Unlocking Success: IEP Case Study

Present level of academic performance of Toby

Question:

Describe about the Addressing Legal Issues And Components of an Iep (A Case of Toby)?

 The individual assessment of the students done by the IEP team, helps to determine the special educational needs of the students. The present levels in Toby’s IEP must include two levels namely the functional level and the academic level. AS per the norms of IDEA Toby is entitled to receive special education facility since he is diagnosed with developmental disability, autism, emotional or behavioral disability and also speech and language disability (Kelley, Bartholomew & Test, 2011).

Present level of academic performance of Toby

• Toby faced difficulty in recognizing numbers to 20 however; he had accurate skills in solving puzzles
• The classroom reports shows that he also encountered problems in identifying diphthongs and blends and pronunciation difficulty in case of vowels related words (Kitchen et al., 2012)
• The use of the HESI-R confirmed that Toby also had deficiency in phonic analysis, structural analysis and comprehension
• The analysis revealed that Toby failed in his independent reading level scoring at percentage equal to a fourth grade level and also in his instruction level scoring at a fourth grade level (Huefner & Herr, 2012).

Present level of functional performance of Toby

On assessing the classroom behavior of Toby it is seen that although he is eager to try new tasks however he his highly inattentive and distracted. Toby was prescribed medication in order to control his inattentiveness however, the absence of medication lead him to behave differently. The mental condition of Toby was also hyperactive because of peer humiliations.

• Given proper instructions, practice and visual supports Toby will develop social understanding skills and will engage in co-operative play and social interactions to improve his behavior.
• Given visual and verbal prompts Toby will further participate in tasks and complete the same with appropriate behaviors
• With the help of audio prompts like radio, audio books, podcasts and peer conversations Toby will be able to develop receptive language skills
• Further with the help of language learning communities, writing clubs, [private journals etc Toby will improve his writing skills (Kauffman & Hallahan, 2011).
• By incorporating games like Champion director, Radar focus and musical chairs Toby can be helped to increase his attention skills

Goals	Procedures for goal measurements	Time of giving periodic reports
Toby will improve his reading comprehension skills of 5th grade passages to 90 words accuracy in a 500 words passage (Lentz, 2012).	oral readings  will be weekly done where Toby’s use of decoding strategies will be recorded, log observations about classroom readings	Monthly phone or through email Written progress report
Toby will increase his attention level and will increase self control	Toby will use large motor activity 80% of the time to increase the focus of the work. Toby will raise hands in need of expressing any urgent need 80% of the time (Darden, 2013)	Monthly phone or through email Written progress report
Toby will attend group listening activities and will try to concentrate for at least 10 minutes in around 4 opportunities from majorly 5 opportunities (Pierangelo & Giuliani, 2009)	Small group discussions, individual story telling activity	Two times per month though personal contact or personal visit Recording of IEP notes on a quarterly basis
Toby will increase his use of language by using 4-5 word sentences during adult conversation in 75% opportunities	Every three months interval a language sample test will be conducted Data will be recorded to mark the use of negative sentences  (Ed.gov, 2015).	Inform parents 3times per month Inform though phone calls Inform though personal mails Record progress report

As per Americans with Disabilities act 1990, North central University's Academic Integrity Policy will provide Toby with the following accommodations by the Student Success Centre (SSC).

• Read and reread directions
• Student appears for test in a small group setting
• Extra time is given for assignment completion
• Exam proctoring service (Cohen, 2009)

Frequency is the number of sessions that the educational institutions will provide during the time as per the supplementary services. Duration denotes the amount of time within a time period where a service will be provided. Location of the service denotes the environment in which the student will be provided with the required special services (Spinelli, 2012).

Toby’s related services needed to benefit from special education including frequency, location and duration.

Applicable related service	Frequency and duration	Location
Speech / language	40 minutes per week	General education school and community settings
Transportation	Daily between home and school	Home and school
Supplementary aids and supports provided to Toby	2 days per week	In classroom settings
Social skills instruction	To be scheduled for 45 minutes twice in a week	Special education classroom
Classroom materials on tape, audio CD or electronic text reader	Assignments on literature and academic subjects	General education classroom
Speech language therapy	Once every week including 30 minutes session per week	Special therapy room for special classes
Small group interactions on spellings, grammars and comprehension practices	Twice per week for 30 minutes session each day (Sugarman, 2011)	Special education classroom

Least restrictive environments

The following are the least restrictive environments that will be organized for Toby keeping in mind his present physical and mental condition.

