individual education plan

What Is an IEP? Individualized Education Programs, Explained

Over the past decade, the number of students with disabilities has been increasing , and there’s also a special education teacher shortage.

That has made individualized education programs, which special education students rely on, all the more important, according to experts. All special education students rely on these programs, called IEPs, which allow them to receive educational services tailored to their needs.

In the 2021-22 school year, 14.7 percent of all students nationwide were special education students, reaching an all-time high in 46 years, according to National Center for Education Statistics data.

Even with special education staffing shortages increasing along with special education student numbers, districts are still required to meet the individual needs of these students, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act , or IDEA, is the federal law that mandates special education teachers be appropriately trained and have the knowledge and skills to serve children with disabilities, and that all special education students receive a “free appropriate public education.”

Some states and districts may be skirting the law, the U.S. Department of Education said last year in a letter to state directors of special education. Valerie Williams, the director of the office of special education programs at the education department, warned state directors of special education in a letter that they are still required to meet those requirements.

“In light of a teacher shortage when we are seeing an increase in students with very specific needs, how individualized can we be?” said Brandi Smith, adjunct instructor in the school of education at American University, and a special education teacher.

Autism spectrum disorder
Deaf-Blindness , or simultaneous hearing and visual impairments
Deafness , including total or partial deafness
Developmental delay , which means delays in communication, motor skills, or cognitive abilities
Emotional disturbances , such as anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression
Hearing impairments , including partial or temporary hearing loss, which aren’t identified under the “deafness” category
Intellectual disability , such as Down syndrome
Orthopedic impairment , such as cerebral palsy
Other health impairments , which can include conditions such as ADHD
Specific learning disability , such as any condition impacting a child’s ability to read (Dyslexia), write (dysgraphia), or do math ( Dyscalculia)
Speech or language impairment , such as stuttering or difficulty with articulation
Traumatic brain injury caused by an accident
Visual impairment, including partial and total blindness

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Benefits of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

Who Qualifies and What Services Are Provided

What Is an IEP?

Who Qualifies
What Is Involved
Implementation
Legal Rights
IEP vs. 504 Plan

An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) helps children with disabilities receive personalized educational assistance. It is a written plan with specific goals in which special resources are delivered to a child for free to help them succeed at school.

After an IEP referral is made, an evaluation is performed to assess multiple factors, such as the child's schoolwork and ability to pay attention. Once a child qualifies, a plan is developed and shared among a team of providers, including school officials, counselors, therapists, and the parents or guardians.

This article explains who qualifies for an IEP, how the evaluation is performed, and how (and which) services are provided. It also describes the legal right of parents to not only access IEP services but also direct how those services are delivered.

Fat Camera / Getty Images

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a legal document provided under Federal law that is used for children in public schools who need special education. It is developed with the child's parents and members of the school system who are trained to administer IEP according to the law.

An IEP is intended for children with disability. An eligible student is any child in public school between the ages of 3 and 21 with a specific learning disability.

The IEP is based on an evaluation of the child describing their current levels of performance, strengths, and needs. Based on the evaluation, a written document is prepared outlining:

The goals of the plan
What special accommodations and services are needed
Who will provide these services
When and how progress is measured

The IEP is reviewed every year to assess the child's current level of performance, whether goals have been met, and what, if any, modifications are needed to improve performance.

Who Qualifies for an IEP?

A child is eligible for an IEP if they have a qualifying disability that requires special education. Under the definitions outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA), the disability must have a negative impact on the child's academic performance.

There are 12 categories of qualifying disabilities:

Intellectual disability
Hearing impairment
Speech or language impairment
Visual impairment
Emotional disturbance
Orthopedic impairment
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Traumatic brain injury
Specific learning disability (such as dyslexia )
Deaf-blindness
Multiple disabilities
Any other health impairment affecting strength, energy, or alertness (such as asthma, ADHD, diabetes, or sickle cell anemia)

In addition, IEPs may be available (in many but not all states) for "gifted students," meaning those who are academically advanced compared to their peer group. This is often referred to as a "Gifted IEP" and exists to meet the academic and social-emotional needs of these unique students.

