This brief paper presents guidelines for creating useful Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) as required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It lists 10 items of information that the law requires be included in an IEP such as current levels of educational performance and measurable goals and objectives. The importance of…

This article discusses the role of secondary school teachers in developing and implementing effective transition plans for students with severe disabilities. Required components of transition plans are described and guidelines are presented for developing individual transition programs. Educators are urged to promote employment skills and…

This digest paper examines the special roles of parents of children with disabilities in planning for the education of their children and discusses how educators can work effectively with parents to create meaningful individualized education programs (IEPs). Barriers to parental participation in the IEP process are identified, including…

Examines the current system of providing and documenting special education by analyzing the Individualized Education Program through a number of its implicit and often unquestioned assumptions. Explores flaws in the current system and makes recommendations for major changes in policy implementation, teacher education, and school organizations. (PB)

This discussion considers positive aspects of computer-assisted Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities and the possibility that this technology may reinforce existing flaws or create new ones. It reviews the IEP's evolution, the organizational influences on technology adaptation, and legal and programmatic issues.…

Analysis of 214 Individualized Education Programs for students with behavior disorders assigned to public school resource, self-contained, and cross-categorical and residential/institutional special education programs found many lacked mandated components and contained discrepancies between annual goals and present performance levels across age…

A review of the literature on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) from 1975 to 1989 identifies three phases (a normative phase, an analytic phase, and a technology reaction phase), and reveals a history of IEPs' inadequacies and passive compliance, in contrast to the original intent of Public Law 94-142. (Author/JDD)

A statistical comparison was conducted of 120 Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) of intermediate-grade male students with behavioral disorders and learning disabilities in resource and self-contained programs. Differences were found in terms of federal mandate compliance, number of annual goals and completed short-term objectives, and…