IEPs in this District are formatted according to an online template. Information is recorded in narrative, table or multiple-choice checkbox formats standardized by the template. The template also provides written guidance, defines the purpose of each section, and highlights procedural safeguards and other information. The template is a subscription service called IEP online. They produce a base template for Washington State subscribed to by many Districts. They also produce templates nationwide, with ongoing input from educators across the country.

Cover Page

The cover page provides basic student information including name, grade and primary disability. It identifies if interpreter services are needed for the parent/guardian. It also lists all the participants involved in the development of the IEP.

Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)

The Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) is a written summary of the impact a student’s disability has on their involvement and progress in the general education curriculum. There should be a direct relationship between the PLAAFP, the evaluation and other components of the IEP. The PLAAFP may include some, or many, of the following areas:

• Adverse Impact
• Medical-Physical
• General Education
• Social/Emotional
• Adaptive
• Behavior
• Cognitive
• Academic (Math, Reading, Writing)
• Communication
• Fine Motor
• Gross Motor
• Vision and Mobility
• Vocational
• Observation
• Other

Secondary Transition

Transition planning is required in the IEPs of students entering or attending high school. Increasingly it is encouraged for students in middle school, too. It identifies a coordinated set of activities designed to facilitate the transition from school to post-school activities. This section assesses all of these areas:

• Needs
• Strengths
• Preferences
• Interests
• Projected Graduation Date
• Post Secondary Goals/Outcomes
• Course of Study to Achieve Goals
• Agency Linkage
• Other

Measurable Annual Goals

This section includes measurable annual academic and functional goals specific to the students needs. The goals will relate directly to all areas qualified in the evaluation and described in the PLAAFP.

Program Accommodations/Modifications and Support for School Personnel

Accommodations and modifications are adjustments to the delivery, timing, setting or supports that allow a student to make academic progress in the general education curriculum alongside their non-disabled peers. This section consists of two tables, one for accommodation/modification made for the student and one that identifies supports for school personnel. Personnel supports would include specific training or professional development. The tables list each area of accommodation or support with the frequency, location and duration specifically identified.

State or District Assessments of Student Achievement

The IEP team determines what types of assessments the student should participate in and what modifications or accommodations should be made for the individual student. The results are recorded in this section in a table format.

Special Education and Related Services

This section identifies all the services that comprise a student’s individual program. All areas of service are listed in table format separated into three categories: special education, related services, and supplemental aids and services. (Transportation services are defined later in the Participation in Transportation section.) For each service, the table identifies the following information:

• Is the service concurrent, or occurring at the same time, as general education instruction?
• Who will deliver the service?
• Who will monitor the service?
• How frequently the service occurs?
• In what location, or setting, the service occurs?
• The start and end date of the service?

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

The least restrictive environment (LRE) is the educational setting that is closest to the general education setting and still allows a student to benefit from special education instruction.

Placement Options for LRE: Placement options are expressed in the IEP in two formats: a table, and a written description. The table is a tool for IEP team discussion and a record of the decisions made. It includes a range of options within a standard school setting with varying ranges of percent of time instruction is in the general education classroom. Additional settings, from non-District day schools to hospital setting are identified. The chart contains a record of: each setting considered, the one selected, and consideration of both the academic benefit for the student and the effect that the student the student will have on the setting.

(Note: within a standard school setting, removal from general education can only be for direct instructional purposes.)

Participation in Transportation

The IEP identifies if the student will have regular or special transportation.

Participation in Physical Education

The IEP identifies if the student will participate in general physical education.

Participation in Extended School Year (ESY)

The IEP identifies if the student will participate in ESY. ESY is summer instruction for students who are unable to maintain attained performance without it. IEP teams will select this option, on an annual basis, when progress data supports a need for it. This decision is made each spring and an additional ESY form will be completed.

Emergency Response Protocol (ERP)

The Emergency Response Protocol is an addendum to the IEP that documents the advanced planning, conditions, and precautions needed in the case that isolation, restraint, or a restraint device may be used. The form must be signed by a Parent/Guardian, documenting their prior consent. The District must also provide Parents/Guardians with their policy on use of restraint and isolation. ERP’s must be incorporated into a student’s IEP and reviewed annually.

These forms may accompany your student’s IEP form:

IEP invitation

The student’s case manager invites Parents/Guardians, and all other team members, to each IEP team meeting. This is a form with fill-in-the-blank fields and check boxes. It states the time and place of the meeting, as well as the subjects to be addressed.

Team Considerations

Team Considerations is a checklist. The contents are redundant with other areas of the IEP, but ensure that active consideration is given to specific areas of a student’s needs including:

• The student’s strengths
• Performance on assessments
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing communication needs
• Assistive technology needs
• Positive behavioral interventions
• Language needs, as they relate to limited English proficiency
• Blind and visually impaired communication needs

Parental Consent Form

Parental Consent is required prior to four events: evaluation, re-evaluation, providing services for the first time, and inviting representatives of other agencies to participate in Individual Education Program (IEP) transition meetings.

Prior Written Notice (PWN)

The District is required to provide the Parent/Guardian with prior written notice (PWN) whenever it proposes or refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, placement or provision of services.

Notification for the Disclosure of Student Information to the Washington State Health Care Authority

This form notifies Parents/Guardians that Seattle Public Schools participates in the Washington State Health Care Authority Program. This program makes federal Medicaid funds available to school districts to help cover the costs of providing necessary, school-based health services. By participating in this program, the school district can seek federal Medicaid reimbursement for the costs of the health services the school district provides to children who are eligible for Medicaid, and who receive those services that are identified in their individualized education programs (IEP).

In order to seek the federal Medicaid funds to assist in reimbursing the district for school-based services, the school district must disclose information from your child’s education records to the HCA to verify Medicaid eligibility, and to seek reimbursement for those services the school district provides.

Medicaid Consent Form

A Parent/Guardian’s consent allows the school district to seek federal Medicaid reimbursement to provide necessary services to your child. If you have already given your consent, or you are giving the District a new consent for services, you may revoke your consent at any time. The school district will continue to provide the services in an IEP to your child at no cost to you, as the parent, whether or not you give your consent for the District to seek Medicaid reimbursement.

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)

A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) is a written plan that describes interventions and other strategies that will be implemented to address goals for a student’s social, emotional, and behavioral development.

A BIP includes observational and behavioral data from the functional behavior assessment (FBA) as the basis for a plan of action for managing a student’s challenging behavior. A BIP may include ways to change the student’s environment to:

• Prevent the behavior from occurring
• Provide opportunities for positive reinforcement to promote appropriate behavior
• Teach replacement behaviors
• Provide supports or planned responses to reduce a student’s problem behavior.