Individualized Education Program (IEP) Development: Special Education Programs and Services

MDE Office of Special Education

Guidance

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Development: Special

Education Programs and Services

Michigan Department of Education Office of Special Education

May 2022

The purpose of this document is to support the development of an IEP based on the

unique needs of the student, which are described in the Present Level of Academic

Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP). Development starts with the

PLAAFP and then based on the description of need, supports are identified. The

supports include special education programs and services necessary to meet the needs

of the student and ensure progress. As a reminder, parents must be members of any

group that make decisions on educational placement of their child. 34 CFR §300.327

When an IEP Team determines special education programs and services, the team must

review and align the following IEP components:

present level of academic achievement and functional performance

secondary transition considerations

supplementary aids and services

goals and objectives/benchmarks

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) Requirements

Students who are eligible for special education programs and services are entitled to a

FAPE, which according to 34 CFR §300.17 means special education and related services

that:

are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and

without charge.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Development: Special Education Programs and

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meet the standards of the Michigan Department of Education, including the

requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

include an appropriate preschool, elementary school, or secondary school

education in the State involved; and

are provided in conformity with an IEP that meets the requirements of 34 CFR

§§300.320 through 300.324.

The purpose of IDEA is to ensure all students with disabilities have available to them a

FAPE that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their

unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent

living. 34 CFR §300.1(a)

In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District (2017), the Supreme Court noted the

following:

A school must offer an IEP reasonably calculated to enable a student to make

progress appropriate in light of the student’s circumstances.

An IEP is not a form and so must be constructed only after careful consideration

of the student’s present levels.

The IEP must focus on the individual student, the unique needs of the student, specially

designed instruction, and an individualized program.

address the unique needs of the student that result from the student’s disability.

ensure access of the student to the general education curriculum, so the student

can meet the educational standards that apply to all students.

advance appropriately towards attaining annual goals.

be involved in and make progress in the general curriculum and participate in

extracurricular and other non-academic activities.

be educated and participate with other student with disabilities and nondisabled

students. 34 CFR §300.320(a)(4)

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Development: Special Education Programs and

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Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

Districts have an obligation to ensure students with IEPs are educated in the least

restrictive environment. The IDEA presumes general education to be the LRE for all

students.

Therefore, IEP Teams must consider the LRE when determining appropriate programs

and services. Districts must ensure, and IEP Teams must consider, the following:

To the maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities, including

students in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with

students who are nondisabled.

Special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of students with disabilities

from the regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or severity of

the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of

supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. 34 CFR

§300.114(a)(2)

LRE can be determined for each part of the student’s day and may vary from subject to

subject, depending on what is determined least restrictive by the IEP Team. However,

the IDEA is very clear in 34 CFR § 300.116(e) that a student with a disability is not to be

removed from education in age-appropriate regular classrooms solely because of

modifications that are needed in the general education curriculum. Nonacademic and

extracurricular activities must also be included in LRE considerations for each student. It

is important that IEP Teams understand the LRE described in one IEP in no way predicts

the LRE for future IEPs.

What is Special Education?

According to 34 CFR §300.39(a)(1) special education means specially designed

instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a student with a

disability, including instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals

and institutions, and in other settings, and instruction in physical education.

34 CFR §300.39(b)(3) defines specially designed instruction as adapting, as appropriate

to the needs of an eligible student, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction

to:

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Development: Special Education Programs and

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address the unique needs of the student that result from the student’s disability.

ensure access of the student to the general education curriculum, so the student

can meet the educational standards that apply to all students.

IEP development must consider the student’s strengths, the parents’ educational

concerns, the results of recent evaluations and the academic, developmental and

functional needs of the student. The special education programs and services and

supplementary aids and services in an IEP must be based on peer-reviewed research, to

the extent practicable, and the IEP must include a statement of program modifications

or supports that will enable the student to:

advance appropriately towards attaining annual goals.

be involved in and make progress in the general curriculum and participate in

extracurricular and other non-academic activities.

be educated and participate with other students with disabilities and nondisabled

students. 34 CFR §300.320(a)(4)

Continuum of Alternative Placements

In accordance with 34 CFR §300.115, each public agency must ensure that a continuum

of alternative placements is available to meet the needs of students with disabilities for

special education and related services. The continuum must—

include the alternative placements listed in the definition of special education

under §300.39 (instruction in regular classes, special classes, special schools,

home instruction, and instruction in hospitals and institutions).

make provision for supplementary services (such as resource program or

itinerant instruction) to be provided in conjunction with regular class placement.