• Toby is not diagnosed with any physical disabilities hence he will be allowed to participate in full time education facility with non-disabled peers in regular education classes in appropriate age groups (Cho & Kingston, 2012).
• Toby will also be able to participate in extracurricular activities and non-academic activities with non-disabled students with supplementary help from adults (Wendt, Quist & Lloyd, 2011).

However, Toby will not be able to participate in general learning classes since he has to be provided with supplementary aids  and services that a general learning school cannot solve properly and adequately. If Toby is not provided with social skills and small group academic, instructions in a separate one to one setting then it will not be possible to develop reading skills of Toby.

The following table shows the supplementary aids and services provided to Toby

Supplementary aids and services	Frequency	Location
Oral tests for language check	Tests having more than 4 questions or 10 words per question	General classroom settings
Additional time to complete writing assignments	Assignments requiring more than 5 sentences	General classroom settings
Classroom materials on audio text reader	Literature and subject content	General classroom settings

District wide assessments	Toby will be provided with district wide assessments
List of district wide assessments for Toby	·  District Reading and Math test ·  Toby will be considered in 5th grade when concepts examination criteria reference tests are given ·   Toby will be taking written tests for all content areas required at this grade level
Participation criteria	·  Toby’s  academic curriculum should be made up of normal 5th grade academic requirements, knowledge and skills · Toby’s present level of academic and functional performance should be relevant with significant program modifications ·  Toby is facing difficulty in the academic curriculum because of learning disabilities and not any other issues (Branding, Bates & Miner, 2009)

As per the IEP norms, the transition services must be included in all IEPs of the students aged 16 years. Barnard-Brak & Lechtenberger (2009) has referred transition services as the co ordinate set of activities that promote movement of the student from school to post school, post secondary education, vocational training etc.

The following transition questionnaire on Toby will help the special educators to understand the future career plan of Toby’s parents

Student name :

Date:

Social security number:

Birth date:

Current address:

Current telephone number:

Expected date of graduation/ school completion:

Parent’s name:

1. What career path would you like the student to follow completion of graduate degree?
2. What kind of jobs seems most interesting to the student?
3. What kind of vocational trainings due you prefer?
4. In what kind of vocational education classes would you like the student to enroll ?
5. What further education would you like to provide to you son after his completion of school?
6. What kind of help on campus will the student need ?
7. What responsibilities would you like the student to take at home?
8. What recreational activities would you like your son to participate?
9. What are the possible financial needs of the student in future circumstances?

Summarizing the facts about Toby, it may be suggested that the following legal issues may arise during the IEP meeting of Toby

• Legal issue concerning the physical disability of Toby
• Issue concerning the degree of physical disability of Toby
• Legal issue concerning the mental condition of Toby
• The issue concerning the legal composition of the members in an IEP team meeting
• The parents of Toby may also face legal issues concerning the adoption of alternative assessment criteria for Toby and hence to avoid the same they should consult some of the previous court cases
• The legal issue may also arise concerning the availability of all educational information of Toby
• The legal issue will also arise concerning the evaluation of Toby hence Toby’s parents should maintain a charting statement of Toby’s progress.

Before filling of a proposal for IEP meting Toby’s parents are required to request the school administrator to evaluate Toby for special services. After meeting of the formal request, the school district must respond within a specific time and analyze the metal condition of Toby with the help of a psychologist. 

Present level of functional performance of Toby

To avoid any legal restrictions Toby’s parents may bring a doctor or professional along with them in the meeting to prove the disability of Toby. The IEP team will review the assessment of the district school council and discuss the recommendations and findings with Toby’s parents. However if Toby’s parents are not satisfied with the recommendations of the IEP team then they can legally opt for a second opinion. Toby’s parents may also face problem in respect of equal participation in the IEP team meeting. The law states that the parents, the school personnel’s and the IDEA members all have equal rights of participation within the team meeting in deciding the fate of the student. Further, the rate of disability determines the types and extent of supplementary services that will be provided in the IEP program. Since Toby is diagnosed with learning disability and autism, hence he should be provided with learning supplementary services as well as social and community learning services in order to improve the present learning condition of Toby.

