Connecticut State Department of Education

Connecticut IEP Manual


Section 1: Demographics, Participants, Amendment Details, Recommendations


This section of the IEP includes:

  • demographic information about the student and parents;
  • the purpose of the PPT meeting;
  • a list of the PPT members present;
  • amendment information (if any); and
  • PPT recommendations.

Demographic Information

The following is displayed on the IEP for demographic information.

  • Student name
  • Meeting date
  • SASID*
  • Case manager
  • Date of birth
  • Parent/guardian name
  • Current grade
  • Primary disability*
  • Current enrolled school*
  • School next year*
  • Most recent evaluation date and next reevaluation date*
  • Most recent annual review date*
  • Surrogate parent*

* Items with an asterisk are explained in further detail in the following section.

SASID

The State Assigned Student Identifier (SASID) is a 10-digit unique number that is assigned to each public school student in Connecticut.

Primary Disability

Although it is possible that a student may have more than one disability, the disability, which is most indicative of the student’s primary disability is displayed here. Disabilities eligible for special education services under the IDEA or Connecticut statute include:

  • Autism†
  • Deaf-Blindness†
  • Developmental Delay (Ages 3 to 5 only)†
  • Emotional Disability†
  • Hearing Impairment (Deaf or Hard of Hearing)†
  • Intellectual Disability†
  • Multiple Disabilities*
  • Orthopedic Impairment†
  • Other Health Impairment (OHI)*
  • OHI - ADD/ADHD*
  • Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD)*
  • SLD/Dyslexia*
  • Speech or Language Impairment†
  • Traumatic Brain Injury†
  • Visual Impairment† 

†Refer to the federal definition for information on this disability category (34 CFR § 300.8). 
*Additional information on disability categories:

ADD/ADHD

ADD/ADHD is a subcategory of other health impairment and has been added so that the Department can distinguish OHI students with ADD/ADHD from students with other health related problems that are reported in this disability category. For a child to be identified as ADD/ADHD, the child must first meet the overall eligibility requirements for OHI and then meet the more specific requirements for ADD/ADHD.

Multiple Disabilities

It should be noted that the category of Multiple Disabilities is not simply that two or more disabling conditions are present but that the combination meets the conditions defined below.

The federal law defines multiple disabilities as:

“…concomitant impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness, mental retardation-orthopedic impairment, etc.), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. Multiple disabilities does not include deaf-blindness” (34 C.F.R. Section 300.8(c)(7)).

Other Health Impairment (OHI)

Other Health Impairment (OHI) means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that:

(i) is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia; and

(ii) adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

The federal definition for OHI can be found at 34 C.F.R. Section 300.8(c)(9).

Specific Learning Disability (SLD)

Under IDEA, “Specific Learning Disability (SLD) means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage” (34 C.F.R. Section 300.8(c)(10)).

SLD/Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a subcategory of Specific Learning Disability (SLD) and has been added so that the Department can distinguish students with dyslexia from other students with SLD who are reported in this disability category.

Dyslexia is included in the (IDEA) as an SLD. Dyslexia impacts reading, specifically decoding and accurate and/or fluent word recognition and spelling. Dyslexia is neurobiological in origin and is unexpected and/or inconsistent with a student’s other abilities often despite the provision of appropriate instruction. Dyslexia usually results from a significant deficit in phonological processing (that is, a persistent difficulty in the awareness of and ability to manipulate the individual sounds of spoken language).

Typically, students with dyslexia have strengths in areas such as reasoning, critical thinking, concept formation, problem solving, vocabulary, listening comprehension, and social communication (for example, conversation). Early identification and appropriate instruction targeting the underlying phonological, word reading, and spelling deficits that characterize dyslexia may minimize its educational impact.

Essential Clarifications

  • Dyslexia is not primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disability; an intellectual disability; emotional disability; a lack of appropriate instruction; cultural factors; environmental or economic disadvantage; or limited English proficiency.
  • Early identification of the characteristics of dyslexia is critical, leading to focused, evidence-based interventions, accommodations, self-awareness, self-empowerment, and school and life success.
  • Without targeted, systematic and explicit instruction/interventions along with accommodations (for example, accessible educational materials in content area subjects), students with dyslexia may have:
    • reduced reading experiences that may impact the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge;
    • difficulty with written expression; and/or
    • difficulty learning a second language.
  • Students with dyslexia may demonstrate additional behavioral and/or emotional reactions to their difficulty with learning to read.
  • Effective, research-based interventions for phonemic awareness and/or phonics may bring some students with dyslexia to grade expectations in those areas, but the students may still have lingering difficulties in reading fluency, spelling, and/or written expression, which may require intervention.

