IEP Reviews
What is an IEP Review?
An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is a document created by the school each year that outlines a student’s strengths, weaknesses, and specialized needs. It reviews progress on last year’s goals and outlines new goals for the coming year. It includes information such as the student’s medical needs, accommodations (changes to how a student accesses academic content), modifications (changes to what content the student is expected to learn), specialized services, special transportation, testing access, and more.
An IEP Review involves reading through a student’s existing and/or upcoming draft IEP and helping the team identify areas for improvement. It offers suggestions to increase the student’s access to materials, instruction, and all areas of the school experience, including lunch, recess, physical education, and more.
Why Is an IEP Review Useful?
Visual impairment is a low-incidence disability, meaning it is not frequently encountered by special education staff. Only about 1 in 1,000 students in the United States are identified as having a visual impairment. Of those, many are placed in alternate settings such as schools for the blind, homeschool programs, homebound services, cluster schools, or self-contained classrooms. Many of these students also have additional disabilities, which may appear more noticeable or impactful than their visual impairment.
As a result, even experienced special education teachers and related service providers often have little to no training or experience with students who are visually impaired. Though teams do their best to write and implement appropriate IEPs, important elements are often missed, misunderstood, or misapplied due to limited experience with the unique needs of students with visual impairments and the way vision impacts every area of life.
An IEP Review for vision helps answer questions such as:
- Does the Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) address only the student’s academics, or does it include a review of the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) and relevant needs unique to students with low vision or blindness?
- Are the accommodations and/or modifications appropriate for the student’s vision needs and abilities, and do they provide meaningful opportunities to learn and grow?
- Are the goals appropriate for the student’s vision needs and skills? This includes reviewing goals written by other providers. For example, does the speech therapist want the student to select faces of familiar people from pictures, even though the student is faceblind and unable to meet this goal?
- Are the vision service minutes, goals, and supports appropriate and likely to result in growth?
- Are the testing accommodations appropriate?
- What else might help the student better access their education?
- Do school staff or family members need additional training from the Teacher of the Visually Impaired to implement IEP strategies effectively and to better include the student in daily activities at home and school?
- Are there other evaluations that should be discussed, such as Orientation and Mobility, Speech, Occupational Therapy, or Learning Disability assessments?
Virtual TVI can support your team by reviewing the child’s IEP and identifying areas for improvement to ensure the student receives full access to their education and the opportunity to learn and grow.
How Will Virtual TVI Perform IEP Reviews?
At Virtual TVI, we believe every student, regardless of age, visual challenges, additional disabilities, or academic abilities, deserves full access to their Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). We understand that many educators and service providers have limited training in visual impairment and may not recognize how vision is interfering with a student’s ability to meet their goals. We are here to inform, support, and collaborate, not to criticize. As Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
Our IEP Reviews are performed remotely and can be completed at any time, including during the summer or school breaks. The current and/or draft future IEP is securely provided to a Virtual TVI. The TVI then reviews the documents, notes questions and concerns, and meets with the individual or team to discuss the findings, answer questions, and explore potential needs and improvements. A detailed written report with findings and recommendations is also provided.
Our IEP Review Includes:
- Review of educational records provided, including the IEP in question, and preferably also an eye report and previous vision evaluations
- Interviews with the student’s team, including parents, educators, and therapists, as requested
- Observation of the student over video chat, if requested
- Recommendations for improvements to the IEP to support independence and inclusion in school, home, and community environments
- A comprehensive written report with prioritized, actionable guidance
If your visually impaired student is making limited progress, exhibiting behavior that may be vision-related, or experiencing major changes (such as recent vision loss or a change in reading medium), or if there is concern that IEP strategies are not being implemented effectively, request an IEP Review. Our experienced team can help your team understand the student’s vision needs and provide practical strategies to support success.