Layers of an Individualized Education Program

Students who have been found eligible for special education support services are required to be provided with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) by their local school district. Three important sections of an IEP are:

-          Present Levels of Performance (PLOP):

o   Through looking at where a student currently is functioning, it will be possible to identify specific areas of need. These specific areas of need will dictate the subsequent sections of the IEP document. Additionally, through comparing a student’s PLOP year after year, it will be possible to determine whether or not progress has been made by that student.

-          Prospective Goals:

o   Based upon the current PLOP, and the identified areas of need within those PLOP, it will be possible to determine what specific goals should be created for that student. Goals should be created for every deficit that a particular student has exhibited. Examples of possible goal areas are as follows: reading, writing, math, behavior, attention, gross motor, fine motor, expressive language, receptive language, pragmatic language and articulation.

-          Classroom Placement and Related Services:

o   This is the section of an IEP document that the team will generally pay the most attention to. However, it is important to understand that a student’s classroom placement and related services should be dictated by the two sections reviewed above. An appropriate classroom placement and related services will be determined by the identified areas of need and the subsequently created prospective goals.

§  Examples of possible classroom placements are: general education, general education with resource support, a special day class placement (mild to moderate or moderate to severe), a non-public school setting, a residential treatment center placement, as well as possible home/hospital placement.

§  Examples of possible related services include: behavior intervention services, occupational therapy services, physical therapy services, health services as well as language and speech services.

The Economou Law Group has extensive experience working with parents whose children have not been properly assessed and qualified for special education services. If you feel that your child is not being serviced appropriately, call today at (626) 765-9607 for a consultation.