How to Read an IEP

One thing that all IEPs have to have is some basic information about a student. That includes the student’s name, the school they attend, their parents’ names, the school they attend, their date of birth, and the IEP meeting date. In almost all IEPs, this cover page will also include the date of the last IEP and the date of the last evaluation. In many, it includes a check box for what type of IEP meeting you are having– an amendment, an annual, or a re-evaluation.

This is always on the front page of the IEP. I can’t find an IEP example where this isn’t true– it is normally right at the top of the front page.

TBH, this is the boring stuff– sometimes parents will be asked to check and make sure their address is right but generally this is information to skim! However, if there is information on IEP dates, check to see if your meeting is on time or late– and when the next evaluation is. If you are in a district that puts a check box on the front page for the type of IEP, that can be sort of helpful to know. More so at the meeting than afterwards, but I am reaching because the background information is the least interesting part of an IEP!

Sometimes this section includes information on the type of IEP being held or on the date of the last evaluation. A few even include the disability statement here.

Almost every IEP has a statement of student strengths. This is where the team lists what the student is good at. These can be short– they might be integrated with the present levels section.

For example, in the Tenessee sample IEP the strengths statement is, “Rocio is polite, respectful and gets along with her peers. She is willing to participate and take risks. She demonstrates motivation and following directions. When using manipulatives, Rocio enjoys math and is able to compute addition and subtraction problems and some multiplication problems.” In the Oregon sample IEP, the strengths reads, “X works hard and has strong academic abilities. He has a good memory and high comprehension skills. He is a kind and compassionate student toward his peers. He enjoys science topics such as animals and astronomy. “

In general, most IEPs are structured to start positively and so this section will come right after the background information and before the present levels of performance. If not, it will be bundled in with the present levels of performance where ever the district stuck them. One state put it in with each individual goal and another with concerns, but in general it is near the beginning of the IEP or with present levels.

These sections should be ummmm…positive. Literally, this is the strengths section! You should read this and have a sense of who this student is as a human and what they enjoy and are good at. As a parent, you want to look and see if there is specificity here. Does the team know the student? As a teacher you want to know what content is there. If an academic area is there, then the student most likely doesn’t need help with it. If this section is pretty sketchy, assume that either the child has tried the teacher’s soul or the special education case manager who wrote it might not be the best source of support for you.

In most states and districts, this is a stand alone box. In some, like in Arizona, it is woven into the present levels with the title of “strengths and needs.” There were three states where I couldn’t find the word strength anywhere in the IEP– but the box is somewhere in the rest of them!

While IEPs are supposed to be created by an IEP team that includes the parent, in reality almost all IEPs are written before the meeting. This box is the one section exclusively reserved for parents, where they can express their concerns, hopes, and goals for the student. Some districts also have additional boxes for parent input, but most just have the one box for parents.

Variable but towards the beginning of the IEP. Often it is before the present levels section.

This should NEVER be filled in prior to the IEP unless there was a long talk between the special education teacher and the parent. If it is, and you a parent, that is a red flag that the IEP is likely to be very sloppy and you should have someone with you at the meeting. It is a bad sign. For folks reading the IEP after a meeting, ideally you should get a sense of what the parents are thinking about. TBH, 99% of these state that the parent wants the student to be successful in school. If you see more than that, just know that you have a great IEP team at your school.

Zero variation. Really. This is always titled parent concerns and it is always a stand alone section in an IEP. If you know of an exception to that, let me know but I have never seen one.

This is one of the meatiest sections of the IEP! This is where the IEP team lists the students academic and functional levels of performance. This is where you start to get a sense of where the student is at– and this section sets up the goals. Like if a student has difficulty decoding, you would see it here– and then should see a goal about it later in the IEP. 

Because IEPs are written on all areas of student need, present levels sections include information on the student’s physical, socioemotional, development, and communication baseline as well as on their academics. There is a lot of variation in how districts label the various parts of this section but in every single one you should learn about a student’s skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and their overall development. In most districts that means communication, motor skills, and socioemotional skills– but some districts jumble those together and so omit any areas where the student does not have a need. In California, that would have gotten you in trouble on a state audit but in New Hampshire it is pretty standard not to see anything about motor skills in an IEP– so there is some variation state by state.