Current Enrolled School

Current Enrolled School is the school of attendance, where services are being provided to the student at the time the meeting is being held. It is the school where the student is educated.

School Next Year

School Next Year is the school where services will be provided to the student during the next school year.

Most Recent Evaluation Date and Next Three-year Reevaluation Date

The Most Recent Evaluation Date and Next Three-Year Reevaluation Date fields, respectively, record the date of the most recent evaluation, which served to determine eligibility for special education services and the date that the next three-year reevaluation is due. As used here, the Most Recent Evaluation Date and Next Three-Year Reevaluation Date fields do not refer to the date that a student was tested but rather, to the date that a PPT reviewed evaluation results and made a decision regarding eligibility for special education services. For example, if a child has been identified as eligible for special education and related services for the first time, the student’s initial evaluation date would be the date of the PPT meeting that reviewed the results of an initial evaluation and determined that the student was eligible for special education services. For this student, the next three-year reevaluation date would be no more than three years from the exact date of this PPT meeting. This next three-year reevaluation date would be the latest date that a PPT could meet to review the results of a three-year reevaluation, consider the appropriateness of the student’s program, and determine continuing eligibility for special education services to remain in compliance with federal regulatory requirements.

Most Recent Annual Review Date

The Most Recent Annual Review Date field records the date of the most recent annual review PPT meeting where the student’s progress for the previous year was reviewed, and the IEP was revised.

Next Annual Review Date

The Next Annual Review Date field records the date of the next annual review PPT meeting where the student’s progress for the previous year will be reviewed, and the IEP will be revised.

Surrogate Parent

If the student has been assigned a surrogate parent, the surrogate’s name is displayed here.

Reason for Meeting

The reason for meeting information is populated from the Notice of Planning and Placement Team Meeting document and may include one or more of the following:

  • Review initial evaluation results and determine eligibility for special education and, if eligible, develop IEP (or Individual Service Plan (ISP) if offered).
  • Conduct an IEP annual review.
  • Conduct an IEP annual review and review three-year reevaluation results to determine continued eligibility.
  • Review or revise the IEP
    • Student transfer
    • Manifestation determination
    • Restraint/seclusion review
  • Review or revise the IEP and review three-year reevaluation results to determine continued eligibility.
  • Plan a targeted assessment (non-three-year reevaluation).
  • Review targeted assessment results.
  • Plan three-year reevaluation.
  • Transition planning: The team will develop, review, or revise transition goals and objectives.

Planning and Placement Team (PPT) Members Present

The name and role of the PPT meeting attendees will be listed in this section.

If a required member of the PPT was listed on the Notice of PPT Meeting provided to the parent but did not attend the meeting, a PPT Attendance Excusal Document must be created. If a school district member of the PPT attends the meeting but was not listed on the Notice of PPT, a new notice must be generated to include the PPT member, and the parent must waive their right to a five-school-day advanced notice before continuing with the meeting.

IEP Amendment

If the parent and district mutually agree to revise an IEP without convening a PPT, the IEP amendment information will be shown in this section and includes the date the changes will take effect, the IEP sections that are being revised, and a brief description of the change(s) made as a result of the amendment.

Additional documents required to be completed for an IEP amendment include:

  1. The Agreement to Change an Individualized Education Program without Convening a Planning and Placement Team Meeting document signed by a district representative and the parent; and
  2. Prior Written Notice (see section 13).

NOTE: An IEP amendment cannot be used in place of an annual review PPT meeting.

Planning and Placement Team Recommendations

In the PPT Recommendations section, space is provided for an itemized list of the PPT recommendations that were made by a student’s PPT. For example: (1) Student is identified as having a specific learning disability and is eligible for special education services; (2) provide three hours per week of specialized instruction in reading in the general education setting; (3) review student progress on a quarterly basis; (4) the special education teacher and classroom teacher will meet to collaborate for 15 minutes weekly regarding appropriate modifications to the classroom curriculum, instruction and assignments; and (5) an evaluation will be conducted to assess fine motor skills. It is important that this section be sufficiently specific so that both parents and school district staff know what is being recommended by the student’s PPT. It is good practice to review the recommendations at the conclusion of each meeting.