EDLD 5344 School Law
Week 3: IEP Implementation
Directions
Review the IEP video located in the Resources section of this course, and use it to answer the questions in the workspace. You will also use information from your lectures and readings and the information you gathered in the Week 1 Assignment to suggest accommodations to Joseph’s IEP. Plus you will develop solutions that will improve the implementation of the IEP at the classroom level.
Two months into the school year, Joseph’s teachers are concerned because they do not think the accommodations that have been outlined in his IEP are realistic, and they don’t think they are helping him. A number of his teachers have decided to implement classroom modifications for him on their own, and those modifications do not match Joseph’s IEP.
Concerned that the IEP developed for Joseph is not adequately serving his needs, you call a meeting with the members of Joseph’s ARD committee. At the meeting, Joseph’s mother expresses concerns over his progress, as well as what she sees as a lack of communication between school and home regarding her son.
Workspace
There is often not a connection between the accommodations outlined in a student’s IEP and the actual accommodations that are made in the classroom. Using evidence-based research, explain in three paragraphs how you plan to ensure that the accommodations outlined in Joseph’s IEP are followed? If teachers say that the IEP accommodations are not working, what do you do?
As Josephs teachers attempt to implement the accommodations outlined in his IEP they may experience “significant confusion” in “understanding which changes were modifications instead of accommodations” (Hollenbeck, 1998). To aid Joseph’s teachers with the steps to accurately implement accommodations, the book Survey of Teacher Recommendations for Accommodation (Ketterlin-Geller, pg.199, 2007) could be given as a suggestion for improving or correcting the IEP process.
I would also meet with Joseph’s teachers to be sure they understand what each of the accommodations actually mean. Their responses will let me know if the problem lies with ineffective accommodations or if the teachers are not providing the correct accommodations as stated by the IEP. Was he taking his tests in small groups? Were the teachers providing positive reinforcers? Were the teachers chunking the assignments to avoid Josephs frustrations?
Finally, I wonder why the teachers let so much time pass without staffing on Joseph’s progress so that a new plan could have been developed and implemented. It seems as though the teachers made changes to Joseph’s current IEP without actually consulting “support or guidance from an IEP team” (Ketterlin-Geller, 2007). Therefore, I have to wonder if the teacher has created more frustration for Joseph or if the IEP itself has caused the frustration.
Hollenbeck, J., Tindal, G., & Almond, P. (1998). Teachers’ knowledge of accommodations as a
validity issue in high-stakes testing. The Journal of Special Education, 32, 175/183.
Ketterlin-Geller, L. R., Alonzo, J., Brown-Monegan, J., & Tindal, G., (2007). Recommendations
for Accommodations: Implications of (In)consistency. Remedial and Special Education, 28(4)
194-206.
In one paragraph, suggest a professional development activity for Joseph’s teachers that would help them more effectively implement his IEP.
I would suggest that every teacher who will be teaching a student with a current IEP attend a district wide 4 hour professional development on “What is an IEP?” and “Do’s and Don’ts of IEP’s.” I would recommend this staff development discuss the difference between what is an accommodation and what is a modification and then how to effectively implement an IEP. I would recommend that the teachers be involved in role play activities so the teachers will be able to practice chunking assignments, stay on task reminders, reading assistance and oral administration. I would recommend that Josephs’ teachers receive a refresher course with the same suggestions.
Use two paragraphs to explain methods you will use to determine whether the accommodations provided for Joseph in his IEP have a positive effect on his achievement?
Joseph’s Special Education teacher will hand out monitor folders every Friday to all of his teachers. Academic and behavior progress will be documented and returned to his Special Education teacher on Monday. On alternating Fridays, Joseph’s teachers will meet face-to-face to review his progress. Teachers will openly share how effective accommodations have been and provide instructional support to one another if needed.
Joseph will also utilize a daily planner that he will take home to share with his mother so she can tell how successful he has been in completing assignments, grades he has received and report on his behavior. His mother is to initial the planner. If teachers note that his mother has not initialed the planner, then they are to telephone her, to make certain she saw the planner and that Joseph was not hiding it from her. This allows for transparency of Joseph’s academic day.
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