Arizona, which combines this section with the student strengths, has a nice clean lay out for this section. Click read more to see how Arizona divided up this section in the sub-sections I talked about of communication, academics, and so on. 

Now, take a look at this section of the IEP from the Fresno district in California. They too have a section for communication and motor skills, but academic and functional skills are one sub-section that also includes socioemotional stuff. 

The IEP from Oregon has only two sub-boxes– one for academic performance and one for developmental and functional development. In NH (not shown), there are three boxes– one for academic performance, one for functional, and one for developmental– and no one really has a clue how to figure out what goes in the functional versus developmental boxes! 

You can see that the amount of content in the boxes varies a lot as does their labels but somehow, every single IEP from every single district is trying to provide a holistic picture of the student’s skills.

The filled out examples on the left are helpful to look at to get a sense of how long this section can be– because when I say this is the meatiest section of the IEP, I mean it is the longest!

Typically, this is right after the student strengths section on the second or third page of the IEP. There are a few rebel districts that shift a lot of this information to the student goals section or hide it later in the IEP, but generally this is near the beginning of the IEP.

Anyone who has spent time on this site can tell that I am OBSESSED with high-quality present levels– so check out the pages on them! Here is the short version of a LOOONG rant. You need to see information about what a student CAN not can’t do. You should see clear, easy to understand descriptions of a student’s skills across the key domains of academics (reading, writing, and mathematics because that is how special education rolls), communication, development (which fine, I guess sort of, can include motor skills), and socioemotional skills. Note that in New Hampshire and some other states where the boxes are jumbled, you might not see all of this information– the team might only have in academic information and information about any other needs of the student. 

Every single IEP has present levels of some form. They have to. Some include strengths in it, some don’t. Some divide them up by communication, academic, and so on. Some don’t. Some even put the present levels in the goals. But every district has them– and they should all cover similar content. The labels that districts use and the number of boxes does matter though– the boxes guide what folks write so you will see different emphases district to district with maybe a child’s motor present levels being addressed in one and glossed over in another based on whether there is a box that asks about motor skills specifically.

This is a section that isn’t in all IEPs. Many states/districts, however, have a box in the present levels to put in test results. Typically, this is the results of the formal assessments the student took at their three year review or their initial evaluation. You will often see a lot of standard scores, percentiles, and gobbly gook here. Sometimes districts will also include transition assessments done by case managers, class grades, and state test results here as well. 

Because IEPs are written on all areas of student need, present levels sections include information on the student’s physical, socioemotional, development, and communication baseline as well as on their academics. There is a lot of variation in how districts label the various parts of this section but in every single one you should learn about a student’s skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and their overall development. In most districts that means communication, motor skills, and socioemotional skills– but some districts jumble those together and so omit any areas where the student does not have a need. In California, that would have gotten you in trouble on a state audit but in New Hampshire it is pretty standard not to see anything about motor skills in an IEP– so there is some variation state by state.

Arizona, which combines this section with the student strengths, has a nice clean lay out for this section. Click read more to see how Arizona divided up this section in the sub-sections I talked about of communication, academics, and so on. 

Now, take a look at this section of the IEP from the Fresno district in California. They too have a section for communication and motor skills, but academic and functional skills are one sub-section that also includes socioemotional stuff. 

The IEP from Oregon has only two sub-boxes– one for academic performance and one for developmental and functional development. In NH (not shown), there are three boxes– one for academic performance, one for functional, and one for developmental– and no one really has a clue how to figure out what goes in the functional versus developmental boxes! 

You can see that the amount of content in the boxes varies a lot as does their labels but somehow, every single IEP from every single district is trying to provide a holistic picture of the student’s skills.

The filled out examples on the left are helpful to look at to get a sense of how long this section can be– because when I say this is the meatiest section of the IEP, I mean it is the longest!

If it is in the IEP, and it is often not (some districts put it in a separate document instead because it is long and kinda boring), it will mostly be with the present levels.

