Updated: April 13, 2004 3:23 pm
The Macomb Intermediate School District Office of Special Education Management Services provides this Individualized Educational Program Team (IEP Team) Help System. Some content has been excerpted from the IEPT Manual developed by the Michigan Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services. Other content has been excerpted from the previously published MISD IEPC Manual, 1997, and Section 2 of the Utica Community Schools IEPT Manual, November, 2001.
This Help System is intended to assist in compliance with state and federal laws relating to programs and services for students with disabilities. The information will hopefully guide IEP Teams to develop good individualized educational plans for students with disabilities using the Macomb IEPT form.
Components of each form appear in boxed text throughout this manual and are followed by instructions for completion of the forms. Citations from the applicable federal and state laws, federal regulations, and administrative rules are indicated. References from other policy sources are also documented. All legal requirements are accompanied by an appropriate citation.
One of the primary purposes of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is to:
"ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free and appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for employment and independent living" [34 CFR §300.1(a)].
Toward the ultimate goals of employment and independent living, the IEP presented here includes the requirements (that begin when the student is age 13) that addresses the student's transition to post-secondary activities. In this document, the student's preferences and interests are key factors in the educational planning for this transition.
In the IEP presented in this Manual, the IEP Team discusses the student's strengths and interests very early in the meeting, using the sequence of IEP development as suggested in Transition Requirements: A Guide for States, Districts, Schools, Universities and Families (Western Regional Resource Center, 2000).
Consistent with these suggestions, it is also encouraged that the student will participate to the maximum extent appropriate in the IEP Team meeting. While including transition considerations in the IEP at age 13 is a legal minimum, it is anticipated that parents and educators will also find valuable the discretionary use of the complete version of this IEP on behalf of younger students. A legally compliant version of the IEP for younger students would be identical to the IEP presented in this manual, except with the transition items on page 4 being unnecessary.