IEP ream members should also include the following persons compulsorily

• Toby’s parents
• Toby
• At least one of Toby’s general education teacher
• At least one of Toby’s special education teachers
• A school district representative
• An expert who can interpret Toby’s evaluation results
• A translator

Since Toby has encountered interaction sessions with only the general educator Mrs. McDonald in his preschool hence Toby’s parents may face a problem in the IEP meeting.  The IEP team should include the presence of one of the special educators of Toby. Hence, before attending an IEP meeting Toby’s parents should consult special educator in order to review the current intellectual level of Toby (Hulett,2009).

Secondly, the IEP team should also include an advocate from Toby’s parent’s side and a friend for emotional support. To avoid any kind of legal disputes Toby’s parents can appoint a legal representative who would support the disability contents of Toby and help them to successfully avail the IEP services.

Reference list

Barnard-Brak, L., & Lechtenberger, D. (2009). Student IEP Participation and Academic Achievement Across Time. Remedial And Special Education, 31(5), 343-349. doi:10.1177/0741932509338382

Branding, D., Bates, P., & Miner, C. (2009). Perceptions of self-determination by special education and rehabilitation practitioners based on viewing a self-directed IEP versus an external-directed IEP meeting. Research In Developmental Disabilities, 30(4), 755-762. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2008.10.006

Cho, H., & Kingston, N. (2012). Why IEP Teams Assign Low Performers With Mild Disabilities to the Alternate Assessment Based on Alternate Achievement Standards. The Journal Of Special Education, 47(3), 162-174. doi:10.1177/0022466911435416

Cohen, M. (2009). A guide to special education advocacy. London: J. Kingsley Publishers.

Darden, E. (2013). What's So Special about an IEP?. Phi Delta Kappan, 94(6), 66-67. doi:10.1177/003172171309400617

Ed.gov,. (2015). Home | U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved 11 February 2015, from https://www.ed.gov/

Huefner, D., & Herr, C. (2012). Navigating special education law and policy. Verona, Wis.: IEP Resources.

Hulett,K..E. (2009) Legal aspects of special education. 

IEP Case Study of Toby. New Mexican Government. 
https://www.ped.state.nm.us/seo/dl09/triAnnual/CaseStudyIEP.pdf

Kauffman, J., & Hallahan, D. (2011). Handbook of special education. New York: Routledge.

Kelley, K., Bartholomew, A., & Test, D. (2011). Effects of the Self-Directed IEP Delivered Using Computer-Assisted Instruction on Student Participation in Educational Planning Meetings.Remedial And Special Education, 34(2), 67-77. doi:10.1177/0741932511415864

Kitchen, J., Johnson, S., Kraft, T., Mayo, C., Rosenberg, K., Teague, J., & Van Buiten, G. (2012).Special education law. [Concord, N.H.]: New Hampshire Bar Association.

Kowalski, E., Pucci, G., Lieberman, L., & Mulawka, C. (2005). Implementing IEP or 504 Goals and Objectives into General Physical Education. Journal Of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 76(7), 33-37. doi:10.1080/07303084.2005.10609310

Lentz, K. (2012). Transformational leadership in special education. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

Northcentral.edu,. (2015). Academic Integrity, Progress, & Support | North Central University. Retrieved 11 February 2015, from https://www.northcentral.edu/academics/academic-information/academic-integrity-progress-support

Pierangelo, R., & Giuliani, G. (2009). Assessment in special education. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill Publishers.

Rehfeldt, J., Clark, G., & Lee, S. (2010). The Effects of Using the Transition Planning Inventory and a Structured IEP Process as a Transition Planning Intervention on IEP Meeting Outcomes.Remedial And Special Education, 33(1), 48-58. doi:10.1177/0741932510366038

Spinelli, C. (2012). Classroom assessment for students in special and general education. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.

Sugarman, D. (2011). A special relationship? American influences on English legal education, c. 1870–1965. International Journal Of The Legal Profession, 18(1-2), 7-57. doi:10.1080/09695958.2011.630899

Wendt, O., Quist, R., & Lloyd, L. (2011). Assistive technology. Bingley: Emerald Group Pub.

Yun, J., Shapiro, D., & Kennedy, J. (2000). Reaching IEP Goals in the General Physical Education Class. Journal Of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 71(8), 33-37. doi:10.1080/07303084.2000.10605189