If you are a general education teacher? Avoid it. This is a DENSE jargon section. In actual psychologist reports and formal reports, the assessors include interpretations of the results using English, not jargon. If the results are pasted into the IEP though they are often just numbers with no context or explanation. If you are a dedicate parent or a masochist though, you should read to look for 1) what types of tests were given? For example, if you see a Connor’s, that means folks were looking at ADHD. If you see a WISC, they were looking at cognitive functioning, and so on. 2) how did the student do? Hopefully, there are standard scores or percentiles given. Generally, if you see low scores, it means that is an area of weakness for a student and might appear in their disability statement as something that makes accessing the general education curriculum challenging.

In San Diego, we never ever put this in the IEPs, just in assessment reports. In NH, this information is in every IEP. So your IEPs might have standard scores and gobbly gook– or might not. If it doesn’t, you can always request the assessment report which has the scores in context. If you just don’t like the gobbly gook, get the assessment report. They are MUCH easier to understand!

In most states, the student’s disability is identified in two places. First, on the cover page, it states what the primary (and secondary if relevant) is, like Autism or a learning disability. Then, later in the IEP, there is a statement on how the disability affects the student’s progress in the general education curriculum. In a few places, these are combined, but that is pretty rare. Generally, you look to the front page to get a sense of why the student qualifies for special education and later to understand how it impacts them.  

Here are some examples. In Tennessee, the front page of the IEP states the disability which, for their sample, is an intellectual disability. Then on page 2, right after parent concerns, you get the disability statement which says, “Describe how the student’s disability affects involvement and progress in the general curriculum: Rocio’s ability to master regular classroom academic objectives is markedly delayed. She benefits from small group instruction and repetition to learn skills. She tries to complete various assignments, but struggles doing basic tasks. She is significantly below grade level in her academics. This impacts her mastery of standards and participation in the general education classroom “

In Oregon, the front page of the sample IEP says a learning disability and then after present levels they have the disability statement, which reads; “Describe how student’s disability affects involvement and progress in the general education curriculum has deficits noted above with his writing skills that will need to be addressed through direct instruction and through accommodations and/or modifications in the general classroom to respond to instruction or assessments. difficulties with writing may affect his ability to effectively complete class room assignments, note taking and homework. These difficulties will also impact his ability to convey his thoughts through written words.”

Arizona is a bit odd. It says on the front page of the sample IEP that the child qualifies under OHI, but then there is no separate box for the disability statement. Instead, it is embedded in the present levels and says, “Kyra qualifies as a student with Attention Deficit Disorder-Hyperactive Type (ADHD). She also has co-morbidity of Reactive Attachment Disorder. Due to her inability to self-regulate within the academic setting, This impedes progress without the support and services of special education. Due to this her ability to generalize on her academic performance and one on one testing in the classroom, her environment is greatly impaired. Her ability to self-soothe and regulate, as well as relate to others around her is a weak area for her.” That is the statement of disability– they just don’t have a separate box for it. 

The statement of disability should refer to and explain the primary disability and how it impacts the student’s learning. 

Split between the front page and the present levels or parent concerns.

You should be able to read this and understand how the disability affects the student’s progress in the curriculum. Note that in NH it can be hard to read these and know how the child is qualifying for special education. That is true in a few other states, but in most it is really clear what the disability is and why it was considered to be academically significant enough to get the student an IEP.

Varies in placement, phrasing, and whether or not it can be edited between three year reviews.

On almost every district’s IEP there is a section explicitly titled special factors, because that is what the hodgepodge of things on that page is called in the federal law. IDEA states that IEP teams have to look at special factors that might impact a student’s learning in school including whether they are an English language learner, whether they are visually impaired, whether they are Deaf or hard of hearing, whether they have communication needs, whether they have behavioral challenges, or whether they would benefit from assistive technology like voice to text or an augmented communication device.  

The way that most districts have operationalized this is by creating a page titled special factors with a lot of yes or no check boxes. Take Arizona for example. On the IEP, the team checks needed or not needed next to assistive technology, language needs for English learners, communication needs, behavioral needs, visual support needs for a visually impaired student, and hearing supports needed for a Deaf or hard of hearing student. In their sample, the team also wrote in a bit explaining their nos or adding context. Lots of districts don’t do that though and this page is just a check yes or no page. It’s an important page to pay attention to though because if anything is checked yes on this page, you want to know about it.

