The following questions and answers address some of the important issues raised by requests for clarification of the federal and State requirements for IEPs. This document will periodically be updated. This guidance does not impose any requirements beyond those required under applicable law and regulations. This document supersedes any previously issued guidance on this topic.
If you have questions regarding the IEP form and related requirements, you may submit them to the following mailbox: speced@nysed.gov.
Student Information Summary FormA school district should consider a student’s right to confidentiality of medical information before including such information on a form that would be available to school personnel. Health-related information included in a student’s present levels of performance and/or on the optional Student Information Summary form should include only information school personnel would need to know to implement the student’s IEP.
Section 200.4(d)(2) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education does not require that the parent or guardian name be in a student’s IEP.However, the district may choose to include this information on the optional Student Information Summary.
The Student Information Summary form is not a required component of a student’s IEP. As an optional form, districts have discretion to use it to supplement the information included in a student’s IEP. If such a form is used, changes to information on the Student Information Summary form should be kept up to date but would not require a new CPSE or CSE meeting or be considered an IEP amendment.
The Student Information Summary form is provided only as a model form. It may contain information that districts and parents feel to be important, but which is not required by law or regulation to be included in a student’s IEP. School districts may modify the State’s model Student Information Summary form to add or replace the suggested fields as they deem appropriate. In doing so, the form may extend beyond the single page model.
General Questions on the State-Developed FormIEPs developed for the 2011-12 school year, and thereafter, must be on the State form. The 2011-12 school year starts on July 1, 2011.
The IEP form developed by the State provides open text fields to allow the Committee on Special Education (CSE) and Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) to enter student-specific information. The State has provided drop-down choices in the IEP only where there is State regulation or policy to guide those choices. The drop-down options provided by the Department on the State form may not be modified.
The school district could add ‘drop-down’ options on the IEP form for other sections of the IEP where the district is seeking consistency in the wording of recommendations provided that the choices are consistent with State policy and provided that district-added drop-down choices do not limit the CSE or CPSE from making other recommendations outside the drop-down choices in order to meet the individualized needs of the student.
Any school district wishing to add drop-down options to the IEP form should carefully review the state’s guidance related to these sections of the IEP in the Guide to Quality Individualized Education Program Development and Implementation, to ensure consistency with State policy.
The projected date an IEP is to be implemented should include the month, day, and year.The example provided in Attachment 3, General Directions to Use the State’s Model Individualized Education Program (IEP) Form, is ‘September 7, 2010’.
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) will be offering extensive training opportunities for school personnel on use of the State’s IEP, meeting notice and prior written notice forms. Scripted PowerPoint presentations with accompanying examples, questions and answers and guidelines will be posted on NYSED’s website to provide wide access to professional development from individual computers. This will provide no-cost access to information and training. In addition, each of the State’s Regional Special Education Technical Assistance Support Centers (RSE-TASC) are planning multiple and comprehensive regional training sessions to address the scope of training needed for individualized education program (IEP) development and the meeting notice and prior written notice requirements.
Yes. Districts may include headers and footers in the IEP form, at local discretion.
The district may insert district-identifying information on school-age and preschool student’s IEPs in the manner it deems most appropriate.
No. There is no requirement for an IEP to be provided in the parent’s native language or other mode of communication. A district must, however, take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the parent understands the proceedings at the meeting of the CSE, including arranging for an interpreter for parents with deafness or whose native language is other than English. If the district uses the IEP as part of its prior written notice to the parent, it must ensure that the entire notice, including the IEP, is provided in the native language of the parent, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.
The Department has provided examples as to how different sections of an IEP are completed in the General Directions to Use the State’s Model Individualized Education Program (IEP) Form, but they are not a composite of one student. It would be inappropriate to have sample IEPs based on the special class size recommendations for students.
Assistance and training are available on a variety of topics, including IEP development, through the Office of Special Education’s Educational Partnership, a coordinated and cohesive professional development and technical assistance network designed to support and empower schools and families in improving equity, access, opportunities, and outcomes for students with disabilities.
