IEPs
Learn the basics about Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), which tailor special education for kids with disabilities. Get tips on how to prepare for IEP meetings, how to set annual goals, and what to look for in an IEP for teens.
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The IEP processPDF
IEP goal trackerPDF
IEP binder checklistPDF
Anatomy of an IEPPDF
IEP meetings
IEPs for teens
All articles
- 5 common misconceptions about IEPs
- Related services for kids who learn and think differently
- The difference between supports and services in school
- Are evaluations for IEPs and 504 plans different?
- The school wants to move my child from an IEP to a 504 plan. How will that affect my child?
- FAQs about standards-based IEPs
- Unilateral placement: Moving from public to private school
- Do colleges view 504 plans as better than IEPs when students apply to college?
- 10 special education myths you may hear
- For teachers: What to expect in an IEP meeting
- What are academic modifications?
- Family engagement and student success: What the research says
- The history of special education: From exclusion to IDEA
- 4 challenges of English language learners who are neurodivergent
- School discipline rights for kids with IEPs and 504 plans
- 6 options for resolving an IEP dispute
- What is IEP transition planning?
- What is an evaluation for special education?
- Terms teachers use when kids struggle in school
- 6 benefits of having your child evaluated
- 11 tips on informal negotiation strategies
- Understanding evaluation results and next steps
- What to include in a state complaint for IEP dispute resolution
- 3 questions to ask yourself before your next IEP meeting
- Can an IEP or 504 plan include something about getting emotional support at school?
- How is special education funded?
- What is the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and what’s its role in special education?
- What is HHS, and what does it have to do with special education?
- The difference between IEP meetings and parent-teacher conferences
- Questions to ask before and during your child’s IEP meeting
- What to double-check on your child’s IEP
- 8 steps to kicking off your child’s IEP the right way
- What to bring to an IEP meeting
- Questions to ask about your child’s IEP goals
- Special education teachers: A guide for families
- 9 reasons kids might refuse to use accommodations
- What to do if your child is losing IEP services
- Download: Sample scripts for dispute resolution
- Download: IEP or 504 plan snapshot for your child
- Download: Sample IEP transition plan and goals
- Download: Sample letters for dispute resolution
- Download: FAPE at a glance
- Extended school year services: What you need to know
- Toolkit for teachers: Navigating IEPs
- Video: New England Patriot Lawrence Guy on overcoming stigma and being your best
- Your child’s rights: Important terms to know
- What to expect at an IEP eligibility determination meeting
- Finding out if your child is eligible for special education
- Out-of-district placement: How it works
- Setting annual IEP goals: What you need to know
- Why your child’s school may deny your evaluation request
- Treatment for kids with dyscalculia
- 10 steps to take if your child is denied services
- IEP and special education terms
- What happens to your child’s IEP if you switch schools
- Are there IEPs and 504 plans in college?
- What is Child Find?
- What is special education?
- How to read an IEP: 5 things teachers should look for
- Requesting an evaluation
- Learning about evaluations
- My kids’ experience with special education at Catholic school
- Download: Anatomy of an IEP
- Download: IEP goal tracker
- Download: IEP binder checklist
- Accommodations vs. modifications: What’s the difference?
- The difference between IEPs and 504 plans
- What is least restrictive environment (LRE)?
- What is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)?
- Common accommodations and modifications in school
- What is an IEP?
- The 13 disability categories under IDEA
- How my IEP transition plan helped me start college with confidence
- A unique IEP solution for our twice-exceptional son
- What does the Department of Education do for special education?
- How the Trump administration is changing federal oversight of special education
- Video: Gavin Newsom opens up about his dyslexia
- 10 key procedural safeguards in IDEA
- Strengths-based IEPs: What you need to know
- What evaluation testing results mean
- Do private schools have to evaluate kids for special education?
- Do IEPs cover extracurricular activities?
- I can’t take off work to go to the IEP meeting. What should I do?
- Can a student have both an IEP and a 504 plan?
- The classroom teacher acts like she’s not responsible for my child. What can I do?
- Mom’s emotional video about IEP frustration goes viral
- Are kids with ADHD covered under IDEA?
- What is and isn’t covered under FAPE
- Understanding IEPs
- What is a reevaluation for special education?
- What is a behavior intervention plan?
- What is occupational therapy?
- The IEP meeting: An overview
- What is a neuropsychological evaluation?
- Navigating IEP meetings
- English language learners in special education: 4 things to know about partnering with families
- 5 myths about English language learners (ELLs) and special education
- 3 things to say when your child worries about getting help at school
- What the special education layoffs mean for your child’s IEP and school services
- Transferring school districts: 8 steps to take if your child has an IEP
- The teacher isn’t following my child’s IEP. What can I do?
