Special Note :
The final federal regulations implementing IDEA 2004 (PDF; Outside Source) were published on August 14, 2006 by the United States Department of Education and will become effective on October 13, 2006. As more information becomes available with regard to IEPs, this page will be updated to reflect the final regulations.
California Education Code was aligned with the federal IDEA statute. The Education Code (EC) dictates the needed IEP requirements. Legislation will be introduced that aligns EC to the final IDEA regulations.
Special education teachers and credential candidates, along with the college professors who instruct them, will want to take advantage of the free, on-line training on writing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). This training is available through California Services for Technical Assistance and Training (CalSTAT) (Outside Source), a special project of the California Department of Education, Special Education Division. The training is designed to guide professionals through the challenge of writing IEP goals and objectives that are based on California's academic benchmarks and state standards and includes a pre-test, post-test, and a certificate of completion for those who successfully absorb the information.
This self-paced web training will assist the learner in understanding the IDEA and the components of a performance objective. It provides guidance for writing IEP goals that directly apply to the mandates of IDEA and are tied to standards, are student focused and are measurable.
The training's step-by-step approach will direct the learner through goals and objectives/benchmarks, their relationship to state content standard and practical methods of measuring objectives/benchmarks to assure student progress. The focus will be on creating and writing goals and objectives/benchmarks that are family friendly and that use language that communicates to all involved in the implementation of the IEP.
This training was developed by Diane K.Youtsey, Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).
Individualized Education Program (IEP) template forms (Outside Source) were developed by the state Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) to be in compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended in 2004. These forms are made available with the permission of the California SELPA organization.
Resources on IEPs for Children with Disabilities
Resources to improve instruction, assessment, and accountability for students with disabilities.
Standards-Based Instruction: Could it Happen in Special Education? (Outside Source)
In this archived WestED Web cast presentation, learn how special educators can implement standards-focused instruction and how appropriately written IEPs can support the attainment of grade-level standard skills. Includes information on how teachers can "unpack the standards" to drive instruction that will meet standards-based IEP goals.
Standards-Based Individualized Education Program Examples (PDF; Outside Source)
A seven-step process to be used in developing a standards-based IEP. Each step is followed by guiding questions for the IEP team to consider in making data-based decisions.
- A Seven-Step Process to Creating Standards-based IEPs (PDF; Outside Source)
This companion document provides the steps and guiding questions in a brief two-page document.
