The concept of student led IEPs is catching on, as it should. Teachers are relinquishing some control and allowing students with disabilities to take on more leadership. Moreover, students are learning so many important skills during the process.
If you are still on the fence about student-led IEPs, give this blog post a read. On the other hand, if you are bought into facilitating student-led IEPs, you may benefit from some resources.
As follows are five free resources to help yours students and you through the student led IEP process.
1) The One Pager
The I’m Determined Project’s mission is to support the acquisition of self-determination skills by youth with disabiities. One of the project’s many initatives involves fostering student led IEPs.
I’m Determined’s site includes a variety of resources. One of the most popular tools is called the One Pager. The One Pager allows students to consider their personal strengths, preferences, interests, and needs.
Think about the present level section of IEPs. Teachers, therapists, and family members often contribute. But what about the student? A student can uses the One Pager to take stock of their strengths, preferences, interests, and needs. Then, the teacher can add that information to the present level of the IEP. Since the student has directly contributed to the document, it is now a student-led IEP.
One Pager by Elementary Student
One Pager by Secondary Student
Notes: Click on One Pager thumbnails to enlarge. In the elementary example, the teacher typed for the student. Students may also chose to handwrite their responses.
2) Free Student-Led IEP PPT Templates
Teachers love templates. It means that we don’t have to create everything from scratch. Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency Check has assembled a small collection of templates that support student-led IEPs.
First, you will find an agenda template that you can share with a student as they prepare for their IEP meeting. This agenda does a great job of laying out parts of the IEP and prompting students to ask questions at certain points. The template is fully customizable.
This page also includes two different PowerPoint templates. Students can customize these templates and share important information about themselvesduring meetings.
3) Where Am I Going, How Will I Get There?
This document, shared by Statewide Independent Living Council of Hawai‘i, is intended for secondary students. However, much of the unit would work well with younger students, too. There are numerous activities and writing prompts designed to help students understand their preferences, strengths, and goals. This resource would make the foundation of a solid unti for your transition-age students.
4) Facilitating Student-Led IEPs
This resource is geared toward the adults, but the information can help improve the student-led IEP experience for students. Created by the OSSE Division of Specialized Education, this Facilitating Student-Led IEPs document includes the whats, whys, and hows.
The information here will help your cause if you need to justify student-led IEPs to a teacher, administrator, or family member. You will find important statistics, teacher tips, and a continuum of ways for students to take leadership of the IEP process.
5) Student Rubric for IEP Participation
This rubric is the second resource from the I’m Determined Project to make our list. The tool is designed to support a student’s self-awareness by helping them figure out what they already know and don’t know about the IEP process.
The Student Rubric for IEP Participation takes students through a number of items including IEP Awareness, IEP Participation, Knowledge of RIghts & Responsibiities, Knowledge of IEP Content, Abilities and Disabilities Awareness, and Social and Communication Skills. Once the student rates themself, you will know what they already understand and which skills need to be taught.
You are commited to facilitaing student-led IEPS. Now, you have some helpful resources. It is time to get to it.
Happy teaching!
