Following the Reauthorization of the IDEA in 1997 and 2004, IDEA mandated that students with disabilities gain access to the general education curriculum ("Guidance Document for Individual Education Program (IEP) Development July 2018", 2018). Admission and Release Committees (ARCs) are required by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to ensure that students with disabilities gain access to the general education curriculum to the greatest extent possible ("Guidance Document for Individual Education Program (IEP) Development July 2018", 2018). Students with disabilities should have a free appropriate education that lays emphasis on special education and related services that are designed to help them acquire their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.
The IEP, therefore, is a written program for a student with a disability and is eligible to acquire special education and related services under the IDEA. It describes the student’s strengths and needs, measurable annual goals, specially structured instruction, related services and other supplementary aids and services required to address the student’s education needs ("Guidance Document for Individual Education Program (IEP) Development July 2018", 2018). IEPs allows the teachers, school administrators, parents, related service personnel and students to work collaboratively to enhance the education results for children with disabilities. Different states have different ways of meeting the IEP requirements despite the guidelines given by the federal government. This is because the federal government has not specified how an IEP should look like which provides states with and systems enough flexibility to include additional information in the IEP to document compliance with the state and other State and federal requirements.
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Comparison between the Kentucky and Connecticut IEPs
Both states have designed IEPs that are compliant with the IDEAs guidelines. However, the IEPs have some similarities and differences in their formats.
Similarities
In both states, the IEPs start with a presentation of the student’s personal and background information. In the Planning and Placement Team page of Connecticut’s IEP, student’s details are captured including the date when the Planning and Placement Team meeting took place, the parents or guardians, the type of disability and the student’s education background (CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, 2006). Similarly, Kentucky’s IEP begins with capturing this information with a detailed presentation of the student’s capabilities in different academic disciplines, physical skills and social and emotional status ("Archived: Guide to the Individualized Education Program", 2018).
Both state’s IEPs capture the goals and objectives of the program in the Transition Planning section of the IEP. Transition Planning involves activities designed to promote movement from school to post-school activities, including post-school activities including employment. These goals and objectives are based on the student’s needs, preferences, and interests. To achieve the set long-term objectives, both state’s IEPs state the short-term measurable goals and benchmarks upon which reviews are done at the end of the year, and the mode of instruction to be applied to guide through to the achievement of the goals. The criterion to be used in measuring these short-term objectives is also included in each of the IEPs.
Both states allow for adjustments to the IEPs programs with regards to the student’s performance testing. The accommodations agreed upon by the Planning and Placement Team in Connecticut or the ARC in Kentucky are included in the Testing Accommodation section of the IEP ("Archived: Guide to the Individualized Education Program", 2018). Reasons to back the accommodations are also given. A summary of other supplementary special needs to support the child in the education is stated in both states’ IEPs.
Differences
In Connecticut, prior notice is given to inform the parents or guardians of the actions that have been proposed or declined by the Planning and Placement Team (CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, 2006). This includes the reasons behind these actions, and the evaluation procedures applied to them. Included in the actions is exiting the student from special education eligibility (CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, 2006). The prior notice also provides resources which the parents can refer to in reviewing the actions. This notice is not given in Kentucky. Parents and guardians are informed of the progress of their disabled child through such means as periodic report cards.
Comparing the IEPs from the two states, Connecticut’s IEP seems to capture more information concerning student as compared to Kentucky. The IEP in Connecticut is well structured to capture the federal requirements of the IEP and easy to use or review. Kentucky needs to consider restructuring its IEP format to allow easy and detailed presentation of the IEP.
Usability of Connecticut’s IEP
The IEP format used in Kentucky is quite detailed but easy to use by the educators and the parents. This is because the IEP format captures every relevant information relating to the student, the Planning and Placement Team, and the disability that the student has in a simplified and easy to understand manner (CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, 2006). It also ensures that parents a fully informed of the actions of the PPT. This format can work very efficiently in other states across the United States to ensure uniformity in the implementation of IDEA’s guidelines.
References
Archived: Guide to the Individualized Education Program. (2018). Retrieved from https://ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html#Sample%20Form
CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. (2006). IEP MANUAL AND FORMS. Retrieved from http://www.ct.gov/brs/lib/brs/pdfs/guidepostdocs/IEPManual.pdf
Guidance Document for IndividualEducation Program (IEP) Development July 2018. (2018). Retrieved from https://education.ky.gov/specialed/excep/forms/Documents/IEP_Guidance_Document.pdf
