Understanding IEP 1, the first real page of an IEP
The Anatomy of an IEP: A Blog Series
IEP 1, the first real page of an IEP starts out with parent and or student concerns. The most important thing to know about this section is that parent concerns must be included verbatim from the parent. If the parent says, “this is the worst school in the world,” and specifies that they would like this clearly stated in the parent concerns section, the school’s hands are tied.
Of course, if the parent or guardian says they are not sure what the concerns should be, the team can offer suggestions. It can be tricky for the parents/guardians to elaborate on major concerns when a student is having success on their current plan and making improvements. However, the parents can simply say that they envision their student to continue to be supported and challenged to make effective progress if that’s the case.
Most parents will have clear concerns. This is the time to enumerate upon the concerns and ensure the team has a plan to address them. Some concerns might be progress with reading level, social emotional skills or anything that relates to the student’s disability.
The next section of the page is the Student Strength and Key Evaluation Summary: This is where the team must include strengths that the student possesses. They do not strictly have to be related to the disability and should include interests, preferred activities and a summary of the most recent evaluation and most recent state testing results.
Sometimes, the student strength section lacks positivity and this is a mistake. There should be something positive about the student written in this section. It doesn’t have to be academic, it just has to be something accurate about the student. This is especially important if the student moves district. This particular section of the IEP can help a staff member ensure that there is a preferred activity for the student. It also allows the staff to engage the student in a conversation regarding an interest.
Push back against the other members of the team if language is present like, “Student is not able to do x,” or “ Student is not y.” Try to describe what the student can do or things that the student likes. Some examples I've seen included in a student strength section are the particular TV show or novel series the student enjoys, activities that they do with their family like camping, or sporting participation in or outside of school. It can really be anything as long as the student has a connection to that activity. Team members should not feel tied to only showing the academic success or not success of the student; they should try to create a picture of the whole student.
The final section of the IEP 1 is the Vision Statement. Each child will have a vision statement parents can input upon this section as they did in the student concern section. The most important piece of this section is to know that students as young as 13, as long as they will turn 14 prior to the IEP expiring, will have to participate in creating their vision statement. This will also strongly relate to the transition planning form, which should also start at this time.
Depending on the student profile, I recommend involving the student in their IEP meeting as early as appropriate. As early as 3rd or 4th grade, it can be empowering for students with special needs to attend the meeting and have input in their IEP. This will largely depend on the student and the area of concern.