Who Is Involved in the IEP Evaluation Process?

Depending on the child’s specific needs, the team members involved in the evaluations may include the parents and guardians, along with:

Counselors or psychologists
Healthcare providers
Hearing specialists
Occupational therapists
Speech therapists
Teachers or special education educators
Physical therapists
Vision specialists

Implementing the IEP

The implementation process starts with the referral of a child for evaluation and continues until the IEP is reevaluated.

The IEP process can be described in the following 10 steps:

"Child Find" : This is the system the state uses to identify and locate children with disabilities, called "Child Find." Parents may be contacted and asked if their child should be evaluated, or parents can call the "Child Find" system and ask for their child to be evaluated.
Evaluation : The evaluation by members of the school system and others assess the child in all areas related to the suspected disability.
Decision : A group of qualified professionals along with the parents review the evaluation and decide if the child has a disability as defined by the IDEA Act.
Eligibility for services : After a child is determined eligible, the IEP team has 30 calendar days to schedule a meeting and start drafting the IEP.
Meeting with stakeholders : The IEP meeting is conducted with all participants, including the parents, teachers, school counselor, school administrator, and any healthcare providers or therapists.
Formulating the IEP : The IEP is written, providing details about which services are needed and how the program goals are to be measured.
Delivery of services : The services and accommodations are rolled out in the manner described in the IEP.
Progress report : The parents are updated as to how their child is progressing. Written progress reports are mandated per the terms of the IEP.
Annual review : A review is conducted by the IEP team at least once yearly or more often if the parents or school ask for it.
Reevaluation : This evaluation, called a "triennial," is performed every three years to determine if the child still has a "disability" as defined by the IDEA Act and what ongoing services, if any, are needed.

Your Legal Rights for IEP

Under Federal Law, every child with a disability in public school is entitled to receive a "Free Appropriate Public Education" (FAPE) in the "Least Restrictive Environment" (LRE). This includes the right to special education at no cost when deemed necessary.

There are also legal guidelines, called procedural safeguards, that outline the rights of parents throughout the IEP process.

These include:

The right to an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) if the initial evaluation deems your child is ineligible for IEP
The right to a first IEP meeting within 30 days of a child being deemed eligible
The right to give or deny consent to every facet of the IEP
The right to request an independent mediator if an impasse with the IEP plan is not found

What IEP Services Are Available?

IEP services are the resources available to support a child with disabilities. Sometimes they involve assistance with traveling to and from school or mobility at school. Other children may need counseling or occupational therapy. While this is not a complete list, the following are common examples of IEP services.

Audiology Services

Audiology involves helping children with hearing loss. Services might include identifying a child with hearing problems, evaluating the level of hearing loss, speech and language therapy, and choosing the right hearing aid if appropriate.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists work with children to help them improve, develop, or restore skills or function. Examples of the types of skills occupational therapists can help children with include:

Activities of daily living : for example, bathing, feeding, and dressing
Play and social interaction : conversation, sharing, taking turns
Sensory regulation : controlling stimulation levels by wearing headphones or sunglasses, using fidget toys, calming exercises
Executive function : using organization and memory aids
Academic skills : handwriting, coloring, drawing
Transition to adulthood : shopping, laundry, and cooking, preparing for employment

Parent Counseling and Training

Sometimes parents need help understanding their child's unique needs or their disability. In this case, parent counseling and training may be part of an IEP plan.

Training can range from information about how to help a child with anger management to exercises to perform at home.

Psychological Services

Psychological services are frequently provided by or coordinated by the school counselor. The counselor or other trained mental health professional can assist in identifying special needs. They might also develop strategies to help with outbursts, behavior modification, emotional coping skills, and more.

These services help children with disabilities learn how to use their recreation and leisure time in a way that is beneficial to them. Recreation services may include after-school or community youth programs. Learning to use leisure time constructively can help improve skills related to the following:

Physical functioning
Attention span
Decision making
Problem-solving
Team-building
Anger management
Stress management

School Health Services

Children with disabilities often require help from school health services for support, such as medication administration, special feedings, managing a tracheostomy , and chronic illness management.

