Connecticut State Department of Education

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Special Education Procedures and Practices Manual


Chapter 5: Individualized Education Program (IEP)


(34 CFR Section 300.320 – Section 300.328)

General Information

The individualized education program (IEP) is a written document, developed by a PPT, which documents the specialized instruction and related services for an eligible student with a disability. Thus, the IEP is the vehicle by which FAPE is provided to the student.

At the beginning of each school year, the District will ensure that an IEP is in effect for each student with a disability who requires special education and related services.

An IEP developed through the IDEA's procedures must be:

  • calculated to enable the student to receive educational benefit, and
  • sufficient to enable a student with a disability to make progress that is more than de minimus and is appropriate in light of the student’s circumstances.

Connecticut state regulation requires that each board of education shall use the IEP form developed by the Department of Education.37 Therefore, the PPT will create an IEP using the Connecticut Special Education Data System (CT-SEDS) provided by the Connecticut State Department of Education.

The IEP must be developed, reviewed, and revised by the PPT. Therefore, in order to revise an IEP, a PPT meeting must be convened unless an amendment to the IEP is developed and mutually agreed upon, as described in the following section.

Making Changes to an IEP without Convening a PPT Meeting

The parents and the District may agree not to convene a PPT meeting for the purpose of making changes to the IEP, and instead may develop a written document to amend or modify the student’s current IEP.38 A signed Agreement to Change an IEP without Convening a PPT Meeting must be completed and attached to the amended IEP. Other members of the PPT will be informed of the changes made to the IEP. Parents will receive a copy of the amended IEP and prior written notice. The amended IEP goes into effect on the date indicated on the Prior Written Notice.

Children with an IEP Who Transfer in from Another District

For a child with a disability who has an IEP that was in effect in a previous public agency in the same state transfers to a new public agency in the same state, and enrolls in a new school within the same school year, the new public agency, in consultation with the parents, must provide FAPE to the child, including services comparable to those described in the child’s IEP from the previous public agency, until the new public agency either adopts the child’s IEP from the previous public agency; or develops, adopts, and implements a new IEP that meets applicable requirements.

Children with an IEP Who Transfer in from Another State

Each state has its own eligibility criteria.

For a child with a disability who has an IEP that was in effect in a previous public agency in another state and transfers to a new public agency in a new state, and enrolls in a new school within the same school year, the new public agency, in consultation with the parents, must provide FAPE to the child, including services comparable to those described in the child’s IEP from the previous public agency, until the new public agency completes an initial referral to special education in order to determine the student’s eligibility according to Connecticut eligibility criteria; and develops, adopts, and implements a new IEP, if appropriate.

IEP Components

Using CT-SEDS will help ensure that an IEP includes all the required components in accordance with federal and state law. Detailed information about each section of the IEP is contained in the BSE’s Connecticut IEP Manual for IEPs Created After July 1, 2022.39

An IEP must include:

  • a statement of the student’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including how the disability affects the student’s involvement and progress in the general education curriculum,
  • for preschool children, as appropriate, how the disability affects the child’s participation in appropriate activities,
  • a statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals designed to meet the student’s needs that result from the student’s disability to enable the student to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum and meet each of the student’s other educational needs that result from the student’s disability,40
  • a description of benchmarks or short-term objectives
  • a description of how the student’s progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured and when periodic reports on the progress the student is making toward meeting the annual goals will be provided,
  • a statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services41 to be provided to the student or on behalf of the student, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided to enable the student
    • to advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals,
    • to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum, and to participate in extracurricular and nonacademic activities, and
    • to be educated and participate with students with disabilities and nondisabled students,
  • an explanation of the extent, if any, to which the student will not participate with nondisabled students in the regular class and in extracurricular and nonacademic activities,
  • a statement of any individual appropriate accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the student on State and districtwide assessments,
  • if the PPT determines that the student must take an alternate assessment instead of a particular regular State or districtwide assessment of student achievement, a statement of
    • why the student cannot participate in the regular assessment, and
    • why the particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the student,
  • the projected date for the beginning of the student’s special education and relates services and any modifications,
  • the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those services and modifications,
  • a list of the individuals who shall implement the individualized education program,42
  • for any student identified as deaf or hard of hearing, the PPT will include a language and communication plan (LCP)43 in the student’s IEP, regardless of the student’s primary disability,
  • if the student is 1444 years old, appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills and transition services needed to assist the student in reaching those goals,
  • beginning not later than one year before the student reaches the age of 18, a statement that the student has been informed of his or her rights under IDEA, if any, that will transfer to the student on reaching the age of 18.