When the IEP Team has fully considered the individual needs of the student as

described in the PLAAFP, the programs and services will be determined based on those

needs. Programs and services shall not be restricted to programs and services currently

available. R 340.1721e(4). Therefore, the district may need to consider partnering with

another district when a student is in need of a program or service that the district does

not have.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Development: Special Education Programs and

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Related Services

When developing the IEP, related services are determined based on an individual

student's needs that are described in the PLAAFP prior to determining programs to

ensure to the maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities are educated with

students who are nondisabled.

According to 34 CFR §300.34(a) related services means transportation and such

developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a

student with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes speech-

language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services,

physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, early

identification and assessment of disabilities in students, counseling services, including

rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services for

diagnostic or evaluation purposes. Related services also include school health services

and school nurse services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and

training.

During IEP development, the IEP Team determines the type, frequency, duration, and

the location in which the services will be delivered. Student needs may differ in intensity

and focus during the student’s school years and could differ in intensity within a school

calendar year.

Special Transportation

After determining the programs and services, a student's IEP Team must consider

whether the program is outside of the student's regular attendance area and as such

requires special transportation, or whether the student requires special transportation

due to the medical, health, or behavior related needs.

Special transportation ensures a student has access to and is able to participate in the

programs and services identified as appropriate by the IEP Team and is both a

component of FAPE and ensures a student is able to receive a FAPE.

Transportation is a related service and includes the following:

travel to and from school and between schools

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Development: Special Education Programs and

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travel in and around school buildings

specialized equipment (such as special or adapted buses, lifts, and ramps), if

required to provide special transportation for a student with a disability 34 CFR

§300.34(c)(16)

Types of special transportation may be corner to corner, curb to curb, and door to door

or specialized equipment as mentioned above.

A student’s IEP Team is responsible for determining if transportation is required to assist

a student with a disability to benefit from special education and related services and

how those services should be implemented if required.

Implementation of Programs and Services

For an initial IEP, the parent has 10 days from the receipt of written notification of the

offer of FAPE to provide written consent for the initial provision of special education. IEP

implementation must begin within 15 school days of receipt of parental consent unless

the parent has filed an appeal.

For all other subsequent IEPs, implementation of an IEP must begin as soon as possible

and not more than 15 school days after parent receipt of written notification of the

offer of FAPE, unless the parent has filed an appeal.

The IEP Team can agree to a later initiation date as identified within the IEP document.

However, an initiation date later than 15 school days cannot be used to deny or delay

programs or services because they are unavailable and shall not be used for

administrative convenience. R 340.1721b(4)

The district superintendent or designee appoints a staff person to be responsible for the

implementation of the IEP, including services provided by other agencies. This staff

person can be the principal of the student’s building or another staff person who will be

working with the student and is generally accessible to the staff. R 340.1722

Review and Revision of the IEP

After the completion of the IEP, 34 CFR §300.324(b)(1) requires the IEP Team to review

the IEP periodically, but not less than annually, to determine whether the annual goals

are being achieved and revise the IEP, as appropriate to address:

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Development: Special Education Programs and

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any lack of expected progress towards annual goals

the results of any reevaluation

information about the student provided by the student’s parents

the student’s anticipated needs

The LRE provisions under 34 CFR §300.316 require that a student’s placement is

determined annually, is based on the student’s needs as described in the IEP and is close

as possible to the student’s home. Further, the student must be educated in the school

that the student would attend if the student did not have a disability, unless the

student’s IEP requires some other arrangement. These provisions make it clear that IEP

Teams must consider a student’s LRE annually to the extent that general education in

the school nearest to the student’s home is where the annual LRE discussion starts. The

LRE discussion should not start with the student’s current placement.

The IEP document should be responsive and meet the unique needs of the student.

Those needs may change over the course of the year. The IEP Team must ensure all

students with disabilities have a FAPE which emphasizes special education and related

services that are designed to meet their unique educational needs, provide an

educational benefit, and prepare them for further education, employment, and

independent living.