Additional IEP Services

Additional IEP services include:

Early identification of disabilities
Interpreting
Medical assistance
Physical therapy
Rehabilitation counseling
Social work
Speech-language pathology

Differences Between the IEP and 504 Plan

The IEP and 504 Plan both support children with disabilities at no cost to families. The IEP was created under the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) Act of 1990, while the 504 Plan was enacted under an anti-discrimination law called the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The 504 covers a broader range of disabilities than the IEP and is available for kids with disabilities who don’t qualify for the IEP. Although these children may have a disability that needs assistance, they are not struggling to keep up with their learning or schoolwork.

A few other key differences between the IEP and 504 Plan include:

Consent : Both require permission from a parent or guardian before evaluation, but the IEP requires written consent.
Eligibility : An IEP is more appropriate for a child who is falling behind academically while a 504 provides a child with disabilities accommodations.
Evaluation : The IEP evaluation process is more formal and lengthy than the 504.
Family notification : Both plans require notice to parents or guardians before a change, meeting, or evaluation. However, the IEP notification must be in writing.
Review : An IEP has to be reviewed yearly and reevaluated every three years. Typically states follow these guidelines for the 504, but it can vary.
Document type : An IEP must be a written document while the 504 does not.
Who creates it : The IEP is more strict about team members than the 504.
What’s in it: An IEP is specific about a child’s performance, goals, and timing of services provided. The 504 states who will provide services and who makes sure the plan is done.

While a child could have both an IEP and a 504, it’s unusual for them to have both. In general, an IEP plan is for a child who is falling behind academically.

An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) helps children with disabilities by providing personalized resources to help them be more successful in school. Once a child is referred, an evaluation period helps determine a child’s eligibility for an IEP.

The school typically schedules an IEP team meeting within 30 days of eligibility. Schools invite parents or guardians to the meeting where the plan is written. They review the plan at least once a year and evaluate eligibility every three years.

Services vary based on a child’s individual needs. Examples include physical therapy, occupational therapy, anger management, speech-language therapy, and more.

Kurth JA, Lockman-Turner E, Burke K, Ruppar AL. Curricular philosophies reflected in individualized education program goals for students with complex support needs . Intellect Dev Disabil . 2021;59(4):283-294. doi:10.1352/1934-9556-59.4.283

Department of Education. Sec. 300.8 Child with a disability .

National Special Education Advocacy Institute. Gifted IEP .

U.S. Department of Education. A guide to the Individualized Education Program .

Chen HC, Wang NM, Chiu WC, et al. A test protocol for assessing the hearing status of students with special needs . Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol . 2014;78(10):1677-1685. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.07.018

Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, What is occupational therapy?

Center for Parent Information and Resources. Specifying related services in the IEP .

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans .

By Brandi Jones, MSN-ED RN-BC Jones is a registered nurse and freelance health writer with more than two decades of healthcare experience.

Special Education Guide

The IEP Process Explained

Origins and purpose.

Although the legal precedence for inclusion can be traced to the Supreme Court decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, it was really the parents of children with disabilities that encouraged legislators to adopt the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) in 1975. This legislation required school districts to include and educate students with special needs and to create specialized academic plans for them. In 1990, EAHCA was renamed The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

With such honorable beginnings, it makes sense that the individualized education program (IEP), or sometimes called individual education plan, process was intended to be centered on the student. Whatever the IEP includes, its purpose is always the same: to tailor an educational plan for the child so that he or she can reach his or her full potential.

The First Step: Determining Eligibility for Services

Who qualifies.

Before a student can receive special education services, he or she must be evaluated for eligibility. Under IDEA, there are currently 13 categories under which a child can receive these services:

Deaf-blindness
Emotional disturbance
Hearing impairment
Intellectual disability *
Multiple disabilities
Orthopedic impairment
Other health impairment
Specific learning disability
Speech or language impairment
Traumatic brain injury
Visual impairment

*ID has also been referred to as “Mental Retardation” (MR) in the past, and the term and its acronym may be used colloquially or in older documentation. It is not, however, a currently accepted practice to refer to individuals with intellectual disabilities as mentally retarded.

How Can I Have My Child/Student Evaluated for Eligibility?

