Understanding Annual Review and Transition Meetings
Many schools conduct Annual Review meetings at the end of the school year, often during the month of May. The parent of a child with a disability is an integral part of the IEP team and should be in attendance at all Annual Review meetings. Several weeks before the Annual Review, a school representative will initiate this meeting by contacting the parents to offer several proposed dates, as the school may have specific days they have set aside to schedule Annual Reviews. If parents are unable to attend the Annual Review on any of the offered dates, they can request that the team meet at a time they are available. Once this date has been confirmed, a Meeting Notification form is sent to the parents. Parents may feel overwhelmed at the Annual Review, as there are often many school professionals in attendance and a considerable amount of “paperwork’ generated. To provide support, parents have the option of inviting private providers or an advocate to attend the meeting with them, however, they must inform the case manager of their intent to do so.
The meeting begins with an introduction of all in attendance and the Student Identification Information and Parent/Guardian Information form is reviewed. Parents should carefully check over this page to make sure all the information is correct, i.e., address, telephone numbers, date of birth. On the bottom of this page is a place for participants to sign in. One’s signature in this location provides a record of attendance at the meeting and does not indicate agreement with any decisions made during the meeting.
The child’s teacher may next review classroom performance, such as daily work completion, behavior and socialization. Each of the service providers, i.e., resource teacher, social worker, speech language professional or occupational therapist, gives an update on the progress made toward the goals that had been developed at least year’s Annual Review. Results of any current testing is shared, including district-wide testing such as MAPS, NWEA or ISAT, which provide data on individual achievement as well as how the child’s skills compare to other same-grade peers in his/her school, district as well as nationally. Progress monitoring data, such as curriculum-based measurement results often tracked using AIMSweb, may also be shared. Parents have the opportunity to discuss their child’s successes as well as any concerns. Also, private providers or advocates can contribute to the discussion at any point during the meeting.
The team then moves to developing annual goals. The Goal and Objective/Benchmarks form is used for this purpose. For each goal written, the child’s current academic achievement and functional performance must be documented. Using this data as a starting point, goals are written for one year. Goals must be specific, measurable and address the deficits identified in evaluation results in all pertinent domain areas. Illinois Learning Standards, guidelines for academic instruction applicable to all students in grades kindergarten through high school, should be used as one of the criteria when writing goals. For each goal, the child’s current level of performance must be stated and individual benchmarks be developed. The benchmarks are the steps toward reaching the annual goal. For each benchmark, evaluation criteria, evaluation procedures, and schedule for determining progress must be recorded. Goals are reviewed quarterly, usually at each grading period. Once a goal is met it must be rewritten to reflect continued growth. A child may only have one goal, or many, depending on his/her areas of need
The Educational Accommodations and Supports form describes the specific supplementary aids, accommodations and modifications to which the child is entitled. Accommodations and modifications are specific adjustments made to the regular school curriculum, based on the student’s educational difficulties. The Assessment form lists the accommodations the child requires for class-based, district-wide and state-academic assessments. This might include extended time, test in quiet environment and/or test read to student. Some common classroom accommodations include books on tape, use of word processor for written assignments, and/or classroom notes provided.
The Educational Services and Placement form explains in what areas the child will participate in the general education curriculum (with and without supplementary aids) and the specific number of minutes for each special education and related service. Based on the IEP goals generated at the Annual Review, Educational Placement is determined and can include the general education classroom with resource support provided either in the classroom (push-in) or outside of the classroom (pull-out), a self-contained special education classroom, or placement in a special education or therapeutic school. Parents have the right to have their child attend, to the maximum extent appropriate and with modifications and accommodations, classes with other students who are not special education students, i.e. the “least restrictive environment”. Placement considerations must always first consider “the least restrictive environment”, which is the general education classroom the child would attend if not disabled.
Transition meetings are routinely held when a child enrolled in a preschool special education classroom reaches the appropriate age to begin kindergarten. Representatives from the preschool program and the receiving school are both in attendance at this meeting and work collaboratively to decide the appropriate placement and instructional goals for the child. Transition meetings are also held when a student moves from 8th grade to high school and often involves two different districts working together to determine programming and establish goals.
Another section of the IEP pertains to students who are 14 ½ years of age or older. The Transition Specialist/Counselor becomes another member of the IEP team and there are a number of additional forms that must be completed. The team must develop appropriate, measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, when appropriate, independent living skills. Students will be asked to complete a variety of formal and informal assessment activities to help identify individual special talents, interests and career aspirations. In developing the transition goals, the IEP team (including the child) must determine what instruction and educational experiences will help prepare him/her for a successful transition to life after high school. Transition forms are reviewed at all Annual Review meetings to assure the child is completing the necessary course work to reach expected post-secondary outcomes and has received the documented vocational and independent living skills training
It is important to understand that an IEP is a legal document. It is governed under IDEA, the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, which assures that services meet state and federal requirements. A school district is obligated to provide the services, supports, accommodations and number of minutes documented in the IEP. Progress is to be monitored on a consistent basis through data collection. If a child is not making gains on his/her goals, these goals need to be reevaluated and possibly revised. Although IEPs are written for one year, a parent does not have to wait for the Annual Review meeting to share concerns. IEP Review meeting can be called at any time and changes can be accomplished through IEP revisions.