- Hey there, I'm Luke. Today we're going to talk
about the seven different steps in the IEP process, and
help define each one. Those steps of the IEP process are number one, pre-referral,
number two, referral, three, identification, four, eligibility, five, development of the
IEP, six, implementation, and seven, reviews and re-evaluations. Now by the end of this short video, you'll start to have a
grasp on how the life blood of special education, aka the IEP, actually works, and if you're preparing for your first IEP
meeting, you'll understand the journey you're about to embark on. All of this and so much
more on today's episode of Special Education Decoded. (percussive music) IEP is an acronym that's frequently thrown around in special education. IEP stands for Individualized
Education Plan, and is an essential part of
the special education journey for every single eligible child throughout the United States. This process of obtaining
one can be challenging, especially if you have no
idea what steps are involved. Today we're going to
talk about those steps, which again, are number one, pre-referral, number two, referral, number
three, identification, four, eligibility, five,
development of the IEP, six, implementation, and seven,
reviews and re-evaluations. Let's start with step one of
the IEP process, pre-referral. A pre-referral is used to avoid unnecessary evaluations and placements. Main objectives of the pre-referral stage of the IEP process are to
document the challenges and difficulties exhibited by the child, to evaluate the usefulness of
the classroom accommodations and changes within the
student's current classroom, to review the power of different instructional interventions, aka, different ways of teaching, and finally to supervise the
development of the student. Let's cover some additional information about the pre-referral stage. Each school is required by law to identify children with special needs
and support that child from ages three all the way to 21. A parent can bring concerns to the school or school district. Also, teachers have the ability to bring concerns to the school. Finally, early intervention services are available starting at age three. It's important to note that
during the pre-referral stage, teachers will try various
certified teaching approaches in hopes of establishing
whether flawed instruction could be the cause of the problems. Children whose learning remains challenged will be referred to the next step of the IEP process, step two, referral. This step takes place when
the pre-referral attempts to correct the child's issues fail. This means the child
is officially referred for special education services. During the referral process, information about the child is collected. This includes observations,
student's work samples, grades and testing scores. An array of data types,
assessment instruments and methods are used during this stage in order to create an accurate report later used to determine the
correct path for the student. If the final decision is that
the child has a disability that requires special education, then a baseline of
performance is determined. Once an official referral has been made, information has been collected, the next step of the IEP process begins. That is step number three, identification. The team meets to discuss
the results of the strategies implemented and the
interventions provided. This is where next steps are determined, and this could include
sometimes that the next step is simply to continue
with the interventions. Usually this happens
only if they're working. If things being tried in the
classroom aren't working, most likely an evaluation will be ordered to see if your child has a disability that may require special
education services. If an evaluation is
needed, the team determines the most appropriate
evaluation for your child. Times are set both to
complete the evaluation and set the next meeting
to review the results. The information gathered
during the assessment stage is used to categorize
those who have a disability and are eligible for
special education services. The next step determines which
services will be received. Step number four, eligibility. During this step, the evaluation results are reviewed by the team, which of course includes the parents. The disability category will be determined and will be one of the
following 13 categories, developmental delay, autism, speech and language impairment, specific learning disability,
emotional disability, visual impairment, deafness, hearing, intellectual disability,
multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment,
traumatic brain injury or other health impairment. Now students who do not
meet the qualifications for special education services simply remain in the
traditional classroom setting. For the children who do
meet the qualifications, the next step takes place. Step number five, the actual
development of the IEP. First, an IEP team is formed. This team includes parents,
educators, administrators, other specialists, and
if a parent would like, they can bring a child advocate with them. This is the meeting where
the actual IEP is formed. Part of the IEP requires that your child be placed in the least
restrictive environment, or LRE. Lastly, specific goals are
placed within the IEP document. Now during the IEP meeting,
resources required by the child are identified, their individual
learning style determined, along with their goals,
both long and short term. Once an IEP has been written and approved, the next step in the IEP process begins. Step number six, implementation. Simply put, this is
where the student's IEP and associated services commence. Also, from this point forward, the teachers at the school
follow the accommodations and modifications outlined in the IEP. That completes the IEP
development process. However, there's still one
more very important step to the IEP process, and
that is step number seven, reviews and re-evaluations. There are a few things to keep in mind as your child moves forward
on their educational path. You will be meeting with
the IEP team every year, as this document is required
to be reviewed annually. However, at any time
you see fit as a parent, you can request a review. During these reviews, the team
will meet to discuss things such as your child's
progress toward their goals, if the plan in place is currently working. If not, time to fix it. A re-evaluation is
required every three years, and is used to determine
if a child remains eligible for special education services. That brings us to the
end of our seven steps in an IEP process. To quickly recap, those seven steps are number one, pre-referral, two, referral, three, identification, four, eligibility, five, development of the IEP, six, implementation, seven,
reviews and re-evaluations. That's it. I truly hope this video
helped you understand more about the IEP process. It's important, it's vital to keep in mind you, as the parent, are
part of the IEP team and have a major voice in everything that pertains to your child's education. Be loud, ask questions, advocate, and ensure your child is
set up for ultimate success. If you like what you saw, please consider
subscribing to our channel, and sharing this video. If you have any questions at all, please leave a comment,
as it's our mission to help children reach their excellence. We are here to help turn
the confusing world, the murky world of special education into something that makes sense for you. From all of us on the
specialedresource.com team, thank you so much for
watching this episode of Special Education Decoded.