How to Read an IEP: Oregon
Understanding Parent Concerns, Disability Statements, and Most Recent Asssessments
Oregon IEP Guide: Parent Input and Concerns
What is the parents concerns section of an IEP?
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.
Where is the parent concerns section found?
Variable but towards the beginning of the IEP. Often it is before the present levels section.
How does the section for parent concerns and input vary across states and districts?
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 IEP comes from the Oregon Department of Education. See the full IEP here.
Because the images are hard to read, a transcript is below.
C. SUMMARY OF PRESENT LEVELS OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE
Strengths of Student (Academic, Functional, Behavior, Learning characteristics, etc.)
[REDACTED] 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.
Concerns of the parent(s) for enhancing the education of the student
[REDACTED]’s parents provided a written response to concerns of the parent section and asked that it be included as written:
Writing is a component as central to the learning process as reading. It is a fundamental academic skill. [REDACTED]’s deficits in his academic writing and written language skills therefore makes all other aspects of the learning process more difficult for him. He is unable to keep notes, convey thoughts and make meaning through writing, effectively revise work he had previously written, and use writing generally as a learning tool in the same manner as his peers. Compounding his deficits in the areas of writing related to processing, [REDACTED]’s dysgraphia causes his handwriting to be inconsistent, with roughly 1 out of every 5 words illegible. He also continues to demonstrate significant difficulty with spelling. The illegibility of his writing and his spelling difficulties exacerbate the difficulty he has revising written work. Assistive technology can help [REDACTED] with the writing process in increasing instances, but will never be a complete substitute for his ability to write by hand. Though speech to text improves his writing, other AT (i.e., word prediction) had proven less successful due to his spelling challenges. As a result of these deficits, [REDACTED] needs goals related to written language, the writing process, mechanics of writing, and using assistive technology effectively.
ASHA recognizes five domains of language, all of which have implications related to writing, as follows:
Phonology – accurate spelling of words while writing
Morphology – appropriate use of grammar when writing
Syntax – using correct sentence structure when writing
Semantics – writing vocabulary
Pragmatics – conveying point-of-view, intended message, etc.
Per these descriptions, [REDACTED] struggles with phonology, morphology, semantics, and pragmatics as these domains relate to writing. It is likely, though I do not know it for fact, that he also struggles with syntax related writing skills. These deficits do not appear in his verbal language skills, and never have. However, that does not relieve the IEP team of the obligation to address them as the very real written language concerns they are. Goals and specially designed instruction in these areas are critical to remediating his deficits and providing him the skills he needs to access the general curriculum and, therefore, provide FAPE.
Present level of academic performance, including the student’s most recent performance on state or district-wide assessments
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.
Oregon IEP Guide: Disability Statement
What is the disability statement?
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.
Where is the disability statement found in the IEP?
Split between the front page and the present levels or parent concerns.
How do disability statements vary across districts and states?
Varies in placement, phrasing, and whether or not it can be edited between three year reviews.
This IEP comes from the Oregon Department of Education. See the full IEP here.
Because the images can be hard to read, a transcript is below.
IEP Review Due Date: [REDACTED] Re-evaluation Due Date: [REDACTED]
Eligibility(ies): 90 – Specific Learning Disability
Interpreter Needed: ☐ Yes ☑ No
Describe how student’s disability affects involvement and progress in the general education curriculum
[REDACTED] 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.
[REDACTED]’s 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.
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.
Oregon IEP Guide: Results of Most Recent Assessments
What is the results of the most recent assessments section on an IEP?
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!
Where is the most recent assessments section found on an IEP?
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.
How does the most recent assessments section vary across states and districts?
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!
This IEP comes from the Oregon Department of Education. See the full IEP here.
Because the images are hard to read, a transcript is below.
Present level of developmental and functional performance (including results of initial or most recent evaluations)
Speech/Language Information:
[Name] currently substitutes a /d/ for his voiced /th/ sound in words and conversation. This articulation error does not impede his ability to be understood at this time and [Name] was judged as 100% intelligible to familiar and unfamiliar listeners. [Name]’s classroom teacher reported this error does not impede his access to classroom curriculum.
[Name]’s classroom teacher was asked to fill out an “Educational Impact Checklist” related to Speech and language. This list helps identify areas where the student struggles and provides information about functional performance and skills within a classroom setting. [Name]’s teacher identified the following items, as they relate to [Name]’s expressive and conversational language skills: the student uses many nonspecific words, the student exhibits disorganized thoughts in speech or writing, the student demonstrates word-finding difficulties, the student has difficulty expressing ideas verbally, and the student is unable to ask questions to clarify a message or obtain information. [Name] also reported that it takes [Name] much more time to complete writing assignments than other students, and that [Name] will change the subject or appear to be distracted when working on writing assignments.
The CELF-5 was administered to obtain scores in relation to [Name]’s verbal language skills.
CELF-5 scores are as follows:
Core Language: 105
Receptive Language Index: 107
Expressive Language Index: 104
Language Content Index: 104
Language Memory Index: 116
(Scores reported have a mean of 100 and SD of 15)
[Name]’s standardized assessment scores in conjunction with functional and observational data suggest that [Name] demonstrates age and grade appropriate oral language skills in the areas of morphology, phonology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics.
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.
