Student input survey for the IEP

The student is the only person on the team who sits in every class. A short survey gets that view onto paper before the meeting, when there is still time to use it in the draft.

The answers do three jobs. They give you the student's own words for present levels. They point to supports the student will actually use. For older students, they start the transition plan.

Why student input is part of the IEP

Federal rules say the IEP team includes the child with a disability whenever appropriate. When the team will consider postsecondary goals and transition services, the school must invite the student. If the student does not attend, the school must take other steps to make sure the student's preferences and interests are considered.^[1] The survey is one of those steps.

Transition plans must be based on age-appropriate transition assessments, and the student's strengths, preferences and interests feed directly into them.^[2] An interest survey is a common, informal piece of that assessment. The present levels of performance guide shows where student input sits in the finished section.

How to give the survey

• Timing. One to two weeks before the meeting. Earlier and the answers go stale; later and they miss the draft.
• Length. About 10 minutes for the younger version and 15 for the older one. Split it over two days if stamina is low.
• Access. Read items aloud, scribe answers, offer picture choices, or use the student's AAC system. Write down exactly what the student says.
• Who gives it. An adult the student trusts, away from peers. A general education teacher or related service provider can give it if they know the student best.
• Honesty. Tell the student there are no wrong answers and that the team will read what they say.

Version 1: grades K to 5

Read each item aloud. For the rating items, the student points to a face or a number: 1 means "hard," 2 means "okay," 3 means "easy."

Part A: About me

• My name is, and I am in grade.
• Something I am really good at is.
• At home I like to.
• My favorite part of school is.

Part B: How school feels

Rate each one 1, 2 or 3.

• Reading by myself.
• Writing my ideas down.
• Math.
• Listening when the teacher talks for a long time.
• Playing with other kids at recess.
• Asking a grown-up for help.

Part C: What helps

• When work is hard, I feel.
• When work is hard, it helps when.
• One thing I want my teacher to know about me is.

Part D: My goal

• This year I want to get better at.

Version 2: grades 6 to 12

Students can write, type or dictate. Items in Part D are required once transition planning starts.

Part A: Strengths and interests

• Three things I do well, in school or out of it.
• Classes or activities where I do my best work, and why.
• Things I would do all day if I could.

Part B: What is hard

• The class or task that is hardest for me right now, and what makes it hard.
• When I get stuck, I usually.
• Something teachers do that makes it harder.

Part C: Supports

• Supports I use now, such as extra time, notes, breaks or tech. Which ones help, and which ones I skip.
• A support I wish I had.
• How I would rate my comfort asking a teacher for help, from 1 (never) to 5 (easily).

Part D: After high school

• After high school I want to (work, college, training, military, other).
• A job or career I am curious about.
• Where I want to live, and with whom.
• Skills I need for that, such as driving, cooking, money or applying for jobs.

Part E: My IEP

• What I know about my IEP.
• Something I want added or changed.
• Do I want to attend the meeting, and do I want to lead part of it?

Completed example: Devon, grade 8

This is a fictional example showing how answers translate into IEP language.

Part A: "I'm good at fixing bikes, basketball, and explaining things to my cousin. I do best in shop because you build stuff and see if it works."

Part B: "English. The reading is long and I lose track by page 2. When I'm stuck I just stop and put my head down. Teachers calling on me to read out loud makes it worse."

Part C: "Audio books help a lot. Extra time I don't use because I don't want to stay in at lunch. I wish I had the notes ahead of time. Asking for help: 2 out of 5."

Part D: "Work at a bike shop or be a mechanic. Live with my brother at first. I need to learn to drive and how to get a job."

Part E: "I know I get extra time. I want to stop getting pulled out of PE. I'll come to the meeting but I don't want to talk much."

Here is how the case manager used it:

• Present levels, student input: "Devon reports that long readings are hardest, that he loses track 'by page 2,' and that audio versions help. He rates his comfort asking for help as 2 of 5."
• Accommodations: the team kept audio text, added guided notes before long readings, and dropped lunch-time extended testing in favor of extra time within the class period.
• Goal: a self-advocacy goal in which Devon requests a support in at least 4 of 5 observed opportunities. The self-advocacy goal templates have wording to adapt, and the goal checker flags a draft with no criterion.
• Transition: his interest in bike repair became the starting point for a career interest inventory, part of his transition assessment, and a job-shadow visit. Goals like those in self-determination build on this.
• Meeting: Devon agreed to read his own strengths list aloud, a first step toward a student-led IEP.

Section-by-section notes: what reviewers and parents look for

Parents read this section closely. A quote from their child often lands better than any test score. Reviewers look for one thing: did the student's answers change anything in the plan? If the survey sits in the file and nothing reflects it, it was a form, not input.

Turning answers into present levels

Quote the student briefly, then compare with data. "Devon says he loses track by page 2. On three grade 8 passages, his retell accuracy dropped from 80% on the first page to 30% on the third." Agreement between the two strengthens the need. A gap between them is worth a sentence too, because it may point to a self-awareness or self-advocacy goal.

For a full walk-through of where input fits among the other parts, see how to write a PLAAFP. For finding words for strengths, use student strengths examples. Send families the matching parent input form at the same time, so both views arrive before the draft.

Printing and adapting the survey

Print this page from the browser, or copy the items into your own document. There is no sign-up. Cut items that don't fit the student, and add items for a specific concern, such as a question about recess for a student with peer conflict. For students with significant support needs, turn each item into a choice between two pictures or two objects, and record what the student selects across two sessions.

Frequently asked questions

Use it in IEP Atlas

• PLAAFP in the IEP glossary
• Student-led IEP in the IEP glossary
• Transition assessment in the IEP glossary
• Self-advocacy goal templates
• Self-determination goal templates

Related guides

• Present levels of performance (PLAAFP): what to include, with examples
• Parent input form for the IEP
• How to write a PLAAFP, step by step
• Writing student strengths as observable performance
• PLAAFP examples for reading

Sources

1. 34 CFR §300.321: IEP Team, U.S. Department of Education (IDEA website)
2. 34 CFR §300.320: Definition of individualized education program, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School

Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.