And now there is more to the IEP

 And now there is more to the IEP…

 

 

Under the Education of All Handicapped Children Act-1975 (EHA), a document came into being called an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that was going to provide an individual plan of instruction for every child with a disability.  At first, the word went out that it was impossible. But the law was the law and soon every child had an IEP. Parents were required participants in the development of the IEP.  The IEP is a contract for service.  It is not a guarantee of achievement.  Since 1975, EHA has morphed into IDEA-the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  Over the years, IDEA has also been modified, adding requirements and tweaking others.   But through all the changes the IEP has remained.  It, too, has changed.  Some states have managed to develop them online.  The pandemic has made IEP meetings more virtual than in-person.  

Now, some negative experiences with IEP requirements have wrought some changes to the IEP in Maryland.  

Many families felt that the virtual learning their children received was not of the same quality as their non-disabled peers.   Some school districts entered into a one-size-fits-all mode for all of their special ed students.   Other districts sent kids with disabilities the same work as plain students if they were all in the same class.  The work was neither individualized nor individual.

Since this is a democracy, families in Maryland went to their state legislators and they got some results.  Effective October 1, 2021, IEP’s in Maryland must include a learning continuity plan that would be implemented when emergency conditions exist that require the closing of schools, for a period of ten days or longer.  The continuity of learning plan ensures that IEP services are provided to the child despite the emergency conditions.  The continuity of leaning plan would kick in if schools were closed and school districts were providing some form of instruction to other students.  Yes, this addition to the IEP requirements is extra work.  But it will also make sure that when districts are planning for plain students, the children with special needs are not an after-thought that will be patched into the system later.  

It is very sad that it has taken an act of a state legislature to ensure that school districts remember they have children with special needs who have had a right to an individually designed program for almost 50 years!   That hasn’t changed no matter what else has.