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As a special education teacher, I really have two jobs. One job is everything that goes along with being a teacher (lesson plans, grading papers, actual teaching, etc.). The other job is being a case manager for students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). And while I personally enjoy the "teaching" job more than I do the case manager job, being an IEP case manager is just as important (if not more so) than the actual teaching job. So what exactly is an IEP? The Special Education Advisor website explains:
An IEP is an Individualized Education Program for children who qualify for special education services by their local public school district. It is not an Individual Education Plan. Why isn’t it a Plan? As the old saying goes, “plans are made to be broken!” A program on the other hand must be followed!! Congress in their infinite wisdom got this one right. It is a legally binding document that must be followed to the letter of the law and tailored to meet your child’s unique needs.The article goes into further detail on what is included in the IEP. I would say this is a pretty good summary. However, I will respectfully disagree with one statement they make:
While no one member of the IEP team is the most important, and the process works the best when it’s a collaborative effort, parent participation is considered crucial.I would actually say that parents and students are the most important part of an IEP team. Parents and students (if they are old enough) are the ones who will end up having the final say as far as what goes into an IEP.
1 comment:
Thank you for quoting our article. I love respectful diasgreements because that is the only way to have a meaningful discussion. That is actually the purpose of that comment you disagree with. I want parents and educators to realize that they need to both listen and hear what each other are saying. When that occurs then you can have a productive IEP meeting. If either party digs their heals in and won't budge that is when respectful disagreements end and arguments begin.
Thanks again
Dennise Goldberg
Special Education Advisor
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