An Individualized Education Program, usually called an IEP, is more than a permission form for special education. It is the written plan that describes a student’s current educational needs, the goals the school and family are working toward, the special education and related services the student will receive, and how progress will be measured.

IEP forms do not look exactly the same in every state, school district, or intermediate school district. Some systems use a few long pages; others divide the plan into many screens or sections. The wording and order may differ, but public schools must still include the information required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).¹

This article explains the sections parents commonly see in an IEP and what each section is supposed to tell you. For a basic introduction to eligibility and the IEP process, see What Is an IEP?. For a detailed look at evaluations, rating scales, FBAs, academic testing, and other assessments, see IEP Evaluations, Assessments, and Testing: What Parents Should Expect.

Student information and meeting information

Most IEP forms begin with identifying and administrative information. This can include the student’s name, date of birth, grade, school, parent or guardian information, eligibility category, meeting date, type of meeting, and the dates the IEP will begin and end.

You may also see a list of people who attended. IDEA generally requires the IEP team to include the parent, at least one general education teacher when appropriate, at least one special education teacher or provider, a school representative who can commit or supervise services and understands district resources, and someone who can interpret evaluation results. Other people with knowledge or expertise about the student may also participate, and the student should be included when appropriate.²

The exact job titles vary. A school psychologist, speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, social worker, behavior specialist, counselor, physical therapist, teacher consultant, or other professional may participate when their expertise is relevant.

Eligibility and disability information

The IEP usually identifies the disability category under which the student is eligible for special education. Examples under IDEA include specific learning disability, autism, emotional disability or disturbance terminology used by the state, speech or language impairment, other health impairment, intellectual disability, hearing impairment, visual impairment, orthopedic impairment, traumatic brain injury, deaf-blindness, multiple disabilities, and developmental delay where permitted.

The eligibility label is not the whole plan. Two students with the same eligibility category can have very different needs and very different IEPs. The services should be based on the individual student’s educational needs, not simply on the disability name.

Present levels of academic achievement and functional performance

This section is often called present levels, PLAAFP, PLAFP, or something similar. It is one of the most important parts of the IEP because it describes where the student is functioning now. IDEA requires the IEP to describe the student’s current academic achievement and functional performance and explain how the disability affects involvement and progress in the general education curriculum.¹

Depending on the student, present levels may include information about:

• Reading accuracy, fluency, comprehension, decoding, or phonics
• Written expression, spelling, handwriting, or organization
• Math calculation, problem solving, or math reasoning
• Communication and language
• Attention, executive functioning, or task completion
• Social interaction and emotional regulation
• Behavior that affects learning
• Adaptive skills such as independence, organization, self-care, or daily functioning
• Fine-motor or gross-motor functioning
• Sensory, hearing, or vision needs
• Attendance or school participation when it affects progress
• Strengths, interests, and successful supports

A strong present-level statement is specific enough that the team can tell what the student can currently do. For example, “struggles with reading” is much less useful than a description that includes recent reading data, the kinds of text the student can read independently, error patterns, and how the difficulty affects classroom work.

Parent concerns and student strengths

Federal rules require the IEP team to consider the student’s strengths and the parents’ concerns for improving the child’s education.³ Some IEP forms have a separate box for parent input. Others place it inside present levels or meeting notes.

Parents can use this section to identify concerns that may not be obvious from test scores, such as homework taking hours, extreme exhaustion after school, difficulty generalizing skills outside school, bullying, school refusal, sensory overload, communication problems at home, or changes in behavior.

Parent input does not mean the team must adopt every requested service, but it should be documented and genuinely considered.

Measurable annual goals

The IEP must include measurable annual goals that address disability-related needs and help the student make progress in the general education curriculum or other appropriate activities.¹

A useful goal usually answers four questions:

• What skill is being taught?
• Under what conditions?
• How well must the student perform?
• How will the school measure it?

For example, instead of “Student will improve reading,” a goal might identify the type of text, the targeted reading skill, an accuracy or performance criterion, and the method used to collect data.

