Group+1-+Yu's+IEP

Group 1 by: Linda, Cheryl, Nathan, Ben

**Part I :** Indicator 13 Checklist: (Cheryl) Yes, Education/Training: School will assist in helping him set up an appt with community college or counselor to explore career options.schedule a visit with vocational rehab to determine eligibility. Employment: Provide guided military practice through ROTC, Provide resources and instruction on the American with Disabilities Act,Vu's parents will meet with an army reserve recruiter. Independent Living: Vu will take the course Life Management 2 to learn independent skills in preparing meals,comparison shopping, budgeting, or caring for clothing. (Nathan) E/T - Yes, because enrollment at the community college can be verified with a yes/no question. Emp - Yes, because enlistment in the army reserves can be verified with a yes/no question Indep. Living - NO because the goal of managing his money and caring for personal needs is subjective and not measurable. For example, could he fulfill the goal by managing his money //poorly?// //(Cheryl) I do agree with you Nathan about the goal of managing his money and caring for personal needs is subjective. // (Linda) Education/training--Yes, he will be enrolled at the community college Employment- Yes, he will join the army reserves Independent Living- Yes, he will live in military housing or with parents, managing his money and caring for his personal needs. (Linda) I think looking at outcomes for spectific skills in the areas of managing money and caring for personal needs can be measured, at least by did/can he do it or not. (example; can he subtract money he spent/ or add money he earned, from/to the total, in order to balance his checkbook) (Ben) Education/Training - I agree with the three of you. Yes, school enrollment is yes/no verifiable. Employment - I agree with the three of you. Yes, enlistment is yes/no verifiable. Independent Living - I agree with Linda here. The goal of money management becomes verifiable if Vu completes an educational program of some sort with a pre-test/posttest built in. The same can be said for a goal on caring for personal needs. If you identify the specific needs through assessment you should be able to write a yes/no goal on those needs along with a mastery test of some sort to measure the goal. (Cheryl)-I agree with Linda when she stated her view thattindependent living goals are measureable through assessment. (Cheryl) Yes. These goals are written as annual goals. (Nathan) The IEP shows annual review, so I chose yes, but I think there should be some evidence that the postsecondary goals in particular have been updated (or at least reviewed) (Linda) Yes, IEP's are reviewed annually and on Form C it says the transition plan is updated annually, plus it is a requirement of IDEA.. (Ben) The case study indicates a yearly IEP, which suggests annual review of the goals in my opinion.
 * //__1. Is there an appropriate measurable entireity goal or goals in this area?__//**
 * //__2. Is the postsecondary goal(s) updated annually?__//**

**//__3. Is there evidence that the measurable postsecondary goals were based on age appropriate transition assessment?__//** (Cheryl) Yes. He has completed four transition assessments. On one, an informal interview, he was asked about his attitude toward his disability, interests in leisure activities, family relationships, functional skills, educational interests, work and class preparations, occupational and career awaremness, and his future plans. He also completed an informal self-determiantion/self-advocacy checklist which helped hin think about what he likes and values, his strengths and weaknesses, and whether or not he can make changes in his life.He also took the ASVAB and an informal assessment titles "What to Consider When Exploring Military Training" (Nathan) Yes, records indicate he has had an informal interview that covers all the areas specifically mentioned in the checklist, an informal self-determination/self-advocacy checklist which also specifically addresses the items from the checklist, an informal inventory about what to expect from the army and the ASVAB. I asked: are these age appropriate? and yes, informal methods are appropriate for a 17 year old (lol) as well as the ASVAB, an aptitude battery designed for the armed services. (Linda) Yes, age appropriate informal interviews (i.e., self-determination checklist, personal interest survey-IEPteam decision assistance form, and the ASVAB: exploring military training) (Ben) The various assessments that Vu completed (informal assessments, the ASVAB, etc.) were typical of the instruments administered to most high school students.