As an FYI, each of the boxes means something particular. For example, if the team checks yes on the behavior box on special factors that means that the child needs a behavior support plan. If a student is kind of rude in school, skips some classes, and is defiant sometimes, they would most likely have a no for that box. A yes is for students whose behaviors are significant enough to warrant a coordinated, formal behavior plan monitored and reviewed regularly by the full IEP team. This is typically for students with histories of safety concerns at school, whether that is running, self-harm, or aggression or histories of major disruptions and defiance significant enough to warrant a BSP/BIP (behavior support or intervention plan) rather than just an IEP goal focused on improving behaviors. Similarly, if the assistive technology box is checked, that means that the student needs specialized technology bought and paid for that individual child by the district. A 1-to-1 laptop from the district isn’t assistive technology. A special program on that laptop paid for by the district for that student would be. And the communication box should only be checked if the student works with a speech and language pathologist– and they check that box. 

Special factors is almost always it’s own page. It’s typically found after present levels but before IEP goals, although that can vary by district. It will almost always have special factors in its title.

As a parent, you want to make sure the information here is accurate. If your child has been suspended for aggression, you want to see the behavior box checked and a behavior support plan present in the IEP. If the IEP is mostly a discussion of your child’s behaviors and that box isn’t checked and there is no BSP, you need to ask why. If you think your child needs specialized technology to succeed, whether that is a magnifying sheet to make text bigger or an iPad with a communication app on it, you need to speak up. What’s on this page has to be provided by the district so you want those boxes checked if your child has a need.

As a teacher, the two big things to look at are the behavior box and the assistive technology box. If the behavior box is checked, look for the behavior plan. Then read it really closely, ask questions, and make a plan. If the box is checked and there is no plan, get the counselors or school psychologist involved because something is wrong. The student might never have an issue in your class, but the checking of the behavior box means there is a significant concern. The second thing to notice is whether there is assistive technology. If so, you want to follow up with the student and make sure they have access to it in your classroom. Also speak up. If you have safety concerns about the student and the box isn’t checked, ask. If you think a student would benefit from specialized technology and it isn’t in the IEP, ask. You are part of the team

Overall, this section doesn’t vary much district to district. One district might describe an English learner differently than another, but both will ask if a student is an English learner.

This is one of the most, if not the most, important part of the IEP. This is where the IEP team lays out what the student will be working on with special education support over the next year. Generally, the goals written by the special education teacher fall into the reading, writing, math, and socioemotional buckets. So you might see a goal for reading comprehension, one for multivariable equations, and one for work completion or managing frustration. Related service providers, like speech and language pathologists or counselors, will also write their own goals so there might also be goals from them on communication, self-regulation, or other skills. Generally, looking at a student’s goals gives you the best sense of where the student is and the biggest thing the team thinks they need to work on. 

Each goal will have two key parts– the goal itself, which should be measurable and easy to understand– and a baseline which says where a student is now. You might also see benchmarks, also known as objectives. These are ways to break down the goal for monitoring at report card intervals. Fun fact, if you didn’t know– special education teachers are responsible for reporting on each student’s progress towards each goal at report card intervals. So when you do report card (or they do, depending on the school), they are also writing narratives on every single goal. That’s one of the main reasons that special education teachers work to keep goals to a minimum– don’t assume that all of a student’s needs are covered by their goals. Instead, assume that the goals are the biggest needs and the special education teacher was refusing to do bonus paperwork for the lesser needs. In line with this, a lot of goals will also tell you how the parent will be notified of progress. Regardless of language, assume that when the report card goes home, parents are supposed to also get a goals’ progress narrative. 

Goals are always after the present levels. In some districts, they are the last things in the IEPs. In others, they are in the middle, but they are always after the present levels.