Goals may be academic or functional. A student could have goals involving reading, writing, math, communication, social skills, behavior, self-advocacy, organization, independent living skills, motor skills, or other disability-related needs.

Some students who take alternate assessments aligned with alternate academic achievement standards may also require short-term objectives or benchmarks under federal rules.¹

How progress toward goals will be measured

An IEP should not leave families guessing whether a goal is working. The plan must explain how progress will be measured and when periodic reports about that progress will be provided.¹

Progress monitoring might use curriculum-based measures, work samples, frequency counts, duration data, rubrics, reading probes, behavior data, therapy data, observation, or other tools appropriate to the goal.

Parents should be able to look at a progress report and understand whether the student is on track to meet the annual goal. If the student is repeatedly not making expected progress, the team may need to consider changes rather than waiting until the next annual IEP.

Special education services

This section describes the specially designed instruction the student will receive. The IEP should identify what the service is, how often it will occur, how long sessions or service periods will last, where the service will be delivered, and when it will begin.¹

Examples can include specialized reading instruction, resource-room support, specially designed math instruction, direct instruction in social or executive-function skills, or other instruction adapted to the student’s disability-related needs.

Pay attention to whether the language is specific. “Support as needed” can be difficult to monitor if the IEP does not explain what support means or when it is supposed to occur.

Related services

Related services are supports a student may need in order to benefit from special education. Depending on eligibility and need, an IEP may include services such as:

• Speech-language therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• School social work or counseling services
• Psychological services
• Orientation and mobility services
• Transportation
• Nursing or certain health-related services
• Interpreting services

Not every student needs related services, and having a medical diagnosis does not automatically mean a particular therapy must be placed in the IEP. The question is whether the service is needed for the student to receive an appropriate education.

Supplementary aids, services, accommodations, and program modifications

Many IEPs include a section listing supports that allow the student to participate in classes, school activities, assessments, or other educational settings. Examples may include:

• Extended time
• Reduced-distraction testing
• Preferential seating
• Visual schedules or written directions
• Frequent checks for understanding
• Breaks
• Assistive technology
• Text-to-speech or speech-to-text
• Chunking longer assignments
• Copies of notes or guided notes
• Behavioral prompts or reinforcement systems
• Modified materials or assignments when appropriate

An accommodation generally changes how the student accesses learning or demonstrates knowledge without changing the fundamental learning expectation. A modification may change what the student is expected to learn or demonstrate. School forms and state terminology may use these words somewhat differently, so ask the team how a listed support will work in practice.

Supports for school personnel

An IEP can also include supports provided to adults, not only services delivered directly to the student. This may involve consultation with a behavior specialist, training for staff on communication equipment, consultation between a special education teacher and general education teacher, or guidance on implementing a behavior plan.

This section can be especially important when a student’s success depends on consistent implementation across classrooms.

Behavior and positive behavioral supports

If a student’s behavior interferes with the student’s learning or the learning of others, the IEP team must consider positive behavioral interventions, supports, and other strategies.³

The IEP may include behavioral goals, accommodations, environmental changes, counseling or social-work services, staff supports, a behavior intervention plan (BIP), or other interventions. A functional behavioral assessment (FBA) may be used to understand why a behavior is occurring and what factors are maintaining it. An FBA is discussed in detail in our article on IEP evaluations and assessments.

Special factors the team must consider

IDEA requires the team to consider certain special factors when relevant. These include behavior that impedes learning, language needs for a student with limited English proficiency, Braille needs for a student who is blind or visually impaired, communication needs including specific considerations for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, and whether the student needs assistive technology.³

A state or district form may handle these as checkboxes, separate pages, or narrative sections.

Participation in state and district assessments

The IEP generally states how the student will participate in state and district-wide testing and which accommodations, if any, will be used. If the IEP team determines that a student will take an alternate assessment instead of a regular state or district assessment, the IEP must explain why the regular assessment is not appropriate and why the selected alternate assessment is appropriate.¹

Testing accommodations should match the student’s documented needs and applicable state testing rules. An accommodation used in the classroom is not automatically allowed on every standardized state assessment.

