Individual Education Plan (IEP)

Student Needs	IPRC Exceptionalities	Diagnosed Conditions
Aggression Management Anger/Frustration Management Anxiety Management Articulation Skills Attendance Strategies Attention Skills Assistive Technology Skills Blind/Vision Impaired Bullying Management Skills Central Auditory Processing Deafness Depression/Sadness Management Disengagement/Motivation Strategies Eating Disorder Strategies Emotional Regulation English Language Skills Executive Function Fine Motor Skills Gambling Disorder Grief Management Gross Motor Skills Hearing Intellectual Ability – High Intellectual Ability – Low Listening Comprehension Skills Low Vision Memory Skills Mental Health Strategies Metacognitive Skills Mobility Skills Non-Verbal Reasoning Organizational Skills Personal Care Personal Safety Phonological Processing Processing Speed Self-Advocacy Skills Self-Esteem Self-Harm/Suicide Management Self-Regulatory Skills Sensory Integration Skills Sequencing Skills Social Skills Substance Abuse Strategies Task Initiation Time Management Skills Transition Skills Verbal Ability Visual-Motor Skills Visual-Spatial Processing	Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Behaviour Blind and Low Vision Deaf and Hard of Hearing Developmental Disability (DD) Giftedness Language Impairment Learning Disabilities (LD) Mild Intellectual Disabilities Multiple Exceptionalities Physical Disability Speech Impairment	Acquired Brain Injury Alcohol-Related Neuro-developmental Disorder (ARND) Angelman Syndrome Anxiety Disorders Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Auditory Processing Disorder (Central) Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Bipolar Disorder Blind/Vision Impaired Brain Injury Cerebral Palsy (CP) Conduct Disorder (CD) Concussions Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Deafness Depression Disorders Down Syndrome Eating Disorders Epilepsy Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAS/FAE) Fragile X Syndrome Gambling Disorder Intellectual Disabilities Klinefelter's Syndrome Learning Disabilities/Specific Learning Disorders Muscular Dystrophy (MD) Neurological Disabilities Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTS) Prader-Willi Syndrome Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) Seizure Disorders Selective Mutism Spina Bifida Tourette Syndrome Turner Syndrome (TS) Usher Syndrome William's Syndrome

Key Special Education Practices
Accommodations Alternative Programming Assistive Technology Board Special Education Plans Community Resources Differentiated Instruction Create an Inclusive & Positive Class Climate Identification Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) Individual Education Plan (IEP) Ministry of Education Resources Modified Programming Non-teacher Professional Assessments Teacher Assessments Safety/Emergency/Crisis Response Plan Professional Development Reporting on IEP Progress Tracking/Documenting Transition Plans

Characteristics notebook pencil

IEPs must be developed for students who are identified as exceptional by an IPRC, within 30 days of the start of the program and/or beginning of each school year. Other students who are not formally identified as exceptional may also have an IEP, as determined by student needs in consultation with the in-school team and parents/guardians. IEPs can be put into place as the need indicates. IEPs are regularly updated throughout the year, at reporting periods or when the student attains an expectation. IEPs are retained in a student’s Ontario School Record (OSR).

What it is

A written plan for learning, developed for students with special needs, who may or may not be formally identified as exceptional. The IEP outlines special education programming with accommodations and/or modifications of curriculum. The plan may also include alternative programming and transition plans. An IEP is considered a “working document”, as it is revised and changed throughout the year in response to the student’s progress and needs.

Strategies for effective IEP development

• Collaborate with in-school team of teachers and administrators and other education professionals who are involved with the student.

• Establish set meeting times for IEP collaboration with staff – often at the beginning of the year and prior to reporting periods for revisions.

• Collaborate with student and parents/guardians – Set a meeting.

• Use assessment data (teacher-based and professional, if available).

• Develop specific accommodations (with the exception of some students who are solely identified with giftedness and who are on extended programs).

• If needed, develop modifications with an annual goal and specific expectations for each subject area that differs from the curriculum for the student’s grade level.

• Do not include the specific expectations items of the regular grade curriculum on the IEP, if the student will be working at the grade level with accommodations.

• If needed, develop alternative programming, to teach the student skills not represented in the Ontario Curriculum (social skills, self-help and related skills).

• Develop a transition plan for students with transition needs. All students on IEPs who are fourteen years and older, unless solely identified with giftedness, require a transition plan to prepare for post-secondary activities. Transition plans are part of IEPs for students of any age who have Autism Spectrum Disorder, to plan for daily transitions.

• Report on student progress. The Provincial Report Card is utilized most often, as well as the Report Card Addendum to report on alternative programming. Individual school boards may use an additional report card for some students on IEPs.

• Revise IEPs at each reporting period or when goals need to be altered.

• Consider the development of a safety/emergency response/crisis response plan for extreme behaviours.

Strategies for effective implementation of an IEP

• Collaborate with other teachers, including the special education resource teacher.

• Develop a schedule and tracking process to ensure that IEP modified expectations are being addressed each day.

• Assess regularly and re-establish student goals once existing ones are obtained.

• Communicate regularly with parents/guardians and consider a communication system. (For example, agenda book signed daily).

• Aim for the student to understand his/her specific accommodations and/or modifications.

• Coach the student to be a good advocate for him/her self.

• Consider cutting and pasting modifications or alternate programming expectations into a checklist document for the student to utilize each day.

• Consider pasting the student’s specific term expectations and strategies in the front of an applicable notebook for regular review.

• Converse regularly with the student on his/her goals and analyze errors with the student as a form of learning.

• Include a summary of IEP information for occasional teachers so that programming is seamless.

Resources

• EduGains Sample IEPs	• ETFO’s 9 Categories of Modifications
• Ontario IEP Page 1 Video	• Ontario IEP Page 2 Video
• Resources on Technology and Alternative Formats Information on components of an IEP.	• Special Education in Ontario K-12 Policy and Resource Guide, Section E

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