Transportation

The IEP must contain information about the type of transportation to be provided to the student. All students requiring special education and related services are entitled to participate in the transportation services available to all students in the District. The PPT will determine if the regular transportation provided to all students is appropriate and safe for the student or if specialized transportation must be provided. If specialized transportation is required, transportation is considered a related service for the student and will be specified in the student’s IEP.

Travel Time

A student’s total travel time may not exceed one hour each way to and from their educational placement except with written parental consent, and all decisions relating to travel time will take into account the nature and severity of the student’s disability and the student’s age. If an appropriate placement cannot be made without exceeding the one-hour travel time limit, written parental consent must be obtained prior to implementing the transportation service.

Operators of Vehicles

The District will ensure that operators of vehicles meet the licensure requirements of the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and all other statutory requirements for school vehicle operation. The District will also ensure that operators of vehicles are given such in-service training as necessary to acquaint them with the specific needs of the students being transported and equip them to meet those needs.

Vehicles

All vehicles shall comply with the requirements of the Connecticut DMV and shall be equipped as to ensure safe and appropriate transportation.

Transportation Aides

The District will provide transportation aides when the District determines it is necessary to ensure safe and appropriate transportation or when a student’s IEP specifies the need for such aide.

Transportation Provided by Parents

If the District requests that the parents transport their child, the District will reimburse the parents for the cost of such transportation at the standard mileage reimbursement rate for a privately owned vehicle established by the Internal Revenue Service. The reimbursement will only be for a round trip to transport the student to, and to retrieve the student from, the educational placement or other program required by the student’s IEP. The District will not require the parents to provide transportation for their child and the parents’ inability or unwillingness of the parents to provide transportation does not relieve the District of the obligation to provide transportation for the child. If parents reject the transportation offered by the District, the District is not required to reimburse the parents for the cost of transporting the child unless in receipt of an official order to do so.

Assistive Technology (AT)

If an eligible student requires assistive technology (AT) in order to receive FAPE, the District must provide the appropriate AT device(s) and services to ensure the student can access, participate in, and make progress in the general education curriculum to the extent appropriate as determined by the student’s PPT. The use of AT must be considered by the PPT when developing an IEP for any student.45

AT may be a part of one or more of the following: special education, related services, or supplementary aids and services. The PPT will determine if the student needs access to the AT device at school, home and/or community work sites and all settings specified in the student’s IEP.

If the student’s needs are not being met, then the PPT must consider AT devices and services and should identify additional solutions that may be needed, such as whether AT is required, whether it may be required in the future, or if more data are required in order to determine if AT is needed.46 An AT consideration process is explained in the Connecticut Guidelines for AT.47

If the PPT determines that the student requires AT and is aware of technology that meets the student's needs, such as technology that is already available in the student’s educational environment, or that the student has been using successfully to meet IEP goals and objectives, the PPT must ensure that such devices and services are recorded in the student’s IEP. Assistive technology services are considered any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device.48 This includes:

  • The evaluation of the needs of a child with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the child in the child’s customary environment;
  • Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by children with disabilities;
  • Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices;
  • Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs; and
  • Training or technical assistance for a child with a disability or, if appropriate, that child’s family; and training or technical assistance for professionals (including individuals providing education or rehabilitation services), employers, or other individuals who provide services to, employ, or are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of that child.

Accessible Educational Materials (AEM)

If a student is identified as having a print-related disability which impacts the student’s ability to access the general education curriculum, then the PPT may determine that the student qualifies to receive AEM produced in specialized formats through an access producer (AMP) and/or the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) as delineated on the IEP. Eligibility must be certified by one of the following: doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, ophthalmologist, optometrist, psychologist, registered nurse, therapist, and professional staff of hospitals, institutions and public or welfare agencies (such as an educator, a social worker, case worker, counselor, rehabilitation teacher, certified reading specialist, school psychologist, superintendent, or librarian). In CT, the educational team, be it the PPT or 504 Team should include one or more of these individuals and the decision should be recorded on the IEP or 504 Plan.

