Guidelines for Making Decisions about IEP Services

IEP Services 7 of 8

Decide “What” Before “How”

This series of slide shows is based on:

Guidelines for MakingDecisions about IEP Services

2001Michael F. Giangreco, Ph.D.

University of Vermont, Center on Disability and Community Inclusion

This document is available in a pdf (portable document format) on the internet

http://www.uvm.edu/~uapvt/iepservices/http://www.state.vt.us/educ/Cses/sped/main.htm

Distributed by theVermont Department of Education

Family and Educational Support TeamMontpelier, Vermont

Development of this material was supported by a grant from the Vermont Department of Education, Montpelier, Vermont under the auspices of Vermont Act 117: An Act to Strengthen the

Capacity of Vermont’s Education System to Meet the Needs of All Students, Section 7 (d) (5).

Decide how services are provided

Modes and Frequency of Service

Modes of Service

Assessment

Direct Services

Indirect Services

Consultation

Combinations

Assessment is the gathering of information for educational planning

and includes record review, interview, observation and

administration of formal and informal tools that

are appropriate and

valid for the student.

Assessment

Direct services are those provided by qualified

personnel directly to a student, including those who

have met state-approved “certification, licensing,

registration, or other comparable requirements that apply to... ...providing special education or related

services”

(34 CFR §§ 300.23).

Direct Service

In contrast to direct service, indirect services are delivered directly to the student by another

person (e.g., a paraprofessional) under the direct supervision of

a qualified professional.

Indirect Service

Consultation refers to the planned

communication of information or skills from one person to others. It

can include technical assistance and training,

monitoring, service coordination, and

administrative consultation.

Consultation

Deciding what combination of service

modes (e.g., direct, indirect, consultation) is

appropriate means matching the mode with

the purpose to be served.

Match mode of service topurpose served

Decide how much service is needed.

There is no formula to make such decisions,

rather it is based on the student’s needs, past

performance, and priorities.

Frequency of Services

In determining the frequency of the services,

the amount chosen for one discipline’s

involvement may affect the amount for another discipline. Therefore,

consider the interrelationships among

the disciplines.

A special consideration regarding frequency of

services pertains to whether a student with

a disability requires extended school year

(ESY) services.

Extended School Year Services

Extended school year services refer to special education and related services that: are provided to a child with a disability;

beyond the normal school year of the public agency;

in accordance with the child’s IEP;

at no cost to the parents of the child; and

meet the standards of the SEA (State Education Agency).

“...extended school year services must be

provided only if a child’s IEP team

determines, on an individual basis, … that

the services are necessary for the

provision of FAPE to the child.”

34 CFR 300.309

In general, the more knowledge and skills, school staff have to

address diverse needs of all students, the lower the need for

specialized services for students with

disabilities.

Consider approaches that build school capacity

Building the capacity of the school community

allows human and material resources to

be developed and utilized in ways that benefit increasing

numbers of students with and without disability labels.

The IDEA allows for “paraprofessionals and

assistants who are appropriately trained and

supervised… …to be used to assist in the provision of special

education and related services to children with

disabilities.”

(34 CFR 300.136)

If paraeducator support is proposed, consider its use and

impact

Sometimes the well-intended assignment of

a paraeducator to a student merely shifts

the responsibilities. It is ironic that this common

solution sometimes results in assigning the least trained and least

qualified adults to students who have the most complex learning

challenges.

Inadvertent detrimental effects of assigning a paraeducator to an individual student: creates unnecessary and unhealthy

dependencies on adults interferes with teacher ownership and

responsibility for students with disabilities interferes with peer relationships limits students’ access to competent

instruction limits access to typical class activities isolates students within the classroom may be perceived as stigmatizing by students limits personal control and self-determination

Any paraeducator services offered to a

student with a disability are indirect services.

This is the case because under IDEA

paraprofessionals must be trained for their roles

and supervised by qualified professionals.

They are not to be operating on their own without such training

and supervision.

There should be a match between the supports to

be provided and the skills of the person designated to provide the supports.

For example, if a student needs extensive curriculum

modifications or the development of a positive behavioral support plan,

assigning a paraprofessional is unlikely to meet that need.

Does paraeducator supportmatch the need?

Be clear about the times and conditions in which

such supports are needed. For example, one student

may only need certain types of supports when using the bathroom or eating lunch. Another student may only need support during math

activities or in physical education.

At what times or under what conditions paraeducator support match the need?

Assigning paraeducators, when the root of the

problem rests in curricular, instructional, personnel,

service provision, training, or organizational factors

may mask serious concerns or delay attention

to them.

Will it mask other needs ordelay attention to them?

After the initial IEP has been

developed, adjustments may be

required to better match the actual

situation where the student will receive

IEP services.

Remember, IEP services can be modified if needed

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IEP Services 8 of 8

Slide show 8 of 8 addresses, Implement the Special Education Services and Evaluate the Impact of the Services