The State’s IEP form posted on the Department’s website is ‘lock protected’ in order for the form fields to function properly. In order to duplicate the table/rows, the form must be unlocked. To do so, go to ‘Tools’, ‘Options’ and click on ‘Security’ and follow the directions to unlock the form. Upon duplicating the table/rows, be sure to lock the form again to ensure proper function of the form and retention of information added to the form.
Signatures of participants at IEP meetings are not required to be documented in the IEP. The district should, however, maintain a record of meeting participants who attended the meeting. This information could be documented on the optional Student Information Summary form.
No. Meeting minutes document discussions and decisions made at the meeting and provide a written record of the meeting. Meeting minutes should be referenced to ensure IEPs include recommendations made at the meetings and to provide information for prior written notice, but they are not part of the IEP and may not substitute for appropriate documentation of recommendations in the IEP form itself. There is nothing that would prohibit a district from providing a copy of meeting minutes to the parent along with a copy of the IEP.
Disability ClassificationA ‘diagnosis’ such as Asperger Syndrome could be documented on the optional Student Information Summary form and/or in Present Levels of Performance.
The State’s model IEP form only includes information that is required by law or regulation to be included in a student’s IEP. There is no requirement in law or regulation to include information related to declassification in an IEP. However, the Committee must document its recommendations made upon declassification of the student to the board of education and in prior written notice to the student's parents.
Any recommendations relating to declassification must be provided to the board of education by the CSE. The recommendation must:
Other recommendations, including those that will continue upon the student's declassification such as the student's continued eligibility for the "safety net" World Languages exemption, should be included in the notice to the Board of Education and in prior written notice to the parent.
The response to question #10 in the Question and Answer document dated October 2010 can be generalized to other conditions commonly associated with a specific disability category.
Present Levels of Performance and Individual NeedsNo. Section 200.4(b)(2)(i) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education requires that the IEP report the present levels of academic achievement and functional performance and indicate the individual needs of the student according to each of the four need areas, including how the student’s disability affects involvement and progress in the general education curriculum, or for preschool students, as appropriate, how the disability affects the student’s participation in appropriate activities. If there are no individual needs related to one or more of the four need areas, the IEP could indicate that the student’s skills are within normal limits or that no disability-related needs were identified.
These are examples only intended to demonstrate that there are various ways to document information in a student's IEP. A district has local discretion as to how it documents student-specific information.
In developing the recommendations for the IEP, the Committee must consider the results of the initial or most recent individual evaluation of the student as well as the results of the student’s performance on any general State or district-wide assessment programs. A district could, but is not required to, provide historical State assessment and/or individual evaluation results in a student’s IEP.
No. Regulations do not require that alternate assessment results be included in an IEP. However, in developing recommendations for an IEP, the Committee must consider the academic, developmental and functional needs of the student, including, as appropriate, the results of the student’s performance on any general State or district-wide assessment program. To the extent that the evaluation results from the NYSAA form the basis for present level of performance statements, they should be documented in the IEP.
Whether a student’s IQ score and/or scores on subtests are deemed relevant assessment data that needs to be documented in the IEP is a Committee decision and should be based upon the individual student.
Documentation of each student’s present levels of performance in the IEP must include consideration of the results of the initial or most recent individual evaluation of the student, as well as the results of the student’s performance on any general State or district-wide assessment programs. The State's IEP form includes an Evaluation Results section as a place to document the results of evaluations that were conducted and considered in the development of the student’s IEP. Alternately, the Committee could document its consideration of the evaluation and assessment results under the four need areas (academic achievement, functional performance and learning characteristics; social development; physical development; and management needs). There is no requirement that the specific names of the individual tests conducted to complete the initial evaluation or reevaluation of the student be indicated in the IEP.
A Committee may choose to document evaluation results within each of the three areas (academic, social or physical sections) rather than within the Evaluation Results section of the form. If the Committee chooses to do so, it is recommended that information on the form direct the reader to the academic, social and physical need sections of the IEP.
