10 Signs Your Child's IEP May Be Inadequate

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) should be much more than paperwork completed once a year. For a child who qualifies for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the IEP is the roadmap for the special education, related services, accommodations, supports, and measurable goals the school will provide.
 

But how can a parent tell whether an IEP is actually appropriate?
 

An IEP does not have to be perfect, and IDEA does not guarantee that every child will reach their full potential. However, an IEP must be individualized and reasonably calculated to enable the child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances.
 

Here are 10 warning signs that your child's IEP may be inadequate.
 

1. Your Child Is Not Making Appropriate Progress
 

One of the most important questions you can ask is:

Is my child actually making appropriate progress?
 

A student can have an impressive-looking IEP with numerous goals, accommodations, and services and still fail to make appropriate educational progress.
 

Look at objective information such as:

• IEP progress reports

• Reading levels

• Curriculum-based measurements

• Standardized assessments

• Grades

• Work samples

• State assessments

• Behavioral data

• Evaluation results
   

If your child's reading level has barely changed in two years, for example, simply continuing the same program may not be appropriate.
 

Parents should ask:

What data demonstrates that this IEP is working?
 

If your child is not making appropriate progress, the IEP team should investigate why and determine whether changes are necessary.
 

2. The IEP Does Not Clearly Describe Your Child's Current Abilities and Needs
 

A good IEP begins with an accurate description of where the child is functioning right now.
 

This is generally addressed through the student's Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance, sometimes referred to as the PLAAFP or present levels.
 

Vague statements can be a warning sign.

For example:  “Johnny struggles with reading.”  That tells a parent very little.  How does Johnny struggle?

Does he have difficulty with:

• Phonemic awareness?

• Phonics?

• Decoding?

• Word identification?

• Vocabulary?

• Reading fluency?

• Prosody?

• Reading comprehension?
   

What is his current instructional reading level?
 

How accurately does he read?
 

How quickly does he read?
 

What do evaluations and progress-monitoring data show?
 

If the IEP does not clearly establish the child's current performance, it becomes difficult to develop meaningful goals and determine what services are necessary.
 

You cannot effectively measure progress without knowing the starting point.
 

3. Your Child's Goals Are Vague or Not Meaningfully Measurable
 

IEP goals should allow parents and educators to objectively determine whether the student is making progress.  Consider this goal:  “Johnny will improve his reading skills.”   Improve by how much?  In what specific area? Measured by what? By when?
 

Compare that with a goal that identifies a specific skill, baseline, expected performance level, conditions, and method of measurement.
 

Parents should be able to answer:

• What skill is this goal addressing?

• What is my child's baseline?

• What is the expected outcome?

• How will progress be measured?

• How frequently will progress be measured?

• How will I know whether the goal has been achieved?
   

If nobody can objectively determine whether your child met the goal, the goal may not be sufficiently measurable.
 

4. The Same IEP Goals Keep Appearing Year After Year
 

Seeing substantially the same goals repeated annually should cause parents to ask questions. Sometimes a skill legitimately requires continued instruction. Repetition by itself does not establish that an IEP is inappropriate. But if your child has worked on essentially the same reading, writing, mathematics, communication, or behavioral goal for several years without meaningful progress, something may need to change.
 

Ask:  Why hasn't my child mastered this skill?
 

Possible issues could involve:

• Inappropriate instructional methodology

• Insufficient intensity

• Insufficient frequency or duration of services

• An unidentified disability-related need

• Poor implementation

• Inappropriate goals

• Inadequate behavioral supports

• Need for additional evaluation

• Need for different supplementary aids or services
   

The answer should not automatically be:

“We'll just keep working on it.”
 

When an intervention repeatedly fails, the IEP team should consider why.
 

5. The IEP Lists Accommodations but Does Not Provide Enough Specialized Instruction
 

This is an important distinction.   Accommodations are not necessarily specialized instruction.
 

Accommodations can be extremely important. They may include things such as:

• Extended time

• Preferential seating

• Reduced-distraction testing

• Frequent breaks

• Large-print materials

• Assistive technology

• Directions repeated or clarified
   

But accommodations generally help a student access instruction or demonstrate knowledge.

They do not necessarily remediate the underlying disability-related deficit.  For example, giving additional time to a child who cannot decode unfamiliar words does not, by itself, teach the child how to read.

If your child has significant academic deficits, ask: What specially designed instruction is being provided to address those deficits?
 

6. Important Needs Identified in Evaluations Are Missing From the IEP
 

Read your child's evaluations and then compare them with the IEP.
 

Suppose an evaluation identifies significant deficits in:

• Reading fluency

• Written expression

• Receptive language

• Executive functioning

• Fine-motor skills

• Social communication

• Adaptive functioning

• Behavior
   

Now look at the IEP.  Where are those needs addressed?
 

A significant need should not simply disappear between the evaluation report and the IEP.

Depending on the circumstances, identified needs may need to be addressed through:

• Present levels

• Annual goals

• Specially designed instruction

• Related services

• Accommodations

• Supplementary aids and services

• Behavioral interventions

• Assistive technology

• Other appropriate supports
   

Parents should ask the IEP team to explain how each significant educational need identified through evaluation is being addressed.
 

7. Your Child Has Frequent Behavioral Problems, Suspensions, or Removals From Class
 

Behavior is often an educational issue.

If your child is repeatedly:

• Suspended

• Sent to the office

• Removed from class

• Placed in in-school suspension

• Sent home early

• Asked to be picked up

• Eloping from the classroom

• Refusing work

• Having significant emotional or behavioral episodes

the IEP team should consider whether the behavior is connected to unmet disability-related needs.

