IEP guides
Practical guides for the people who write and run IEPs, grouped by the job in front of you. Each one links to the goal templates, data sheets and tools that go with it.
Progress monitoring and progress reports
How to monitor IEP goal progress: probe schedules, graphing, aimlines, decision rules, and progress reports that parents can read and act on.
29 guides · Start with IEP progress monitoring: how to track, graph and report goal progress
IEP data collection and measurement
Choosing a measurement method for each IEP goal, running the data sheet that matches it, and keeping the numbers honest enough to defend at a meeting.
22 guides · Start with IEP data collection: methods, sheets and schedules that hold up
Present levels (PLAAFP)
Writing present levels that hold current data, strengths, the impact of the disability and needs, area by area, so every goal has a baseline to measure.
25 guides · Start with Present levels of performance (PLAAFP): what to include, with examples
Writing IEP goals
Guides to writing IEP goals that hold up: present levels, baselines, measurable criteria, objectives and progress monitoring, with worked examples.
31 guides · Start with How to write IEP goals: a step-by-step method with examples
Reading intervention and assessment
Reading screening, diagnostic assessment, tiered intervention and the logistics of running small reading groups for students with IEPs, step by step.
35 guides · Start with Reading intervention for students with IEPs: assess, group, teach, monitor
Phonological and phonemic awareness
Phonological and phonemic awareness instruction and IEP goals: the developmental sequence, short daily routines, quick assessments and oral activities.
23 guides · Start with Phonemic awareness interventions for students with IEPs
Phonics and decoding
Phonics and decoding instruction and IEP goals, pattern by pattern, from CVC words through vowel teams to multisyllabic words, plus high frequency words.
28 guides · Start with Phonics interventions for struggling readers
Reading fluency
Reading fluency goals with WCPM targets, realistic weekly growth, accuracy checks, and the interventions that move them: repeated and partner reading.
19 guides · Start with Reading fluency interventions that work
Reading comprehension and vocabulary
Reading comprehension and vocabulary goals by sub-skill, ways to measure them beyond percent of questions correct, and the strategies that teach them.
49 guides · Start with Reading comprehension strategies for struggling readers
Writing and spelling goals
Written expression, sentence and paragraph writing, spelling and mechanics goals, with writing sample scoring (TWW, CWS, CLS) and the interventions behind them.
21 guides · Start with IEP goals for writing: written expression, spelling and mechanics
Math goals and intervention
Math calculation, problem solving, fact fluency and functional math IEP goals, how to measure each one with probes, and the interventions behind them.
31 guides · Start with IEP goals for math: calculation, problem solving and functional math
Executive functioning
IEP goals and supports for task initiation, organization, planning, working memory, attention, self-monitoring and work completion, written as behavior.
22 guides · Start with Executive functioning IEP goals: examples by skill
Behavior, FBA and BIP
Functional behavior assessment, behavior intervention plans, behavior goals that teach replacement skills, and the behavior data that shows a plan is working.
33 guides · Start with FBA and BIP: a practical guide for IEP teams
Social-emotional and social skills
Social-emotional, social skills, emotional regulation, coping and counseling goals that can be measured as observable behavior rather than as feelings.
37 guides · Start with Social-emotional IEP goals: examples you can actually measure
Speech and language
Language, pragmatics, AAC and school SLP practice: IEP goals by target, data collection in session, service minutes, and working alongside teachers.
53 guides · Start with Speech therapy IEP goals: examples by area
Articulation, fluency and voice
Speech sound, stuttering, cluttering and voice IEP goals, with the developmental norms, data methods and carryover plans that school SLPs rely on.
23 guides · Start with Articulation goals examples: sound by sound, with data methods
Occupational therapy, fine motor and sensory
School-based OT goals for handwriting, fine motor, self-care and sensory processing, with ways to measure them, accommodations and consult models.
42 guides · Start with Occupational therapy IEP goals: examples for school-based OT
Physical therapy and adapted PE
School PT and adapted PE goals for balance, stairs, mobility equipment, ball skills and fitness, with scoring rubrics and accommodations for each one.
23 guides · Start with Physical therapy IEP goals: examples for school-based PT
Life skills and functional goals
Daily living, household, community, safety and health IEP goals, with task analyses, community based instruction and functional academics that carry over.
47 guides · Start with Life skills IEP goals: the complete map by domain
Transition planning
Secondary transition in the IEP: assessments, postsecondary goals, services, course of study, diploma options, age of majority and the summary of performance.
37 guides · Start with Transition planning in the IEP: what is required and when
Autism goals and supports
IEP goals, accommodations and teaching supports for autistic students from preschool through high school, written to teach skills rather than compliance.
15 guides · Start with IEP goals for autism: examples by area and age
Learning disabilities and ADHD
Dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD and twice exceptional students: eligibility, IEP goals and accommodations that match each learning profile.
19 guides · Start with IEPs for specific learning disabilities and ADHD: goals, supports, eligibility
Significant support needs
IEP goals, measurement, alternate assessment and classroom practice for students with intellectual disability and significant support needs, by area.
17 guides · Start with IEP goals for students with severe and profound disabilities
Vision, hearing and other low-incidence needs
Goals and supports for deaf and hard of hearing, blind and low vision, deaf-blind, orthopedic and brain injury needs, including the expanded core curriculum.
27 guides · Start with Low-incidence disabilities in the IEP: vision, hearing, deaf-blindness and physical needs
Preschool and kindergarten
Preschool and kindergarten IEPs: goals by developmental area, the move from early intervention, classroom accommodations, early literacy and numeracy.
21 guides · Start with IEP goals for preschoolers: examples by area
Accommodations and modifications
Choosing, writing, implementing and tracking IEP accommodations and modifications, sorted by student need, by subject and by state or classroom test.
28 guides · Start with IEP accommodations: how to choose, write and track them
IEP and 504 plan basics
What an IEP and a 504 plan are, what each one contains, how to read one page by page, and how the parts fit together for a student with a disability.
28 guides · Start with What is an IEP? A plain guide to the plan and what is in it
Evaluation and eligibility
Referral, consent, testing, evaluation reports, eligibility decisions under the 13 disability categories, and reevaluation, explained for school teams.
40 guides · Start with The IEP evaluation process: from referral to eligibility
Services and minutes
Writing the IEP services page: specially designed instruction, related services, supplementary aids, minutes, delivery models and building a schedule.
23 guides · Start with IEP services and minutes: how to write the services page
LRE, placement and ESY
Least restrictive environment, the continuum of placements, how placement decisions are made, extended school year, and changes of placement for IEPs.
19 guides · Start with Least restrictive environment, with examples
IEP meetings
Planning, running and following up on IEP meetings: notices, required team members, agendas, meeting types, handling disagreement and documentation.
36 guides · Start with The IEP meeting: before, during and after
Rights, safeguards and discipline
Procedural safeguards, consent, notice, disputes, records, FAPE and the discipline protections for students with IEPs, each with its regulation citation.
32 guides · Start with Special education rights for parents and students: an overview
Case management
Running a special education caseload: compliance calendars, due dates, binders, notifying teachers, file reviews, paperwork and the case manager's year.
28 guides · Start with The IEP case manager's handbook: responsibilities, calendar and tools
Paraprofessionals and collaboration
Working with paraprofessionals and co-teachers: roles, schedules, training, prompting and fading, shared data collection, and co-planning time together.
23 guides · Start with Paraprofessional roles and responsibilities