An Individualized Education Plan - or IEP - describes the official documentation of special education services that will be provided for your student as well as the meeting where these services are determined.

The IEP is:

• The IEP is a meeting where parents, students when appropriate, and school personnel jointly make decisions about an educational program for a student with a disability.
   
• The IEP is a document that is a written record of the decisions reached at the meeting for a student who will receive special education and related services.
   
• The IEP is a management tool used to implement an educational program.

 The IEP has a number of functions:

• The IEP meeting serves as a communication opportunity between parents and educators and enables them, as equal participants, to jointly decide what the student’s needs are, what services will be provided to meet those needs, as well as the anticipated outcomes.
   
• The IEP process provides an opportunity for resolving any differences between the parents and the school concerning the special education needs of a student with a disability - first, through the IEP meeting and second, if necessary, through the procedural protections that are available to parents.
   
• The IEP sets forth in writing a commitment to provide services and resources necessary to enable a student with a disability to receive needed special education services.

 The IEP is not:

• The IEP is not a daily lesson plan, but it does cover an entire year.
   
• The IEP is not an evaluation report. An evaluation report describes your student's strengths and needs. The information from an evaluation report is used to help write the IEP.
   
• The IEP is not a contract. It does describe things you and the school have agreed to do for your student, but it cannot guarantee that all the special help will be successful.
   
• The IEP is not a comprehensive curriculum. It relates to special considerations within your student's overall education.
   
• The IEP is not timeless. As your student learns and grows, the IEP will need to reflect these changes.

 Please visit the Special School District website to learn more about the IEP process.