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Chapter 1: Information on Basic Rights
Chapter 2: Information on Evaluations/Assessments
Chapter 3: Information on Eligibility Criteria
Chapter 4: Information on IEP Process
Chapter 5: Information on Related Services
Chapter 6: Information on Due Process/Compliance Procedures
Chapter 7: Information on Least Restrictive Environment
Chapter 8: Information on Discipline of Students with Disabilities
Chapter 9: Information on Interagency Services (AB 3632)
Chapter 10: Information on Transition Services Including Vocational Education
Chapter 11: Information on District-Wide Assessments/Graduation Requirements
Chapter 12: Information on Early Intervention Services
Chapter 13: Information on Preschool Education Services
Chapter 14: Information on the Rights of Students with Significant Health Conditions
Chapter 15: Information on the Rights of Students with Behavioral Needs and Students Who are Bullied
Chapter 16: Information on Section 504 and Disability-Based Discrimination
Appendix
Acknowledgements

(4.34) Is there a required length or format for an IEP?

SERR - Special Education Rights and Responsibilities
Chapter 4: Information on IEP Process
(4.34) Is there a required length or format for an IEP?

Chapter 4

(4.1) What is an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and how do I request one for my child?
(4.2) What are the timelines for holding an IEP following an assessment?
(4.3) Who can make educational decisions on behalf of a child with a disability in the IEP process?
(4.4) How do I request an IEP meeting for my child who is already receiving services when I am not also requesting an assessment?
(4.5) How often are IEP meetings held?
(4.6) Can I get copies of assessments before the IEP meeting?
(4.7) Will I receive notice of the IEP meeting?
(4.8) If I cannot attend an IEP meeting in person, can the district hold the meeting over the telephone?
(4.9) After my child’s annual IEP, must an IEP meeting be held to change the IEP?
(4.10) Who is required to attend the IEP team meeting and what are the members supposed to contribute to the meeting?
(4.11) Are all members of the IEP team required to attend the IEP meeting?
(4.12) What can I do if the required members of the IEP team do not attend my child’s IEP meeting?
(4.13) Can I bring an advocate or attorney to an IEP meeting?
(4.14) Can a representative of a teachers’ union or organization attend an IEP meeting?
(4.15) How can I contribute to the IEP process?
(4.16) If I need an interpreter at the IEP meeting or a copy of the IEP in my primary language, must one be provided?
(4.17) What should happen at my child’s IEP meeting?
(4.18) What is Prior Written Notice (PWN)?
(4.19) What information should be considered at the IEP for deaf or hard-of-hearing students?
(4.20) What should be written in the IEP?
(4.21) Are there any other services or special factors that must be considered and included in an IEP if appropriate for a student?
(4.22) My child is still learning English. Should their IEP address their English Language Development?
(4.23) How should the present levels of my child’s educational performance be described in the IEP?
(4.24) Why are measurable annual goals and benchmarks or short-term instructional objectives important?
(4.25) Can I suggest goals that are more challenging for my child than the district is suggesting?
(4.26) What is the difference between a short-term objective and a benchmark?
(4.27) Must my child’s IEP address their involvement in the general curriculum regardless of the nature and severity of their disability and the setting in which they are educated?
(4.28) Must an IEP for a student with a disability include annual goals that address all areas of the general curriculum?
(4.29) Must the IEP contain all services my child needs?
(4.30) If a majority of IEP team members, with the exception of the official representing the school district, agree on IEP services, should those services be written into the IEP?
(4.31) What can I do if my child’s teacher (or other direct-service staff) tells me that they are afraid of retaliation for saying anything at an IEP meeting that conflicts with the administrator’s position?
(4.32) Can I ask for a specific type of instruction or program to address my child’s educational needs?
(4.33) Can class size limits be included in the IEP?
(4.34) Is there a required length or format for an IEP?
(4.35) If my child is mainstreamed into general classes, can I write accommodations and modifications to the general classroom in the IEP?
(4.36) Under what circumstances should the general teacher of a special education student participate in the IEP?
(4.37) Is there any way to get additional support for my child’s teachers – both general and special education – through the IEP?
(4.38) Do I have to sign the IEP at the IEP meeting?
(4.39) Can I consent to only part of the IEP?
(4.40) Can I consent to the content of the IEP and not consent to a particular classroom assignment?
(4.41) Can I change my mind after I sign the IEP document?
(4.42) What kinds of educational placements must a school district offer?
(4.43) How can supplementary aids and services help my child in the general classroom?
(4.44) What role do parents/guardians/other education rights holders have in determining the educational placement for their child?
(4.45) Can I put the name of a particular teacher or a particular classroom in the IEP?
(4.46) May children with differing disabilities be grouped together for instruction in the same classroom?
(4.47) When must the IEP be implemented?
(4.48) Are there any circumstances when a school district is required to review and/or revise my child’s IEP?
(4.49) If I place my child in a private or religious school on my own, must the school district provide an IEP and special education services to my child?
(4.50) If I place my child in a private school, will the school district pay me back for the costs? Is there anything in particular I should know before I make such a placement?
(4.51) Should the IEP respond to real, documented needs, or does it accommodate the available funds/resources of the school district?
(4.52) When considering placements, should the child fit the program placement or the program fit the child?
(4.53) Can my school district be required to purchase equipment needed to implement my child’s IEP?
(4.54) Can my child use a school-purchased assistive technology device at home or other non-school settings?
(4.55) Can I tape record an IEP meeting?
(4.56) What if participants in my IEP meeting use terms or acronyms that I do not understand?
(4.57) Can a school district use a draft IEP or a computer-generated IEP?
(4.58) Who is responsible for implementing my child’s IEP?
(4.59) May a school district require that I use my medical insurance to pay for part of my child’s special education program?
(4.60) If I do not sign a new IEP at the annual IEP meeting, can the district withhold eligibility or an existing IEP service from my child?
(4.61) Can a foster parent sign an IEP for a child in their care?
(4.62) What parental rights does a surrogate parent have at an IEP meeting?
(4.63) How can my child qualify for “extended school year” (ESY) services?
(4.64) Can my child receive ESY services beyond the limited number of weeks usually offered by the school district?
(4.65) My child is integrated into the general education classroom during the regular academic year. Should that integrated programming be available during the extended school year?
(4.66) Do students enrolled in charter schools have special education rights?
(4.67) How specific does the IEP need to be when describing the related services that are being provided to my child?

(4.34) Is there a required length or format for an IEP?

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No. Neither federal nor state law includes a required length or format for an IEP.

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