the special ed teachers).
10. Schedule Modification (page 15). Due to concerns regarding risk of regression in social and activities of daily living skills, we believe STUDENT requires continuing social interaction with typical peers in an inclusive setting. Consequently, we request a 6 weeks summer placement in an inclusive setting. Please see attached our detailed concerns. We request a meeting to discuss summer services.
11. Additional Information (page 18).
a. Please move to the general curriculum accommodation section (page 5) the details regarding the support STUDENT requires in the general education classroom, provided by a full-time special education para-professional during any academic instruction. This will ensure that all accommodations pertinent to general education classroom support are in the same place and easily accessible by the classroom teacher.
b. During the IEP meeting, the team agreed on weekly classroom updates and weekly email updates from service providers regarding STUDENT’s work. Please add email communication.
c. In order to be effective and relevant to classroom activities, the curriculum newsletters should be sent home weekly (as is currently done). This will allow us to pre-teach and re-teach STUDENT in order to keep up with classroom instructions.
d. In preparation for the transition to the 1st grade, we believe it would be beneficial for STUDENT to receive a general education summer package to allow us to prepare him for his next school year. STUDENT’s success in kindergarten was in part due to the fact that he started kindergarten with strong reading skills (he knew most of the required sight words, and was reading at DRS level 2 in October 2014). During the summer we would like to be able to start working with STUDENT on the skills necessary for the 1st grade, especially those requiring practice and repetition. In addition, we would like to expose STUDENT to ideas, language, and vocabulary from units covered in the 1st grade. We believe pre-teaching of essential skills will allow STUDENT to participate in the classroom and will give him confidence in his ability to learn. We would like the summer package to contain the following:
i. The list of 1st grade sight words
ii. The list of 1st grade spelling words
iii. The list of folk tales and fairy tales covered under ELA curriculum
iv. The list of social studies units (for instance what notable individuals in US History will be covered under the Social Studies curriculum)
v. information regarding skills which might require practice, repetitions, drilling (for instance whether he will be expected to learn/know US states, cities, etc)
Parental concerns regarding summer services for STUDENT
Given STUDENT’s poor social pragmatics skills, we believe he has a high risk of social regression during the summer vacation and he requires continuing social interaction with typical peers in an inclusive setting. Per teacher and speech therapist reports STUDENT has reduced communication skills and difficulty interacting with peers. After the winter break and the many snow days in February, STUDENT showed regression in his speech skills, likely due to the erratic academic schedule. We are particularly worried that, if not enrolled in an appropriate program during the summer, STUDENT will regress in his toileting skills, as well as other self-care skills. STUDENT still has occasional accidents in the classroom, but more importantly, he has consistent accidents during particular transitions, such as when transitioning from the classroom to the after-school program. We believe this is an emotional response to what he perceives as a stressful situation. It shows the fragility of his skills, as well as the interdependence between social and self-care skills. It shows the need for continuous support in order to preserve emerging skills, essential for his successful transition and inclusion in the 1st grade.
Dear Team Leader,
Thank you for the proposed IEP we have received on March 2015. We appreciate the time and effort that you and the team members have invested in this document. Attached to this letter are our initial comments on the proposed IEP. Please make the modifications possible at this time. We are hoping to receive a new draft within the next two weeks so we can act on it before the spring school vacation. We appreciate your help.
Sincerely,
The parents
Re: Parental comments to the proposed IEP for STUDENT
1. We would like to remind the team of our request to have access to the 1st grade benchmarks and to the typical day schedule from one of the current inclusion classrooms. We require this information in order to understand the proposed IEP (goals and support) in the context of the academic expectations for next year.
2. General Curriculum Accommodations (page 5).
a. Please move here the details regarding the support STUDENT requires in the general education classroom, provided by a full-time special education para-professional during any academic instruction. This will ensure that all accommodations pertinent to the general education classroom support are in the same place and are easily accessible by the classroom teacher.
b. Based on current communication between team members regarding STUDENT’s toileting issues, and on the newly added activities of daily living goal, we believe STUDENT will require 1:1 supervision in accessing the bathroom when transitioning to the 1st grade. The supports should include establishing and reinforcing boundaries when using the restroom outside the classroom.
3. Other Educational Needs Accommodations (page 8).
a. Accommodation regarding 1:1 support during activities such as physical education, computer, art, music, library... Please change to „This support will be faded as determined by the classroom teacher and the occupational therapist.” Given that the classroom teacher doesn’t attend alternate activities on a regular basis the decision to withdraw support should be made with specialist input.
b. Accommodation regarding 1:1 support during lunch... Please change to „This support will be faded as determined by classroom teacher and occupational therapist”. Given the goal #5 regarding activities of daily living, the decision to withdraw support should be made with specialist input.