So the big focus of this entire website is on how to write strong goals– that means that if you want a detailed answer to this question, click on the goals tab! But the short answer is that you want to see goals that make sense. You know your student or child. What are their biggest areas of need? IEP goals don’t cover everything– but whatever you think are the most pressing issues need to be in the goals. You also should see language that makes sense. You need to be able to read these and immediately know what the student needs to do and what they can do now. The goals drive special education supports so if they don’t make sense, it is likely the services your student/child receives won’t either.

Every single district will have measurable annual goals and baselines. Some districts split up the baselines, like listing an academic and functional baseline. Some don’t. Some list the quarterly benchmarks in the IEP. Some don’t. Some districts use goal writing tools that write weird, generic goals. Some don’t. But because IEP goals are the heart of an IEP, every single district will have them– and will have the goal and the baseline in separate boxes.

This is the part of the IEP that tells you how many hours of special education and related services a student will receive– and where they will be receiving them. Typically, special education services, also known as specially designed instruction, is kept separate from related services. In special education services, you should see the total number of push in hours (aka hours of support in general education) separate from total number of pull out hours (aka hours in a separate classroom). You should also see who is providing those supports. Some districts put paraprofessional support under related services. Some under special education services. In either case, under special education hours you should see where and how much services are being provided and who will be providing them. For funsies, some districts also specify what the services are for, like reading, writing, or math– although that is pretty rare. 

Then there is normally a separate box that has related services. Related services include nursing, transportation, occupational therapy, psychological services, counseling, speech and language pathology…. And more. If a student qualifies for any of these, the provider has to enter the hours of support they will offer and where they will offer it. Transportation is pretty straight forward. It’s daily and just means bussing. The others can get complicated. For example, a speech pathologist can see a student for direct services or for consult. Direct services means that the SLP has scheduled hours they meet with the student (once a week for 30 minutes; once a month for 30; whatever). Consult means that the SLP is playing problem solver. They might meet directly with a student, but only as needed. Mostly they are serving as a knowledge base when the student’s teachers are hitting issues. They monitor and provide consultation as needed.

Weirdly, hours are normally at the very beginning or very end of an IEP. Districts seem split on that– but they rarely appear in the middle.

If you are a parent, look for whether the hours seem appropriate for your child’s need. For example, if the child is functioning three grade levels below and the special education services are 20 minutes a week, it seems like that is not likely to be enough to provide what your child needs. You should also be looking at where services are provided– is your child getting pulled out all? Are they mostly in their general education classroom? As an IEP team member, you have the right to push back and say you want more services or want your child in general education more. Also, who is providing services? Is it a paraprofessional? If so, who are they? Are they trained? Ask questions! You have a right to know who is working with your child and how they will know what to do. 

If you are a teacher, look at the hours closely. Pull means time a student will miss from your class. When will that be? You want to negotiate that! If you are an elementary teacher, you don’t want a student missing core math instruction for example. Push in means time you will get support. Do you want time during art? Probably not. You need to speak up and say when you need that time. Let’s be real. Scheduling is a beast and you might get ignored– but the squeaky wheel gets the grease so speak up! Also, hours are written at the annual IEP due date. That might be March– and the student in your class in September. Are those hours right? Are they what the student is getting now? Are they what the student needs? If not, speak up. IEPs can always be amended and the hours should reflect what a student needs and is getting now– not what they came up with last year.

I cannot fathom why one district will do minutes per day, another hours per year, and another minutes per month. It is so confusing and I always wind up needing a calculator when I look at a different district’s IEP! So the first thing to check for is how the service frequency is written. Also, some districts write services in two lines– one pre summer break and one for after summer break. That just means that the district is worried that if they write services for the year, someone will think they are supposed to provide services over the summer. Note that this is false– unless a student has Extended School Year (ESY) no one reasonably thinks you are providing services over the summer…. But still some districts split hours. So expect the service units (minutes, hours), time frame (weeks, day, month, year) to vary a lot, along with how the hours are broken up. Also, hours can be at the beginning or end of an IEP so good luck! I often have to hunt for hours, which should be the most basic part of an IEP. Every IEP, however, will have a student’s hours and the settings where they will be delivered, with hours in general education and in special education settings listed separately.