As a parent, it is very simple. If you think that your child may qualify for special education services, you need only to request an evaluation. You can do this by contacting you child’s teacher, the school psychologist or the school principal. A group of qualified personnel will decide whether to evaluate or not and create a plan for the evaluation. The district has 60 days from the date of your giving permission to evaluate to complete the evaluation. Some states have administrative code that defines the length of time the team has to decide how and whether to evaluate, but not all do so. Any and all decisions regarding evaluation require the school district to inform and invite the parent to be a participant. There should be no decisions about whether or how to evaluate without the parent being a part of the team’s discussion.

Teachers can also refer students for evaluation, but this should happen after attempts have been made to remedy problems without special education services. If such attempts have been made, and the child continues to struggle, while varied from school to school, the next step may be initiating an intervention under RTI, or convening the school’s student services team (SST) to discuss the student’s performance. At this meeting, the general education teacher should bring work samples and other data such as reading and math scores, behavioral charts and writing samples. The evaluation team can then decide whether to refer the child for an evaluation, or suggest that the child continue without special education services.

If the team suspects that a child has a learning or behavioral impairment, it will work together to determine what tests and data will be gathered. This can include a variety of performance-based tests, such as the Woodcock Johnson, Third Edition (WJIII) or the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT), as well as cognitive and behavioral functioning tests. It’s important to note that NO testing can begin until the parent consent by giving written permission to evaluate.

Following the testing and gathering of existing data, the evaluation team will meet again to discuss the results. Any time the decisions are made regarding evaluation, the parent is invited to participate. Each of the 13 categories of disability included in IDEA has unique qualification requirements. However, the most common disability (roughly half of those evaluated) are in the category of specific learning disability (SLD). Under the SLD category, if the discrepancy between achievement and ability (measured by the discrepancy between IQ and academic test results) is large enough, the child will qualify for services.

A note about the discrepancy method and SLD: As a part of the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA, school districts were asked not to rely solely upon the discrepancy method for identifying SLD, because it makes it very difficult to identify any child who is younger than the third grade age level. Nonetheless, a large number of school districts still rely upon the so-called discrepancy model for SLD, when in reality they can acquire enough pre-existing data with RTI to document eligibility. The other 12 categories have varying requirements, but none are similar at all to those required for SLD. Parents should be careful to observe when SLD standards are being applied to other categories, such as Other Health Impairments, when there is no legal provision to do so.

Also, keep in mind that there are some diagnoses that teachers and school psychologists are not qualified to make. Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), autism, and most physical and developmental delays require medical diagnoses. If you suspect that a student has one of these impairments, it is vital to include a medical professional (such as the child’s pediatrician) in the evaluation process. Also, children with developmental delays or physical impairments who receive routine medical care will most likely be diagnosed in the pediatrician’s office and will begin receiving services early in life. Children under age three can receive early intervention services through school districts (depending on the state of residence) or other state-funded programs.

The bottom line is that in each category of disability there must be an impact on the student’s education caused by the disability, and the student must be deemed in need of specially designed instruction. After all, not all children with a disability require special education services.

Step Two: The IEP

If your student or child is diagnosed with a disability, the next step will be to design a program for him or her that will address his or her unique needs. This program will be laid out in a very specific, very long document called the individualized education program (IEP) that will be reviewed annually in the IEP meeting. Annual is defined as no more than 365 days; meetings held after this date are considered non-compliant. An initial IEP (the first one) must be in place within 30 days of the evaluation meeting determining eligibility.

Special education teachers often use the term “IEP” interchangeably to mean the formal document and the meeting in which it is discussed. To avoid confusion, you should refer to the document as the “IEP,” and the meeting as the “IEP Meeting” or “annual review.”

Who attends the IEP meeting?

Every IEP meeting must have in attendance the special education teacher, district representative (often an administrator, but not required to be), someone to interpret test data, and a general education teacher; the is parent invited and encouraged to attend. Also commonly seen in IEP meetings are the student (who are required to attend from the age of 16 years on), school psychologist, adaptive physical education teacher and service providers such as speech and language specialists and occupational therapists.

