Understanding IEP: An Essay Sample on Individualized Education Programs for Children with Disabilities

Introduction

IEP is an abbreviation for the Individualized Education Program. It is a framework that outlines the procedures of special education, and it merely gives the guidelines of what children need to achieve academically. It was written based on the constitution's requirement to cater to and support children with disabilities. The IEP was meant for two primary uses: first, to set yearly attainable aims for the kids and to outline the special education and the support and programs that the government will provide to the children (ONeill, 2019). Before creating the right plans for disabled children, the team should consider the whole education programs, extracurricular programs and noneducational programs.

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In my whole education programs, I refer to the applications offered to students with no disabilities and the resulting techniques they are to build and employ. When talking about extracurricular and noneducational programs, I refer to the school’s programs outside the academic programs. Students do volunteer to do them, and they make a social impact. From the above, the IEP can be described as a plan that carters for the exceptional academic programs for children with disabilities.

The IEP is created by a particular group, consisting of teachers and parents. They meet once annually or twice, depending on if there are emergencies that require them to respond. The group works united to create a program that meets the personal needs of each child, ensuring every child is involved in all the school activities, both academic and nonacademic programs. After this, the team then writes down the agreed plan forming the IEP that outlines guidelines for ensuring every child gets the right special education and needs.

If the participants of a child's IEP group meet, they must ensure the child's participation and involvement in the school activities, making them sure that the IEP they create for the child contains what is required by the IDEA, the state's special education law. The IDEA requires a number of reports which includes:

• A report of the child's current levels of education success, containing the effects of the child's disability in the academic program
• A report of attainable yearly goals and measures, including education and functional ones
• An explanation of the way the child's progress in attaining the yearly goals will be determined
• A report on how the school has modified its programs to support children with disabilities
• A description of the activities, if there is any, the child won't be involved with the others without disabilities
• The agreed time for the start of the programs, the stipulated duration and locations of those programs

For students completing their secondary academic level, the IEP should contain the laid measures and steps that will help them prepare for life after secondary education. The IDEA states that the first IEP should be in work when a child turns 16 or younger if described adequately by the child's IEP group members. The IEP must contain; attainable after-secondary goals determined by age and the transition programs that will help the child achieve those goals.

Benefits of an IEP

According to Cammie (2017), IEP starts with a whole transition that helps determine the strengths and weaknesses of a child. The outcomes of the tests carried help parents and teachers, as well as the IEP team, develop a blueprint meant to attend to the needs of the children. As a result, children get personal programs that aim at developing specific skills. Also, IEP helps teachers to understand their students better and even add them more time when it comes to tests. Further, parents benefit from the program since it enables effective decision-making that positively impacts their child's academic work (ONeill, 2019).

Shortcomings of IEP

Despite the benefits, IEP has shortcomings. Cammie (2017) notes that IEP leads to low self-esteem among children with disabilities. Also, it lowers the parents' and teachers' expectations of the disabled student as well as creating peer issues such as the scenarios where the children with disabilities get mocked by their peers.

For schools to ensure that the advantages overrule the disadvantages of the IEP, parents need to get involved and be given proper and practical guidelines. Parents should attend IEP meetings to acquire these skills and knowledge. It is usually hard for children with disabilities to accept their condition and cope up with others. Parents and teachers should work together to that the child should be given proper care, guidance and be helped in their academic work.

An IEP is personalized. It outlines the programs that are required to help a disabled child's needs. There are also IEPs for English Language Learners. When a student is determined as one who needs the IEP, the blueprint will consider the amount of time the child should be undertaking ESL per week, the mandated instructional minutes per week, as outlined in the CR part 154. The IEP will determine the right ESL assistance that will be provided to categorized students outside the class and the assistance that should be supplied as push-in support. The IEP dictates the kind of help and programs that should be given in English and the ones to be given in the native language. If the child has problems in oral communication, the IEP will determine if a two-language teacher is needed.

Parents should talk with the child's IEP group members on how to assist the child show what they familiarize with on tests. Necessary accommodations for English Language Learners involve such things as having instructions on a math assessment given in the student's first language, the local language. Also, other estimates like passage reading can be provided in the child's native language. The parent should make an effort to talk with the teachers added duration and other assessments that are not necessary for English Language Learners.

The CR 154 outlines the protocol of ELL students who have an IEP. For schools to know if a new joining child has IEP issues, a team is formed. The team will closely monitor the student's language use and determine if they are in the ELLs program. It has enabled many district schools to identify those students who require personal, educational programs. The IEP outlines steps and guidelines that should be followed to differentiate students with disabilities and those with language acquisition problems. When IEP is embraced, it becomes easier to educate English Learners.

Danielson's framework for teaching is advantageous in teaching ELLs. Teachers of ELLs, in line with the IEP, the structure has helped in structuring self-assessment of practice in teachers. Second, it has made teachers understand that every minute they spent with a student makes either a positive or negative impact. It has ensured that teachers provide a conducive social, physical and emotional environment for students. This framework has provided a common language for professional conversation between teacher and teacher and between teacher and student. The frame has also enhanced the quality of teaching. As stated earlier, the performance level of students whose teacher uses this framework to a high degree has significantly improved.

Danielson's framework was written for many purposes. First, it is meant to develop expertise through conscious reflection. It makes a teacher evaluate whether the content is delivered to students is relevant, understandable, and the teacher is delivering it in the right way. The second purpose is enhancing teacher preparation. The teacher should be well prepared before attending a lesson. The content should be prepared in advance and should be understood by the teacher before delivering it to students. Another purpose of this framework is mentoring and coaching. The framework has equipped teachers with skills on how to coach students. It has ensured teachers know what they should do when it comes to positively mentoring their students.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the IEP has helped a great deal in the learning of ELLs. The government is ensuring that all the students are given equal treatment regardless of their weaknesses and disabilities. The school and the student's parents play a considerable role in determining the success and achievement of a student. These policies have ensured that all the teachings offering these programs to the disabled students have qualified and have what it takes to steer the academic journey of these children.

References

Commissioner's Regulation Part 154 [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www.uft.org/files/attachments/ell-powerpoint-2015.pdf

ONeill, J. (2019). Are IEPs Different for English Language Learners? IEPs for ELLs | Special Ed for English Language Learners. Retrieved from https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/english-language-learners/are-ieps-different-for-english-language-learners

Cammie. (2017). Advantages and Disadvantages of Labeling a Special Needs Child in the School System. Augusta Family Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.augustafamily.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-labeling-a-special-needs-child-in-the-school-system/.