Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Kevin Quinn
University of New England
EDU 720: Special Education Law
Module 5: IEP Development
Procedural and Substantive Requirements of an IEP
November 26, 2017
PROCEDURAL AND SUBSTANTIVE REQUIREMENTS OF AN IEP 2
Procedural requirements outline the rules and the laws that govern the process of how an
IEP needs to be developed, while the substantive requirements define the rights of those involved
in the process and the actual contents of the IEP. When developing an IEP, educators need to
keep in mind that mistakes that can occur in either of these two areas can be viewed as a denial
of FAPE.
requirement. Parents need to be given sufficient notice of testing, placement, their rights in the
PPT process, and resources that are going to be implemented in their child’s IEP. While it is
possible to have a draft of an IEP prior to the PPT meeting, it is not recommended because
having a preliminary draft of an IEP, even if it is just suggested items, “inhibits a full discussion
of the child’s needs” (71 Fed Reg. 46678 as cited in Weatherly, 2008, p. 4). If suggestions are
made prior to the PPT in draft form, the child’s parents should also be given a copy of proposal
so that they are “better able to engage in a full discussion of the proposals for the IEP” (71 Fed
placement prior to a PPT; this is a violation of IDEA. However, it is not a violation of the IDEA
recommendations that are made during a PPT need to be conveyed with sufficient clarity and
finality so the “parents have a clear understanding of the level of commitment of services on the
Those present at the PPT need to include, the parents, a regular education teacher, a
special education teacher, a representative of the public agency qualified to oversee the
PROCEDURAL AND SUBSTANTIVE REQUIREMENTS OF AN IEP 3
instruction of a student with a disability, and may contain any other individual who has special
expertise regarding the child or related services, and, depending on the age of the individual, the
child. Under IDEA, parents are “entitled to bring with them ‘other individuals who have
knowledge or special expertise regarding the child’” (34 C.F.R. § 300.321 as cited in Weatherly,
2008, p. 12). An LEA (Local Education Agency) representative needs to be present at the
meeting, and can be any of the individuals previously mentioned. This person must be
knowledgeable of the school or district’s resources and have the authority to commit to these
resources. This representative needs to also be aware that IEP recommendations need to be made
on the basis of the student’s need and not on the availability or cost of services (Weatherly,
2008).
While not making a recommendation due to the unavailability or cost of the service
would constitute a procedural violation, the failure to make a recommendation based upon
records and demand current evaluations” when making determinations about special education
services (Weatherly, 2008, p.13). According to IDEA, “present levels of academic achievement
and functional performance include data from objective tests, including ‘criterion-referenced
tests, standard achievement tests, diagnostic tests, or any combination of the above’”(Appendix
A, Question 1 of the 1999 Regulations for IDEA 97 as cited in Center for Parent Information and
Resources, 2017, p. 5). Failure to access a student could be considered a denial of a FAPE and
Furthermore, it is a substantive requirement that the annual goals set forth in a student’s
IEP need to be measurable and measurable means one should be able to count or observe it”
PROCEDURAL AND SUBSTANTIVE REQUIREMENTS OF AN IEP 4
(Center for Parent Information and Resources, 2017). In Penn Trafford Sch. Dist. v. C.F. (2006),
it was determined that the IEP’s short-term instructional goals were not specific enough and
there were no identifiable measurable annual goals. The IEP also did not contain a behavior plan
even though the student had a series of recorded behavioral issues (W.D. Penn. 2006 as cited in
Weatherly, 2008). Under IDEA, when a student exhibits behavior that impedes their learning or
documented. However, all of this does not mean that IEP’s are not expected to be so detailed
restrictive placements are rejected (Weatherly, 2008, p. 15). A violation of a child’s FAPE could
result if it is not clearly documented or agreed upon as to why a student was educated outside of
the regular education classroom with supplementary aids. In other words, a self-contained
environment should not be the starting point on the LRE continuum for placement.
Substantive requirements also pertain to items in the IEP such as offering an extended
school year services if deemed appropriate, and measurable postsecondary goals and transition
services for students 16 years and older. However, by far the most serious substantive oversight
that can occur is the failure to implement a student’s IEP once it has been created (Weatherly,
2008). IDEA requires that each person responsible for implementing a student’s IEP is informed
and the accommodations, modifications, and services the child is to receive are provided.
PROCEDURAL AND SUBSTANTIVE REQUIREMENTS OF AN IEP 5
References
Center for Parent Information and Resources. (2017). All about the iep. Retrieved from:
http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/iep/
Weatherly, J. J. (2008, Nov. 7). IEP disasters: Common procedural and substantive mistakes to
http://www.therashare.net/files/KSDEIEPDisasters.pdf.
Wright, P. and Wright, P. (2006). Smart IEPs. Wrightslaw: From emotions to advocacy - The
special education survival guide. Harbor House Law Press. Retrieved from
http://www.fetaweb.com/03/ch12.smartieps.pdf.
Yell, M. L. (2016). Law and Special Education, The 4th Edition. [Chegg]. Retrieved from
https://ereader.chegg.com/#/books/9780134035925/