This is a weird section that appears on some IEPs. Basically, every student is required to be educated in the least restrictive environment possible. That means that every district is legally required to report to federal government what amount of students’ time is spent with general education peers and what part is spent in special education only settings. Many districts will calculate this number for you based on service hours. The program will automatically add up the number of minutes a student is getting services in a separate setting (special education class) based on the hours of service and spit out a placement percentage (82% included, 35 hours in general education, or something like that). Other districts use ooooooold software programs that can’t calculate that and so they make the general education teacher manually add up the number of hours in special education and general education settings. Note that special education teachers seem to be really bad at mathematics and so these often don’t match the hours of service. That’s why districts have switched to more sophisticated programs– eventually this as a separate, manually entered section will vanish from all IEPs.

Anywhere. Often at the end of service hours, on the front page, or at the end of the IEP.

You want this to match the service hours for the student. If not, check the math. A lot of times this doesn’t match the service hours and that is bad. Also, if it is calculated automatically, look at the number. The federal government defines inclusion as 80% of the day in general education. Is that where the student is? If not, why not?

This varies so much! You might not see this on an IEP at all, it might be a small box, or it might be a big section that the parent has to sign separately from the IEP. TBH it depends on how antiquated the software the district uses is. Yay for upgrades.

Terminology on this can get murky, but every single IEP has a section where a student’s accommodations and modifications for the classroom and for assessments is listed. This information is almost always broken into two sections– one for classroom accommodations and modifications and for testing accommodations and modifications. Testing accommodations and modifications are often broken up into classroom testing and state testing. That’s because state testing is really rule bound. Each state has a list of accommodations and modifications that students can be offered on state tests– and those are pretty limited. Like a student might be offered breaks, extra time, a separate setting, and noise canceling headphones for a state test. For classroom tests or instruction, the IEP team can often write in their own accommodations. For example, a student might need to sit away from their besties or sit near a door or sit near a teacher. Each of those is a classroom accommodation that can be listed in an IEP. For testing, a student might get a separate setting, double time, math content read aloud, a study guide, or even a free retake of a test. Basically, expect to see very few accommodations for a state test, slightly more for a classroom test, and far more for classroom instruction where there is no state mandated rubric of options to limit what students get. 

A few key notes. 1) Accommodations change how something is done, modifications change what is done. Confused? Check out the page on it!; 2) Accommodations and modifications are legally required. That means that a teacher can’t say nope, don’t want to do it.; 3) Accommodations and modifications can be changed at any point with an amendment. If there is something a student wants or needs that isn’t on the IEP, you can add it really easily. A student asked last month for a break in class to be added to the IEP so we did. The parent didn’t even come in– I just sent paperwork home. Another student wanted headphones to cancel out distractions so we added that. Accommodations are a great area for students to practice self-advocacy and very, very easy to change. Just not on state tests. State tests are rule bound and you have very limited options for providing students with extra support on them.

Highly variable! Typically towards the end of the IEP. Sometimes in the middle end, sometimes at the very end. These are pretty dry so they are normally pushed towards the end.

If you are a general education teacher, this is the most important part of the IEP. You are legally bound to allow the accommodations and modifications listed on the IEP. If any of them don’t make sense or sound awful, speak up! If any are missing, speak up. Also know that, while some are written as needed, all are really as needed. The IEP might say testing in a separate room but if the student doesn’t want that or need that on a particular exam, it doesn’t have to happen. An IEP shouldn’t be a sledgehammer, forcing a student to do something. Instead, an IEP should be a tool that the student can draw on to be successful– and one you can draw on to support them. So if a student is really squirmy in whole class testing, you might want to push that separate room– or the student might ask for it. At the same time, you can’t say no to an accommodation or modification listed on an IEP. It is a legally binding document. You can however ask that a particular accommodation or modification be removed at an IEP meeting.