A change to a student’s State assessment results would not in and of itself require a review or revision to the student’s IEP. Section 200.4(f)(2) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education requires that the IEP be reviewed and, as appropriate, revised, periodically but not less than annually to address any lack of expected progress towards the annual goals and in the general education curriculum; the results of any reevaluation and information about the student provided to, or by, the parents; the student’s anticipated needs; or other matters, including a student’s need for test accommodations and/or modifications and the student’s need for a particular device or service in order for the student to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE).
This section of the IEP is provided to assist the district in documenting its consideration of the evaluation results to ascertain the student's present levels of performance. A Committee may choose, but is not required, to include standardized scores in this section of the IEP. It may, as an alternative or in addition to standardized scores, provide a narrative description of the results. The Committee must ensure that all sections of the IEP are clearly understood by the reader and that the instructional implications of the evaluation results are clear.
The manner in which a school district documents its present level of performance statements in a student's IEP is at local discretion. Examples could be provided to school districts to the extent they assist districts to organize the information in an IEP.
The State IEP form requires the Committee to identify the needs of the student relating to the three areas of present levels of performance, which includes consideration of the concerns of the parent for enhancing the education of their child as required by federal and State regulations. This does not mean that the IEP must document every concern expressed and/or recommendation that the parent offers. While the IEP does not necessarily require an explicit statement that a particular need area is of concern to the parent, documenting when a need area that will be addressed in the student’s IEP is an area of concern expressed by the parent will assist the district in documenting that it considered the parents’ concerns. If a parent had no concerns related to his/her child’s disability-related needs or chose not to participate in the IEP development process, the Committee could, but is not required to, also indicate this on the IEP.
In the consideration (i.e., discussion and documentation) of a parent’s concerns, the Committee may reach a consensus that the parent’s expressed concerns are not appropriate to address in a student’s IEP. In this case, there would be no documentation of these concerns in the IEP. However, if, in consideration of the concerns of the parent, the Committee refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, educational placement of the student or the provision of FAPE to the student, this information must be included in the prior written notice provided to the parent.
One example of how the needs of the student, including consideration of student needs that are of concern to the parent, may be documented in an IEP can be found in the General Directions to Use the State’s Model Individualized Education Program (IEP) Form.
Following is another example.
Academic, developmental and functional needs of the student, including consideration of student needs that are of concern to the parent:
Is it allowable in the above situations to leave the field blank or should something be written? If a statement should be written, can you give an example for each of the above situations?
A Committee can only consider the parents’ concerns if they have been shared by the parents at the meeting, in writing or through other communications. If a parent had no concerns related to his/her child’s disability-related needs or chose not to participate in the IEP development process, the Committee could indicate this in the IEP. While the example provided in guidance shows an IEP that provides an explicit statement regarding a parent’s concerns as a means to document this required consideration, there is no requirement that the IEP do so.
It is not appropriate to leave the field blank since the requirement is that the Committee document the present levels of performance and needs of the student. If a student doesn’t have needs to be addressed in the IEP related to one or more of the four need areas, then the form could state “not applicable” or “none.”
As stated above, a Committee can only consider concerns if they have been shared by the parents at the meeting, in writing or through other communications. However, each school district must take steps to provide parents with a meaningful opportunity to participate in meetings for their child. For students who require a surrogate parent (see section 200.5(n) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education), the surrogate parent’s concerns for the education of the student must be considered.
Consideration of the concerns of the parents is not just a good practice; it is a requirement of federal law, federal regulations and State regulations. The identification of the needs of the student must reflect consideration of the concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child. This does not mean that every concern expressed and/or recommendation that the parent offers must be included in the IEP form. While prior written notice does require the district to document actions refused and the reasons for the refusal, the needs of the student to be addressed by the IEP must include consideration of concerns of the parent for enhancing the education of the student. The recommendations to be included in the students' IEP reflect the consensus of the CSE or CPSE, in consideration of many factors, including the concerns raised by the student’s parent(s).
