The school district must use assessment tools and strategies that provide relevant information that directly assists the IEP team in determining the student’s educational needs. This includes information related to enabling the student to be involved in, and progress in, the general curriculum.

The team must consider the academic, developmental and functional needs of the student. The present levels should reflect your child’s unique needs in any area of education affected by your child’s disability, including the general curriculum, academic areas (reading, math, etc.), non-academic areas (communication, daily life activities, mobility, social/emotional/behavioral issues, etc.), and perceptual functioning (auditory or visual processing, motor abilities, concentration problems).

The team should try to describe your child’s performance in objective, measurable terms. However, this should not prevent you from presenting your view of your child’s needs. In developing the IEP, the team must consider your child’s strengths and any of your concerns for enhancing your child’s education. The results of the initial evaluation (or most recent evaluation) must also be considered, but any such information used should be easily understandable to you and all other members of the team. [20 U.S.C. Sec. 1414(d)(3); 34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.324; Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56341.1.]