To ensure the timely provision of instructional material for blind or other persons with print disabilities, when ordering textbooks and other print instructional materials, the District will enter into a written contract with publishers of the materials to provide electronic files containing the contents of the print materials to the NIMAC. The publishers are required on or before delivery of the print materials to prepare and provide the print content using NIMAS file sets, so the content can be stored in the NIMAC and produced or rendered into specialized formats (braille, large print, digital text or audio) as needed. The District is responsible for ensuring that accessible specialized formats are provided in a timely manner to students with print-related disabilities and if a student’s disability impacts the student’s ability to access materials, the Determining the Need for AEM and Acquiring AEM from Appropriate Sources is a resource for district staff.49

Assistive Technology and Student Data Privacy

The state student data privacy law requires public school districts to enter into written agreements with contractors such as in-person consultants or providers of educational technology with which they share student data, records, or information.50 This requirement does not require districts to create new, separate agreements with providers — though they may if they wish to — just that standard terms of use comply with the law’s requirements.

The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Commission for Educational Technology has developed a number of resources to support schools and providers in complying with the data privacy law (see www.CT.gov/EdTech). Among these is a list of software titles from providers that have pledged compliance with Connecticut’s data privacy law.51 The District may use these apps as well as any other software with data privacy terms that meet the requirements of the state law.

Regarding special education, updates to the law in 2018 addressed the need to use assistive technology software that does not comply with Connecticut law but that districts deem essential to allow students with disabilities to access general education curriculum.52 That year, additional clarifying language created an exemption so that the IEP may include the use of software with data privacy terms that do not comply with all aspects of the state law, as long as Districts provide the following assurances:

  • The software complies with FERPA
  • The district has attempted to enter into a compliant contract with the operator (vendor)
  • The district has not been able to identify an equivalent, compliant Internet web site, online service, or mobile application
  • The operator (vendor) complies with other aspects of the law53
  • The student’s parent or legal guardian and an additional member of the PPT have signed an agreement that acknowledges the above and authorizes use of the software

In addition to the above provisions, the revised law requires that all districts report to the Commission annually on what, if any, software they leverage under the exemption.

Extended School Year (ESY) Services

The IEP will specify the length of the school day and school year. The length of the school day and year for students requiring special education and related services is the same as for students in the general education program, unless otherwise specified in the IEP. The PPT will determine whether an individual child requires extended school day or extended school year (ESY) services.54, 55

ESY services are available if necessary to provide FAPE. The District provides ESY services only if the PPT that develops the student’s IEP determines, on an individual basis, that the services are necessary for the provision of FAPE to the student. The District does not limit services to particular disability categories, and does not unilaterally limit the type, amount, or duration of those services. The District will ensure that consideration of a child’s eligibility for, and the content, duration and location of the child’s ESY services is determined in a timeframe so as to allow the parent sufficient time to challenge the determination of eligibility, the program, or the placement for the child before the beginning of the ESY services unless it is clearly not feasible to do so. The District will offer all special education services to students in the LRE during the school year and ESY programs.

Chapter 5 Appendix

Add supplemental documents/information here

 
  1. CT Reg of State Agencies 10-76d-11(b)
  2. Section 614(d)(3)(D) of H.R. 1350
  3. https://portal.ct.gov/sde/special-education/connecticut-iep-manual
  4. IEP goals must be aligned with grade-level content standards for all children with disabilities. IDEA Part B regulations define the term “specially designed instruction,” as “adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction to address the unique needs of the child that result from the child’s disability and to ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that the child can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children.” See OSEP DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER on Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) (November 16, 2015) - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  5. 34 CFR Section 300.42 defines supplementary aids and services as aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes, other education-related settings, and in extracurricular and nonacademic settings, to enable children with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate.
  6. CGS §10-76d-11(c)(7)
  7. CGS § 10-76jj
  8. CGS § 10-76d-9(a)
  9. 34 CFR § 300.105
  10. 34 CFR § 300.324 (a)(2)(v)
  11. https://portal.ct.gov/SDE/Publications/Assistive-Technology-Guidelines-Executive-Summary
  12. 34 CFR § 300.6
  13. https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/sde/special-education/nimas/determining_the_need_for_aem_and_acquiring_aem.pdf
  14. CGS § 10-234aa – dd
  15. ctedtech.app.learnplatform.com
  16. Public Act 18-125
  17. CGS §10-234cc
  18. 34 CFR §300.106
  19. https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/SDE/Special-Education/Topic_Brief_ESY.pdf