Friendship Circle
Believe it or not, you should be getting notes home regarding setting up parent teacher conferences for your children any day now. This means that report card time is also quickly approaching. For parents of children with special needs, who have an IEP (Individualized Education Plan), you should also be receiving progress reports for your child shortly.
Here are some important things you should know about progress reports and IEPs.
How often must progress be reported?
Progress should be reported at least as often as parents of general education students are informed of their child’s progress. Thus, for example, if your school district provides two report cards per year, there should be two progress reports for your child with special needs. If the frequency that the general education students receive progress is not sufficient for your child with special needs, the IEP could also indicate frequency of reporting, for example, as:
•monthly,
•quarterly,
•at the end of each term, or
•at three month intervals.
What is the purpose of reporting progress to parents?
Regular reports to parents provide a mechanism to monitor a student’s progress toward the annual goals and to evaluate the effectiveness of the student’s special education services. If progress is such that, the student is not expected to reach his or her annual goals, the Committee on Special Education (“CSE”) must review and revise the student’s IEP to ensure that the student is being provided the appropriate supports and services.
What must parents keep in mind?
It is extremely important that parents pay attention to these progress reports. If you see that certain goals have not been started or that your child is not progressing satisfactorily, it may be time to change those goals. Conversely, if your child is achieving all of their goals, this may be an indicator that the goals were set too low.
Read more. Friendship Circle.