- Special education services in military DoDEA schools
- Can my child get an IEP for slow processing speed?
- Should my child study for a special education evaluation?
- Are my child’s struggles serious enough for an evaluation?
- How will I know if the accommodations in my child’s IEP are working?
- How do I get my child’s IEP going at the beginning of the school year?
- Will the school provide a translator at an IEP meeting if I need one?
- Can the school give my child with an IEP “unofficial” suspensions?
- Can I ask for self-advocacy IEP goals for my child?
- What’s the difference between “specific learning disability” and “learning disability”?
- Dyslexia testing results: What they mean for instruction and supports
- How to tell if your child’s IEP goals are SMART
- Video: Navigating life’s changes with dyslexia
- Video: 8 insider tips on navigating IEP meetings
- The school wants to change my child’s accommodations. What can I do?
- Video: Inside a dyslexia evaluation
- Video: The journey from student with dyslexia and ADHD to special education teacher
- 3 common reasons schools change accommodations
- Surprising IEP and 504 accommodations for note-taking, assignments, and tests
- Are IEPs different for English language learners?
- What are your rights in the IEP process?
- 10 smart responses for when the school cuts or denies services
- The long, winding road to identifying my son’s learning issues
- 5 reasons parents play a key role in the IEP process
- 5 things to do during an IEP meeting
- 5 things to do after an IEP meeting
- Evaluation rights: What you need to know
- Private evaluations: What you need to know
- “Dear teacher, I have dyslexia,” explains fifth grader in self-advocacy video
- The day I rejected my son’s IEP
- Why I feel invisible at IEP meetings (a dad’s view)
- The school holiday party that helped me see beyond my son’s reading progress
- Alternate assessments: What you need to know
- Printable tools to help manage your child’s IEP
- Informed consent in the special education process: What you need to know
- The most important thing to remember before your next IEP meeting
- What happens when you switch schools during the evaluation process
- 5 things to do before an IEP meeting
- Foster care, special education, and learning and thinking differences: What you need to know
- Independent educational evaluations (IEEs): What you need to know
- What to expect at a mediation session
- How to keep your child’s services in place during a dispute
- Beyond IEP meetings: How I connect with my son’s general education teachers
- 6 steps to request an IEP meeting
- How I got over my fear of AP statistics (and passed!)
- The discrepancy model: What you need to know
- IEP personal stories
- 5 conversation starters for discussing an evaluation report with teachers
- 9 tips to help military families navigate the system
- How to find a special education advocate
- Prior written notice: Your right to hear about changes to your child’s IEP
- Why second evaluation results may differ from first ones
- I disagree with the school’s evaluation results. Now what?
- Not too late: A high school IEP for my daughter
- 7 things I wish people knew about parenting kids with dyslexia
- Someone on my side of the IEP table
- 5 things I want teachers to know about my (special education inclusion) child
- 4 worries I had when my son’s IEP ended
- What to expect at a resolution session
- What to expect at a due process hearing
- The school evaluation process: What to expect
- Who ensures schools follow special education law?
- “Stay put” rights: What they are and how they work
- Dyslexia laws: What they are and how they work
- Deciding on an evaluation: 5 common questions
- Teacher to teacher: How I help students see support staff as teachers
- 8 steps to take if your child is facing disciplinary action
- Amanda Morin wants to “level the playing field” for parents
- 9 steps to take if the IEP eligibility meeting doesn’t work out
- Why certain school records are important to keep
- How I’m making peace with my son’s IEP
- How my career ambition got in the way of helping my daughter with dyslexia
- Teacher to teacher: How we can break down barriers between general and special education
- Video: Teen with dyscalculia shares why she tells friends about her learning issues
- How to work on your child’s IEP goals over the summer
- My child’s IEP doesn’t seem to be working. Now what?
- IEP goals for reading: What they look like
- Setting an IEP baseline: PLOP, PLAAFP, and PLP
- IEP case managers: A guide for parents
- Legal FAQs about IEP meetings
- Should I encourage my child to go to IEP meetings?
- How to consent to some parts of an IEP and not others
- 6 tips to make sure your child’s IEP is implemented properly
- 10 tips for a better IEP meeting
- Staying on top of your child’s IEP
- How to get an IEP
- After one IEP meeting, my husband and I were finally on the same page
- Surprising IEP and 504 plan accommodations to help kids self-regulate and manage emotions
- What’s in an IEP
- 4 benefits of inclusive classrooms
- The difference between special education advocates and attorneys
- The difference between push-in and pull-out services
- Private vs. school evaluations: Pros and cons
- How to organize your child’s IEP binder
- Who’s on the IEP team
- The difference between a high school diploma and a high school certificate
- The difference between learning disorder and learning disability
- IDEA, Section 504, and the ADA: Which laws do what