In this case, the Committee should consider (i.e., discuss and document) the parent’s concerns, which may be related to motor development, balance, and/or development of age-appropriate leisure activities. The IEP must include the needs of the student in consideration of the concerns of the parent. If the Committee reaches a consensus that using the methodology of teaching the student to ride a bicycle is not a need recommended for safety or other reasons, this should be explained to the parent in prior written notice but would not need to be included in the IEP.
Each Committee must decide on a case-by-case basis the level of specificity needed to identify a student’s management needs. To document management needs, the Committee must determine the nature of and degree to which environmental modifications and human or material resources are required to enable to student to benefit from instruction in consideration of the student’s present levels of performance in the areas of academic achievement, functional performance and learning characteristics; social development and physical development. At this point in the IEP development process, the Committee is identifying needs, (e.g., limited audio/visual distractions, scheduled rest periods, consistency in routine, assistive technology to assist communication, assistance with transitions), not specific recommendations to address those needs.
In the section of the IEP Recommended Special Education Programs and/or Services, the IEP must identify the specific recommendations to address the management needs of the student, as identified under Present Levels of Performance. Examples include, but are not limited to, preferential seating in regular class recommended for a student who needs limited audio/visual distractions; text-to-speech and speech-to-text software for a student who needs assistive technology to assist in communication skills.
In the development of an IEP, the Committee must consider, as appropriate, the results of the student’s performance on any general State or district-wide assessment programs. The determination of how much detail, based on the results of such assessments, would be appropriate to include in a student’s IEP must be made by the Committee on a case-by-case basis. Evaluation and other information considered in the development of a student’s IEP should provide instructionally relevant information as to the unique needs of the student, current functioning, cognitive, physical, developmental, and behavioral factors that affect learning, and how the disability affects the student's participation and progress in the general education curriculum and in general education classes.
The development of a student’s IEP requires information from a variety of individuals, including a student’s special education teachers and related service providers. Where the district has a contract for services for an individual student with, for example, an approved preschool program, the providers from the approved program should expect to have a role in providing information so that the Committee can develop an appropriate IEP for the student. However, ultimately, it is the district’s responsibility to ensure that the Committee has developed an IEP for the student. The decision as to who and how information is entered on the form itself is best left to local discretion.
The present levels of performance must document the student’s current level of functioning in those areas impacted by the student’s disability. There is no requirement that the IEP document present levels of performance in all academic areas. However, in documenting a student’s strengths, the Committee may determine that it is appropriate to document a student’s performance in other academic areas as well.
Section 200.4(b)(2)(i) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education requires that the IEP report the present levels of academic achievement and functional performance and indicate the individual needs of the student according to each of the four need areas, including how the student’s disability affects involvement and progress in the general education curriculum, or for preschool students, as appropriate, how the disability affects the student’s participation in appropriate activities. The Committee must discuss and document its consideration of the student’s needs in these areas. If there are no individual needs related to one or more of the four need areas, the IEP could indicate that the student’s skills are within normal limits or that no disability-related needs were identified.
The IEP must report the student’s present levels of performance and indicate a student’s individual needs in four areas, including the area of physical development. In the Present Levels of Performance and Individual Needs section, the IEP must document the degree or quality of the student’s motor and sensory development, health, vitality, and physical skills or limitations that pertain to the learning process. This information could, but is not required to, include medical issues. Specific information about medication, medical procedures or other medical issues could also be included in the optional Student Information Summary form if a district chooses to use the form. Districts should be cognizant of the confidentiality of student information as medical needs are documented.
In consideration of the student’s physical needs, a Committee should consider and document factors that may affect a student’s performance, including as appropriate, documented inconsistencies in a student’s behavior based on medical factors. However, the statement provided in the question posed “student tends to do better on medication, but student isn't always on it, which affects his participation in the general education curriculum” does not provide the specificity that may be needed to specifically identify a student’s present level of performance. A more appropriate statement might be: “student’s time on task, performance on math and reading tasks and appropriate behavior during unstructured times (e.g., lunch, hall transitions) during the day is better during the days the student is taking his prescribed medications.”