IDEA requires the IEP team, when a child's behavior impedes the child's learning or that of others, to consider the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports and other strategies to address the behavior.
 

Depending upon the circumstances, the team may need to consider:

• A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)

• A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)

• Behavioral goals

• Counseling

• Social-skills instruction

• Environmental modifications

• Additional supervision

• Staff supports or training

• Changes to services or placement
   

Repeated punishment without adequately addressing the underlying disability-related behavior can be a serious warning sign.
 

8. Services Are Missing, Vague, or Not Actually Being Provided
 

Read the service section of the IEP carefully.
 

Can you determine:

• What service your child receives?

• How often?

• For how long?

• Where?

• When it begins?
   

Parents should be cautious when an IEP is so vague that they cannot determine what the school has actually committed to providing.
 

There is another issue:

An appropriate service written into an IEP does little good if the service is not actually provided.
 

Warning signs can include:

• Frequently missed therapy sessions

• Special education minutes routinely not provided

• Accommodations ignored

• Staff unaware of the IEP

• A BIP that is not followed

• Required assistive technology unavailable

• Services canceled because staff members are absent

• Your child routinely being placed somewhere other than where the IEP specifies
   

If you suspect an implementation problem, document specific incidents and ask the school for information showing when and how services were provided.
 

9. The School's Decisions Seem to Be Based on What It Has Available Rather Than What Your Child Needs
 

Parents sometimes hear statements such as:

“We don't offer that.”

“That's not available at this school.”

“We only provide 30 minutes.”

“We don't do one-on-one services.”

“All students in this program receive the same thing.”
 

These statements deserve further questions.
 

IDEA is built around individualization.  The IEP team should first determine what the child requires to receive FAPE. Decisions should not simply be based upon a predetermined menu of programs or administrative convenience.   Likewise, placement should not automatically be determined by the child's disability label.
 

Ask:

“What does my child need?”

Then ask:

“How will the IEP provide it?”
 

10. Your Concerns Are Being Dismissed Rather Than Meaningfully Considered
 

Parents are members of the IEP team.  That does not mean the school must agree with every parental request. Likewise, a parent does not have unilateral authority to dictate every provision of an IEP.

But parental participation must be meaningful.
 

Be concerned when:

• The IEP appears completely predetermined before the meeting.

• Staff refuse to discuss alternatives.

• Your concerns are repeatedly dismissed without explanation.

• The meeting is rushed before significant issues can be discussed.

• Important evaluation information is ignored.

• Decisions appear to have been made outside the IEP team.

• You are told that something cannot even be considered because of “district policy.”

• The school refuses a significant request but cannot clearly explain why.
   

When the school district proposes or refuses to initiate or change certain matters involving identification, evaluation, educational placement, or the provision of FAPE, Prior Written Notice (PWN) requirements may apply.
 

When an important request is refused, consider asking: “Will the district please provide Prior Written Notice explaining its refusal, the reasons for the decision, and the information relied upon in making that decision?”

 

A Bonus Warning Sign: You Don't Understand the IEP
 

Special education contains plenty of technical terminology.

But you should leave an IEP meeting with a reasonable understanding of:

Where is my child currently functioning?

What are my child's educational needs?

What goals are we working toward?

What services will the school provide?

How frequently will those services occur?

Where will my child receive those services?

How will we measure progress?

What will happen if the program isn't working?
 

If you cannot answer those questions after reading the IEP, additional clarification may be necessary.
 

What Should You Do If You Think Your Child's IEP Is Inadequate?
 

Do not assume that you must wait until the next annual IEP meeting.
 

If you have significant concerns about your child's educational program, you can communicate those concerns to the school and request that the IEP team reconvene.
 

Before the meeting, consider gathering:

• Your child's current IEP

• Previous IEPs

• Evaluations

• Progress reports

• Report cards

• Work samples

• Discipline records

• FBA/BIP documents

• Relevant emails

• Private evaluations or provider reports

• Other information showing your child's performance
   

Then identify your concerns specifically.   Instead of simply saying: “The IEP isn't working.”

consider identifying the actual problem:  “My child has received specialized reading instruction for two years, but the progress-monitoring data indicates very limited improvement in decoding and reading fluency. I want the IEP team to review the data and determine whether the current goals, methodology, frequency, duration, and intensity of services remain appropriate.”
 

Specific concerns tend to produce more productive discussions.
 

The Most Important Question: Is the IEP Working for Your Child?
 

An IEP should not be judged by how many pages it contains.  It should not be judged by how many accommodations are listed. And it should not be judged simply by whether everyone at the meeting was pleasant and agreed. The central issue is whether the IEP is individualized to your child's unique needs and reasonably calculated to enable your child to make progress appropriate in light of your child's circumstances. 

Parents should continually ask:  What does the data show?

If your child is making appropriate progress, that is important evidence.
 

If your child is not making appropriate progress, the IEP team should determine why and consider what needs to change.
 

Concerned About Your Child's IEP?
 

MyChildWins.com Education Advocates helps parents understand their children's special education rights and advocate for appropriate educational programs and services.
 

We assist families with issues involving:

• IEP development and review

• IEP meetings

• Special education evaluations

• Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs)

• FAPE disputes

• Behavioral concerns

• Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs)

• Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs)

• School suspensions and expulsions

• Manifestation Determination Reviews (MDRs)

• Section 504

• Special education due process
   

If you believe your child's IEP is inadequate, your child isn't making appropriate progress, or the school isn't providing the services your child needs, MyChildWins.com can help you understand your options and prepare for the next step.
 

MyChildWins.com Education Advocates, LLC

Helping Parents Advocate for Children With Disabilities