Editorial policy

How templates are written

Templates are original IEP Atlas content. They aren't copied from paid goal banks or other copyrighted sources. Drafts were written with AI assistance from general principles of educational measurement and publicly available federal guidance, following a written authoring standard.

Automated checks on every template

Before a template is published, automated tests confirm that:

• the goal composes into a complete sentence that passes the same measurability checks teachers see in the builder;
• the measurement method can produce the criterion's unit (for example, a latency goal uses latency recording);
• type-specific details are present (opportunity counts, rubric criteria, task-analysis steps, observation periods);
• vague verbs such as “understand” or “improve” aren't used as behaviors;
• references point only to a vetted list of sources.

Automated checks confirm structure. They don't replace professional review.

Review statuses

• Unreviewed draft (200 templates): drafted and checked by automated rules only. No educator has reviewed it yet.
• Editor-checked (0): a IEP Atlas editor reviewed it for internal consistency and clarity. This isn't a specialist review.
• Educator-reviewed (0): reviewed by a qualified special educator or related-service provider and recorded in our review log with the date and scope.

We don't use fake reviewer names, invented credentials, or testimonials. When reviewers join, we'll list them here with their consent. Any substantive change to a template resets its status.

Language standards

• Goals refer to “the student,” never to diagnostic labels, and don't tie skills to disability categories.
• Social and communication goals respect all communication modes and don't target eye contact or masking.
• Example numbers are illustrative. They aren't benchmarks or recommendations.
• We don't claim that any goal is compliant, approved, or appropriate for every student.

Sources

We cite federal regulations (34 CFR Part 300), U.S. Department of Education and Institute of Education Sciences resources, and recognized technical-assistance centers. We check every reference URL before adding it.

Corrections

If you find an error, contact us through the support page with the template ID shown in the builder (for example, rd-flu-001). We review every report.