While all five member roles are required, it is possible for one member to serve more than one role. For example, a special education teacher is typically trained to interpret test data, so he or she can play the role of that position as well as the special education teacher. Each person on the team has a unique role. The special education teacher knows what forms of specially designed instruction can be easily done in that school; the general education teacher is an expert in the general education curriculum of the grade in which the student is current placed; the district representative ensures that the IEP is legally compliant and all the stipulations of the IEP can be put in place; the interpreter of test data helps the team to understand the testing information. Finally, the parent, is not mandated to attend, has the unique role of understanding the child from birth and outside of a school setting.

What Goes into the IEP?

Everything but the kitchen sink! All levity aside, a good IEP is a long and very specific IEP. It is important to remember that the IEP is a binding document for the provision of services between the district and the parents . This means that if a district does not provide services that are promised in the IEP, it is non-compliant with the IEP and the law. It does not mean that if a child has not made as much progress as the team would like to see, that the teacher or district should be sued; it also doesn’t mean that anyone will go to jail.

Inside the IEP, you should expect to find all of the following:

Present Levels: This is a snapshot of who the child is and how he is doing right now. This should include eligibility information, contact information for the parents and a summary of current work. This summary should include data such as reading and math test results, current grades, observed skills, behavioral referrals and records of work habits. In short, it should be specific. Teachers should avoid writing generalities or subjective comments such as “Johnny is a well-behaved boy.” Space should be provided for family and parental input. In essence, the present levels of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP) should state the students strengths and weaknesses, classroom performance, and provide measurable baseline data from which goals are created.
Offer of Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): This is commonly referred to as “placement” and/or “services.” This is the binding part of the contract, in which the district offers classroom and/or ancillary services such as speech therapy or adaptive physical education. It should specify how often (number of days in the school year) the child will receive these services and the duration of the services (how many minutes per session). This section cannot use variable terms, such as “as needed,” rather should spell out the minimum number and times for provision of services.
Goals: Goals are written to provide measures of progress. Goals can be academic, behavioral, social or transition-based, and should always be written for recognized areas of need. For example, if a student is far behind peers in math, he or she should have a math goal. Goals should be achievable (the team should agree that the student could reasonably meet the goal in one year) and measurable (the teacher must feel that he or she can provide hard data and work samples to show progress toward the goal).
Accommodations and Modifications: Accommodations and modifications are changes to the classroom environment that may be necessary to assist the student. Teachers and parents are often unclear about the difference between an accommodation and a modification. The general rule is this: if it helps the student to complete the same work at the same level as his peers, it is an accommodation; if it changes the work, or the work is completed at a different level, it is a modification. For example, allowing a child to type his notes rather than hand write them is an accommodation. An adult typing them for him is a modification.
Transition Plan: Recent legislation requires that students who will turn 16 within the life of the IEP must have a transition goal and plan.
Signature Page and Meeting Notes: Each member of the IEP team typically signs, indicating that he or she was present at the meeting and approves the notes from the meeting. In addition, the parent must consent to the accommodations, modifications and placement (offer of FAPE) from the district for the initial IEP to be implemented.

What Happens at the IEP Meeting?

Every year, the IEP team convenes for the annual review (AR). The AR is designed to gather all the IEP team members in one location to update one another on the student’s needs and performance by reviewing progress toward goals and looking at new data like work samples and recent testing. Every three years, the team will also meet to discuss the student’s continuing eligibility for services. This meeting is called the triennial review (Tri) and is usually combined with the AR.

Many new teachers are under the impression that the entire IEP should be written during these meetings. While some of the writing does happen there, the team should come to the meeting with a first draft of goals, present levels, suggested accommodations and modifications and an offer of FAPE. If every member came to the table with nothing prepared, the IEP meeting would last for hours and hours. More suggestions on how to write the IEP can be found in The Collaborative IEP: How Parents and Teachers can Work Together .

Step Three: Follow Up

The IEP meeting should not be the only time that teachers, parents and other service providers discuss a child’s progress. Remember that the IEP is a working document and can be modified and changed as needed throughout the school year. It is important to keep the line of communication open between team members and to continuously work together to best meet the needs of each student.