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At
Wrightslaw, we help you gain the information and
skills you need to navigate the confusing world of special education.
This issue is the third in a four-part series about IEPs. Highlights:
Play Hearts,
Not Poker and 8 Steps to Better IEP Meetings; IEP tutorials - how
to write measurable IEP goals & objectives with examples &
tips; IEP checklists; favorite cases about IEPs; editor's choice -
good books about IEPs; advocacy training schedule. Free
Newsletter Flyer:
We added several new topics to our Free Newsletter Flyer - which has
grown to two pages. Please print and distribute the new 2 page Free
Newsletters Flyer. Free Newsletter: The Special Ed Advocate newsletter is free - please forward this issue or the subscription link to your friends and colleagues so they can learn about special education law and advocacy too. Thanks for your help! 1. Play Hearts, Not Poker: 8 Steps to Better IEP Meetings In Play Hearts, Not Poker, Jennifer Bollero (attorney and mother of a child with autism), describes important differences between advocacy and parenting and explains why you need to learn the rules and strategies. When you learn the rules, you reduce the risks when you negotiate for your child. This article includes 8 Steps to Better IEP Meetings - https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/iep.bollero.hearts.htm 2. IEP Tutorials: How to Write Measurable IEP Goals & Objectives Quote
of the Week: "Remember
that 'measurable' means you can count
it or observe it."
- Nissan Bar Lev, Director of Special Education, Cooperative Education
Agency No. 7 (CESA-7), Green Bay, Wisconsin. How to Make
Annual Goals Measurable: Examples & Tips http://www.fetaweb.com/03/iep.goals.measurable2.htm 3. IEP Checklists Our thanks to Nissan Bar-Lev and Donita O'Donnell (who wrote the Wisconsin handbook "A Guide for Understanding and Developing IEPs") and the staff of Cooperative Educational Service Agency #7 (CESA) for permission to use these checklists. Cooperative Educational Service Agency No. 7 (CESA-7) won first place in the Wrightslaw Best School Website Contest: http://www.fetaweb.com/best.htm We hope other school districts will use the CESA-7 site as a template for their websites. Present
Levels of Performance Checklist.
Key question; purpose; definition; key characteristics; writing strategy: Annual
Goals Checklist. Key question; purpose; definition; key characteristics;
writing strategy. Short
Term Objectives and Benchmarks Checklist. Key question; purpose;
key characteristics; writing strategy. IEP Review Checklist. If you are preparing for an IEP meeting, review this checklist. http://www.fetaweb.com/03/iep.cklist.review.htm
4. Good Cases About IEPs To advocate for your child, you need to learn about legal rights and responsibilities. You also need to learn how to do legal research so you can find answers to your questions. When you do research about legal issue, you need to read the statute and regulations. You also need to read caselaw. Legal
decisions are often hard to understand. Don't give up! If you persevere,
you and your child will benefit from your hard work. When you read
caselaw, you will see why you receive conflicting opinions and advice
about a legal issue. Evans
v. Rhinebeck Central School District, U. S. District Court,
Southern District of New York. Excellent decision in ABA-Lovaas case on behalf of child with autism; thorough discussion of the IEP process; the need to individualize the child's IEP; methodology and placement issues. (This decision is in pdf format) https://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/case_ABA_IL_TH_9905.pdf T.
R. v. Kingwood Township (NJ), U. S. Court of Appeals for the
Third Circuit. Don't
forget to download, print and read our article, Your
Child's IEP: Practical and Legal Guidance for Parents."
This article includes several cases about IEPs: 5. Editor's Choice: Good Books About IEPs The heart of your child's special education program is the Individualized Education Program (IEP). These books will teach you how to write IEP goals and objectives that target your child's problems. * Better IEPS: How to Develop Legally Correct and Educationally Useful Programs Better IEPs gives special educators, regular educators, and parents the confidence and know-how to develop IEPs that are both legally correct and educationally useful. Many IEPs are neither!" Get more information about "Better IEPs"" http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570351643/ref=nosim/thespecialedadvo *. Measuring Educational Results "Where
can I learn to write good IEP goals and objectives?" In the best selling
book on this subject, Robert Mager teaches you how to write clear
measurable IEP goals and objectives. This
book teaches you how to identify, select, and write educational objectives.
You learn how to describe the performances you expect to achieve,
identify the conditions under which you expect the performance to
occur, and set criteria for acceptable performance. Preparing
Instructional Objectives includes practice exercises to sharpen
your skills and an Objectives Checklist to help you distinguish
good objectives from bad ones.
6. Wrightslaw Advocacy Training: Chicago & Orlando We are
scheduled to present several sessions at the International Rett Syndrome
Conference in Chicago this weekend. https://www.wrightslaw.com/speak/02.fl.htm For more
information about programs that are on the schedule over the next
few months, please check our Seminars
& Training Page at: To learn how you can bring Pete & Pam Wright to your community, read our FAQs about Advocacy Training Programs at: 7. Subscription & Contact Info The Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about special education legal and advocacy issues, cases, tactics and strategy, and Internet resources. Subscribers receive announcements and "alerts" about new cases, events, and special offers on Wrightslaw books. To
subscribe: https://www.wrightslaw.com/subscribe.htm Wrightslaw
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