As required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) every child receives a comprehensive educational and/or psychological
assessment to determine if the child is educationally disabled. An IEP
(Individualized Education Program) is developed at least annually to address the
special educational needs of each student with a disability. Just as each
student is different, so also is each IEP. The IEP is developed in a meeting
which must include a person knowledgeable about general curriculum and school
systems available resources, person who interpret implications of evaluation
results, the special education teacher, a regular education teacher, the parents
or guardian of the student and when appropriate, the student. The IEP is a legal
document which functions as a management tool and a monitoring instrument used
to ensure that the agreed upon services are provided.