4. Goal #3 Speech and Language (page10). STUDENT has trouble differentiating between teens and tens. We believe he should improve his articulation regarding both sets of numbers.
5. Goal #4 Fine Motor (page 10). Per math report, „STUDENT is able to write numbers 0-20 that have been dictated to him with approximately 70% accuracy” (page 11 of IEP). For third benchmark, we believe STUDENT should be able to write numbers 0-100.
6. Goal #5 Activities of Daily Living (page 10). During the IEP meeting, we discussed about providing STUDENT with support to use the locker in the 1st grade. Is this an area in which STUDENT will need support?
7. Goal #6 English Language Arts (page 11)
a. Please clarify the first benchmark (STUDENT will read leveled sentences with 80% accuracy). What is the targeted reading level? STUDENT is already reading leveled sentences (at least DRA level 3) with great accuracy.
b. While STUDENT has a solid sight word vocabulary, he has very few, if any, decoding strategies. In addition, per teacher report, STUDENT is unable to blend or segment syllables in words of up to three syllables. We believe STUDENT requires support in acquiring decoding skills.
8. Goal #7 Mathematics (page 11)
a. First benchmark. We believe STUDENT should continue to work on skills similar to the those outlined in his previous math goal - count to 100, and skip by 10s to 100.
9. Service Delivery (page 13). Please add the classroom teacher to the parent consult (currently there is only the parent and the special ed teachers).
10. Schedule Modification (page 15). Due to concerns regarding risk of regression in social and activities of daily living skills, we believe STUDENT requires continuing social interaction with typical peers in an inclusive setting. Consequently, we request a 6 weeks summer placement in an inclusive setting. Please see attached our detailed concerns. We request a meeting to discuss summer services.
11. Additional Information (page 18).
a. Please move to the general curriculum accommodation section (page 5) the details regarding the support STUDENT requires in the general education classroom, provided by a full-time special education para-professional during any academic instruction. This will ensure that all accommodations pertinent to general education classroom support are in the same place and easily accessible by the classroom teacher.
b. During the IEP meeting, the team agreed on weekly classroom updates and weekly email updates from service providers regarding STUDENT’s work. Please add email communication.
c. In order to be effective and relevant to classroom activities, the curriculum newsletters should be sent home weekly (as is currently done). This will allow us to pre-teach and re-teach STUDENT in order to keep up with classroom instructions.
d. In preparation for the transition to the 1st grade, we believe it would be beneficial for STUDENT to receive a general education summer package to allow us to prepare him for his next school year. STUDENT’s success in kindergarten was in part due to the fact that he started kindergarten with strong reading skills (he knew most of the required sight words, and was reading at DRS level 2 in October 2014). During the summer we would like to be able to start working with STUDENT on the skills necessary for the 1st grade, especially those requiring practice and repetition. In addition, we would like to expose STUDENT to ideas, language, and vocabulary from units covered in the 1st grade. We believe pre-teaching of essential skills will allow STUDENT to participate in the classroom and will give him confidence in his ability to learn. We would like the summer package to contain the following:
i. The list of 1st grade sight words
ii. The list of 1st grade spelling words
iii. The list of folk tales and fairy tales covered under ELA curriculum
iv. The list of social studies units (for instance what notable individuals in US History will be covered under the Social Studies curriculum)
v. information regarding skills which might require practice, repetitions, drilling (for instance whether he will be expected to learn/know US states, cities, etc)
Parental concerns regarding summer services for STUDENT
Given STUDENT’s poor social pragmatics skills, we believe he has a high risk of social regression during the summer vacation and he requires continuing social interaction with typical peers in an inclusive setting. Per teacher and speech therapist reports STUDENT has reduced communication skills and difficulty interacting with peers. After the winter break and the many snow days in February, STUDENT showed regression in his speech skills, likely due to the erratic academic schedule. We are particularly worried that, if not enrolled in an appropriate program during the summer, STUDENT will regress in his toileting skills, as well as other self-care skills. STUDENT still has occasional accidents in the classroom, but more importantly, he has consistent accidents during particular transitions, such as when transitioning from the classroom to the after-school program. We believe this is an emotional response to what he perceives as a stressful situation. It shows the fragility of his skills, as well as the interdependence between social and self-care skills. It shows the need for continuous support in order to preserve emerging skills, essential for his successful transition and inclusion in the 1st grade.
Importantly, STUDENT should start the inclusive summer placement at the same time as the rest of his typical friends. He needs to learn the new rules, routines, as well as form connections and start friendships at the beginning of the program. A later start (i.e. mid July) would put him at a significant social disadvantage, and would add unnecessary and potentially damaging social difficulties and emotional frustrations. In addition, STUDENT will require moderate support with transitions, lunch, toileting schedule, as well as supervision/facilitation of social interactions with peers, similar to those required during the school day.
We request a meeting to discuss this further.
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