**//__4. Are there transition services in the IEP that will reasonably enable the student to meet his or her postsecondary goal(s)?__//** (Cheryl) Yes. School will help assist in setting up an appointment with community college or program counselor to explore course options, walk through application and registration process, and schedule a visit with the local vocational rehabilitation office to determine eligibility for services. Provide guided practice through ROTC, and provide resources and instruction on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Parents will provide transportation to/from appointments with counselor,explore city/county transportation options, assist him in registering for classes, Voc Rehab will discuss and plan for services with Vu and his parents. (Nathan) Yes, Form C clearly listed the services supporting the student's post secondary goals. (Linda) Yes, services are reported on Form C. (Ben) Vu's post-secondary goals are supported by the services found on Form C.

(Cheryl ) Yes, the transition services do include courses of study: Vu wants to possibly join the military reserves after high school. He also has an interest in getting a career involving his art talent. He is scheduled for classes in JROTC all four years, as well as Class in drawing/drawing II, Fine Arts/Computer Graphics, and Water Color/Sculpture. (Nathan) E/T: I am not sure if Vu's art classes should qualify as helping him achieve his goal of taking an art class at a community college, although I would admit that it would have helped him to identify his strength in this area as well as his interest. Emp: Yes, the JROTC program is a class at the school Indep. Living: Yes, Vu is enrolled in Life Management 2 (Linda) Yes, I think the key word here is "reasonably". Education and training- he is taking a variety of art classes, Employment- he's enrolled in the JROTC program and independent Living- Vu is enrolled in the life management 2 class. (Ben) The JROTC program aligns with Vu's enlistment goal. The art classes align with the goal of art classes at a community college as long as Vu does in fact meet the school requirements to graduate, which in turn would make him eligible to attend a community college. The Life Management 2 class aligns to Independent Living.
 * __//5. Do the transition services include courses of study that will reasonably enable the student to meet his or her postsecondary goal(s)?//__**

(Cheryl ) Yes. (Nathan) Initially I thought that only the independent living goal addressed Vu's post secondary needs, but then i noticed that the categories had boxes that were checked off for each of the three realms of transition services needs. (which is to say YES) (Linda) Independent Living- Yes, Education/training and Employment- He does have reading goals, but I think the goals themselves could be more directly related to Vu's postsecondary needs. (Ben) All three goals are stated in the IEP and relate directly to his transition services needs.
 * // __6. Is (are) there annual IEP goal(s) that are related to the student’s transition services needs?__ //**
 * 1) 1 Goal: Vu has an Independent Living goal is based on his lack of experience in preparing meals, comparison shopping, budgeting, or caring for clothing.
 * 2) 2 Goal: Vu has a reading comprehension goal to support post-secondary Education/Training and Employment.
 * 3) 3 Goal: Vu has a Reading goal to support post-secondary, employment, and independent living by raising his reasing level up to 5.5.

//__**7. Is there evidence that the student was invited to the IEP Team meeting where transition services were discussed?**__// (Cheryl) Yes. On the Student Demographci Information Page it is noted who attended the IEP Transition meeting. It is noted that Vu was there in person. (Nathan) Yes. The IEP cover page indicated that Vu was present. (Linda) Yes, it states Vu attended his IEP on the Student Demographic's page (Ben) Vu was invited to and did attend the IEP meeting. //__**8. If appropriate, is there evidence that a representative of any participating outside agency responsible for providing or paying for transition services was invited to the IEP Team meeting with the prior consent of the parent or student who has reached the age of majority?**__// (Cheryl)No. Under the participants In IEP Meeting And Roles no one is listed as attending the meeting that is a representative of any outside agency responsible for paying for transition services. (Nathan) NO - As Cheryl said, there was not a name listed on the attendance record, and there are services provided by Vocational Rehab, which did not have a representative present. There is no indication of whether the parent gave consent to invite a representative, nor is there evidence that one was even considered for the meeting. (Linda) No. There was no outside agency representive listed on the attendance page nor were they in attendence at the IEP meeting, although they should of been present, based on the students needs. (Ben) There were no outside agencies represented in the IEP meeting. The services linsted in the IEP indicate the need for the involvement of outside agencies, so the lack of involvement is potentially problematic.