Least restrictive environment and placement

The IEP usually includes information about how much of the school day the student will participate with students without disabilities and where special education services will occur. IDEA is built around the principle that students with disabilities should be educated with nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate and removed from the regular educational environment only when education there cannot be achieved satisfactorily with supplementary aids and services.⁴

Placement is not supposed to be chosen simply by disability label. The team should first identify the student’s needs, goals, services, and supports, then determine the setting in which the IEP can be implemented.

Why the student may be outside general education

When a student will not participate with nondisabled students for part of the day, the IEP must include an explanation of the extent to which that will occur.¹ Depending on the form, parents may see minutes, percentages, settings, or a written explanation.

Extended School Year services

Many IEP forms include a section addressing Extended School Year (ESY). ESY is not simply summer school and is not automatically provided to every student with an IEP. The team determines whether services beyond the normal school year are necessary for the student to receive a free appropriate public education.

State procedures may provide additional guidance about the data teams consider, such as significant regression and recoupment, emerging critical skills, the nature or severity of the disability, or other individual factors.

Transportation

Transportation can be a related service when it is required for the student to benefit from special education. The IEP may describe specialized transportation, an aide, a particular vehicle or seating need, curb-to-curb service, behavioral supports, or other disability-related transportation requirements.

Transition planning for life after high school

By the age required under federal and state law, the IEP must include appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based on age-appropriate transition assessments and identify transition services needed to help the student reach those goals. Federal IDEA rules require this beginning no later than the first IEP in effect when the student turns 16, although some states begin earlier.¹

Transition areas can include education or training, employment, and, when appropriate, independent living. The plan may address courses of study, job exploration, vocational rehabilitation, college disability services, transportation, money management, self-advocacy, or community participation.

Age of majority and transfer of rights

As a student approaches the age of majority under state law, the IEP may include notices about educational rights transferring from the parent to the student. The exact age and rules vary by state, and some students may have arrangements that affect decision-making rights.

Consent, signatures, and agreement

IEP forms often have signature lines, but a signature can mean different things depending on the state and the stage of the process. It may document attendance, receipt of paperwork, consent to initial services, or another action. Do not assume that signing always means you agree with every part of the IEP. Read the language next to the signature line and ask what your signature means before signing.

Federal law requires informed parental consent before the initial provision of special education and related services.⁵ States may have additional consent rules for later changes.

Procedural safeguards and prior written notice

The IEP itself may not contain every procedural right. Parents may receive a separate procedural safeguards notice explaining rights involving records, mediation, due process, complaints, evaluations, independent educational evaluations, discipline, and other protections.

Schools also use prior written notice to explain certain actions they propose or refuse regarding identification, evaluation, educational placement, or the provision of a free appropriate public education. Keep these documents with the IEP because they can help explain what the team decided and why.

What should a parent check before the meeting ends?

• Are your major concerns actually written somewhere in the record?
• Do the present levels describe your child with current, understandable data?
• Does each major disability-related need connect to a goal, service, accommodation, or documented reason why no additional support is needed?
• Are annual goals measurable?
• Does the IEP say who is providing each service, how often, for how long, and in what setting?
• Can you tell how progress will be measured and reported?
• Are behavior needs addressed if behavior interferes with learning?
• Are testing accommodations clearly listed?
• Does the placement match the services the student actually needs?
• For older students, is transition planning specific enough to be useful?

Remember: the form may look different, but the purpose is the same

A Michigan IEP may not look like a California, Texas, or Florida IEP, and even districts using the same state rules may use different software or layouts. What matters is whether the plan contains the required information and is individualized to the student.

If a section is filled with vague phrases, ask the team to explain what it means in practical terms: What will happen? Who will do it? How often? How will we know whether it is helping?

An IEP should function as an educational plan that a new teacher or provider can read and understand—not simply paperwork completed once a year.