If you are a parent, you want to check that these make sense. A lot of times students get an accommodation in kindergarten that somehow carries until 9th grade and makes utterly no sense. General education teachers need to implement these– and your child might be forced to have these if you have an intense general education teacher– so make sure that you have all of the accommodations your child needs and no more and no weird ones in the IEP. I regularly get ones for a tenth grader that state a read aloud or other things that my student thinks is super baby-ish. That accommodation has probably sat in the IEP for 6 years. It needs to go. I like to review accommodations with my students and ask them what they like. Students need agency in their IEPs and this is the easiest place for your child to speak up– they know what they like and hate so ask them their opinion!

One of the biggest variations is state to state on testing accommodations and modifications. California has listening to the math items as a state testing accommodation. New Hampshire doesn’t. There are significant variations state to state in this. A second common difference is in the layout. All districts list classroom and testing accommodations separately, but some break down testing accommodations into state and classroom and some do not. 

The third, and biggest difference, is in what this section is called. A lot will state something like “Required testing and assessments.” That means what tests the students will take and what supports they will get on them. A few don’t call classroom accommodations and modifications that. They will instead call them “supplementary aids and services.” That means classroom accommodations and modifications. I don’t know why the terminology varies so much but if you see anything like extra time, breaks, preferential seating or read aloud, you are in the right section.

ESY is summer school for students with disabilities. In general, the only students who qualify for this are students with more significant needs for whom a break without school can cause significant regression. This might be a child with Autism who without the routine of school over the summer will have a lot of challenges managing in the fall or a child with really, really significant learning challenges who will regress over the summer. Only a small fraction of students typically get ESY– although any parent can request it and see what happens. ESY is taught by whoever the district can find and generally, when I have subbed it, consists of activities like making ants on a log and recess. So don’t expect it to be like a hard hitting summer school– it’s a routine of going to school made as fun as the staff can pull off. 

Sometimes there is an ESY box on the special factors page. If not, it can literally be anywhere in the IEP. To be annoying, most districts don’t spell out ESY and the page never states that it is extended school year. If you think your child needs it, hunt for it. If not, ignore it.

If the child qualifies, there needs to be a box checked on the IEP and information entered about what goals will be worked on. If you want your child to get something out of ESY, prepare to be organized. ESY teachers are almost never the regular school year case managers and ESY programs are infamously disorganized. You will want a copy of your child’s IEP and, if possible, a binder of stuff for them to work on that you can hand deliver to the ESY teacher. For real. Sometimes it takes all of ESY for the teacher to get access to the IEP. I subbed a month once and never got IEPs. I used to hand deliver all of my students’ IEPs to their ESY teachers along with every piece of work I wanted them to do over the summer– and they prayed they would do at least a fraction of it.

Extended school year is part of IDEA. That means that every single district in the United States is required to offer it. Some try to hide it and will never mention it and some will offer it readily– and some have programs so bad it is a waste of your child’s time. But all of them are legally required to have an ESY program. 

This is the part of the IEP where the team discusses the student’s plan for transitioning from high school into higher education or employment. Generally, this section is either blank or missing entirely from IEPs for younger students but, beginning at age 16, it is a required part of students’ IEPs and will appear in all high school students’ IEPs. In this section, the team has to list what the student’s goals are for after high school, how they will get there, and any transition specific services they need. It also often includes the courses a student will take throughout high school, with a list of the courses they expect to take each year and how many credits they need for graduation.

Varies widely! You might not even see it in younger students’ IEPs. It is always labeled transition but can be literally anywhere in an IEP.

These are pretty all over the place! Generally, you want to see that there was an age appropriate transition assessment where the student was asked about what they want to do after high school. You should also see measurable transition goals. These are often something like the ones in the Arizona sample IEP; “1. Kyra will meet with Vocational Rehabilitation Services before she graduates to develop a career and independent living plan. 2. Kyra will apply to rent an apartment so that she may live independently. 3. Kyra will enroll in Mohave Community College to get her basic requirements for an AA degree.” You should see that there is both a current assessment and meaningful goals related to that assessment. 

Teachers, the only thing to look for here is the student’s goal. It gives you a sense of what the student is planning after high school– which can tell you what the student is into and whether college is in the picture or not.

So much! The placement can vary and how the questions are phrased– and whether it appears on younger students’ IEPs at all. All districts will have both evidence of transition assessments and goals for older students, but the phrasing of them can vary a lot!