**Part 2 Summary and Reflections (Here put your summarization of your analysis and reflections on the strenghts/ weaknees of the IEP)** (Cheryl) I feel that this IEP was a very thorough written IEP. When I read this IEP, I felt that the Present Level of Academic achievement and Functional Performance was very informative and was a great snapshot of Vu.It clearly stated his strengths as it relates to postsecondary goals.The goals for this student are appropriate and measureable that address Education or Training after high school, and Independent Living appear to be appropraite based on the information regarding PLEP information. Transition services will reasonably enable the student to meet postsecondary goals. As a speech therapist, I have read many IEPs and I feel that the PLEP should be written so that the next speech therapist that works with a particular child will feel like they know everything about this child's strengths and weaknesses, I felt this way after reading this IEP on Vu.

According to the Indicator 13 checklist if appropriate there needs to be evidence that a representative of any participating agency to be invited to the IEP Team meeting with prior consent of the parent or student. I feel that there should be a representative to answer questions that team members might be able to help Vu help decide secondary goals. If no invitation was not evident and a participating agency is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services and there was consent to invite them to the meeting then this would be a weakness and would not meet the requirements of Indicator 13.. (Nathan) (Linda) Strengths; Weakness; the IEP Team meeting- they were needed.
 * I have been reviewing IEPs for a research project, and I really like how clearly and intuitively organized this IEP is. The ones I have been reviewing have been web-based, with a closed network accessible through a java application - kind of similar in feel to an online banking experience, but with windows 98-style format. On that one things were broken down into extremely small chunks, each on a different page that I have to wait to load. I feel like with the IEP we are reviewing, the format is such that, even if housed on an electronic database, I would expect it would still be quite easy to navigate.
 * I am particularly fond of the complete list of possible accommodations (Alternate form F), with the specific accommodations for the student checked for the subject and frequency of support. Having a checklist like this would make it a lot easier to write an IEP, without having to refer back to another document or sheet or (god forbid) paper file, and seeing the whole list would probably make it easier to provide the appropriate amount of supports in the specific settings for which they are needed. This would probably also help out a lot with paraprofessional support scheduling too.
 * My only hangups with the information within this case study are at the bottom of the Decision Assistance Form (page 4 of the document). I wonder how they decide which are the three most important skills to be addressed in the IEP, also the question that follows provides very sparse details. I really want to see where/how/with whom for these.
 * In conclusion, without evidence of a representative from an outside agency, this will not meet the requirements of Indicator 13. Also I would recommend that Mr. Griffin (case manager) revise the language in the independent living post secondary goal regarding managing money and taking care of personal needs to include specific measurable indicators for success. And another note about someone considering whether the art classes are adequately preparing Vu for his goal of taking college art classes could be added - it is not readily evident that there are courses aimed at assisting him in this goal.
 * Team approach
 * Good snap of Vu's present levels
 * Variety of age appropriate transition assessments that displays Vu's strengths/weakness, abilities
 * Postsecondary goals in all three areas; education/training, employment and independent living
 * IEP goals that related to Vu's transition services needs.
 * Transition services, course of study listed
 * Forms were clearly written, great format
 * Evidence of annual reviews
 * No evidence that a representative of any participating agency was invited to
 * More information could of been added to help clearify/connect activities with the goals
 * I questioned Vu's reading level with some of the information stated and what was said he was doing.
 * Inconsistencies of information were reported/found throughout the IEP

This IEP did not meet the requirements of Indicator 13 in it's entirety; no representative of any outside agencies were invited to the IEP meeting, when Vu's need clearly supported their participation.

(Ben)
 * I agree with my teammates that the IEP is not Indicator 13 compliant. There was no representation of outside agencies at the IEP meeting, and there was no documentation indicating that outside agencies had been made aware of or were invited to the IEP meeting. It seems likely that if outside agencies were involved in the process of creating the plan then some input would have been evident (written/email documentation, name references to specific individuals and groups, etc.). Since there was no documentation provided or referenced within the IEP it seems likely to me that the plans were made by the school and family acting alone.
 * The IEP seemed comprehensive and thorough in presenting anyone reading the document with the information needed to take action - this to me is the description of a well-written IEP. It seemed for the most part objective in its information, not relying heavily on more subjective sources of information. A wide range of assessments were used to develop the PLEPs and transition needs. Some details could be expanded upon to add greater clarity (see my comments on Question #1 above).
 * As an aside: I liked the format of the IEP itself, specifically the completeness of Form F and Form D respectively. I would be curious to know whether the IEP was developed using an "off the shelf" IEP program or created with MS Word.