Special Education Compliance Measurable Goals & Objectives Frequently Asked Questions

Special Education Compliance

Measurable Goals & Objectives Frequently Asked Questions

Questions & Answers

1 If a criterion-referenced test like the Brigance is periodically used to evaluate a child’s progress or current level of functioning, does the district need parent consent prior to giving the test? Posted 03/29/2002

Yes. Federal regulations indicate that parental consent is required except in the following circumstances 1) before reviewing existing data as part of an evaluation or a reevaluation, or 2) for teacher and related service provider observations, ongoing classroom evaluation, or the administration of or review of the results of adapted or modified assessments that are administered to all children in a class, grade, or school. The Brigance is an individually administered assessment instrument. While the use of a test like the Birgance can yield relevant information for baseline data on the child, especially when curriculum based assessment is not possible (such as in the case of a preschool child), such as the Brigance can only be administered with the parent’s prior written consent and in accordance with the regulations for conducting an evaluation/reevaluation.

2 Should the Present Level of Educational Performance (PLEP) contain the names of the tests administered and their scores? Posted 03/29/2002

The names of specific tests and related scores do not need to be included in the PLEP since they are documented in the evaluation report. The PLEP should not be a reiteration of the most current evaluation/reevaluation. It is more important for the PLEP to describe the skills or areas identified during the evaluation process that have the greatest impact on the child’s educational performance.

The Special Education Compliance Standards and Indicators Manual lists the following requirements for the content of the Present Level of Educational Performance (PLEP):

Is consistent with evaluation/reevaluation results in the evaluation report;

Reflects changes in current functioning of the child since the initial/prior IEP;

Addresses how the child’s disability affects her/his involvement and progress in the general education curriculum (For preschool children, how the disability affects the child’s performance in age-appropriate activities);

Considers, as appropriate, the results of the child’s performance on any general state and agency-wide assessments, and;

Addresses the strengths of the child and the concerns of the parent for enhancing the education of their child.

3 How should the IEP address exploring career options, preparing for job interviews, or other transition-related activities? Posted 03/29/2002

Transition services can be addressed through annual goals with accompanying objectives and/or benchmarks or they can be addressed through activities. If the services required lend themselves to a goal format (e.g., instruction services), then the goal(s) must meet all of the requirements for a measurable goal as stated in state and federal regulations and the Special Education Compliance Standards and Indicators Manual. With many transition services, however, it may be more appropriate for the IEP team to outline an activity or a group of activities that will be implemented for the student (e.g., community experiences, career exploration, etc.). These activities can be included in the IEP under transition services without developing a goal for the specific activity.

4 Do students with a categorical eligibility of Other Health Impaired need to have specific goals addressing the health impairment? Posted 03/29/2002

IEP goals address the skills or behaviors for which specially designed instruction is required for the child to access and make progress in the general education curriculum. The PLEP will address how the child’s disability affects her/his involvement and progress in the general education curriculum or for preschool children, appropriate activities. When considering eligibility for IDEA resulting from a health, motor, sensory, or non-cognitive impairment, the IEP team must identify the educational concerns resulting from the disability and develop goals that address those educational concerns.

5 What procedural requirements exist when a public agency does not agree with a specific request from the parent (e.g., including a specific goal or service in the IEP)? Posted 03/29/2002

State and federal regulations require that a prior written notice must be given to the parents of a child with a disability a reasonable time before the public agency proposes or refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of FAPE to the child.

If the parent makes a request to have something included in the child’s IEP that involves FAPE (i.e., a specific goal, service, accommodation, modification, etc) and the team concludes that the item requested is not appropriate or necessary for the current IEP, then the agency must provide the parent with a prior written notice refusing the parent’s request. The Notice of Action Refused affords the parent the option of challenging the team’s decision through the Due Process Hearing system.

6 How should goals be written for CWC classes, including classes like science and social studies? Posted 03/29/2002

IEP goals address the skills or behaviors for which specially designed instruction is required. IEP goals should not reiterate the curriculum but should address the skills or behaviors the child needs in order to be successful in the regular classroom. CWC is a service delivery model. A child’s receipt of services through a CWC model should be decided after the goals and objectives/benchmarks are written. Once the goals are written, the IEP team will address whether or not the goals can be implemented in the regular education classroom with the use of supplementary aids, services, or modifications, including the use of a CWC model of instruction.

7 How do you write goals for students functioning significantly below grade level? Posted 03/29/2002

Since IEP goals address the specially designed instruction required for the child the IEP team will need to write goals that cover the skills/behaviors identified as priorities for the current IEP. For some children the goals may not address skills typically associated with the curriculum at the child’s current grade level; however, the goals should address skills necessary to move the child closer to the appropriate grade level. For some children, the IEP team will need to identify more functional skills related to the general curriculum (e.g., math concepts associated with banking, purchasing groceries, measurement, or other daily living concepts.)

8 How do you write a goal for students who are in regular education classes and are only seen on an “as needed” basis? Posted 03/29/2002

The IEP is intended to provide specially designed instruction for students with disabilities, including, as appropriate, physical education, speech-language services, travel training, vocational education and transition services, if provided as specially designed instruction. Each student’s IEP must contain some level of special education service. If an IEP team determines that a student only requires the support of a special educator on an as needed basis for monitoring progress in the regular education classroom, then the IEP should reflect what skills or behaviors are to be monitored and a duration for the monitoring that does not exceed one semester. Students not requiring specially designed instruction should not be identified for IDEA services. At this point, if the student continued to require some modifications or accommodations in the regular classroom, a Section 504 plan could be considered.

9 When a student needs just a few modifications in the regular curriculum, how would we write a goal to address “keeping up grades” or “pass the class”? Posted 03/29/2002

“Keeping up grades” or “passing the class” should be expectations for all students. Neither of these would be goals requiring special education or related services as defined under IDEA. Accommodations and/or modifications in the regular education classroom may be necessary for a student with a disability to have the appropriate outcome of “keeping up grades” or “passing the class”; however, the student’s goal(s) should address those skills or behaviors that require specially designed instruction. If there is not a need for specially designed instruction, then the team should consider exiting the student from special education services. (see response above)

10 Can we use informal reading inventories as a basis for determining a child’s reading strengths and weaknesses? Can we use running records? Posted 03/29/2002

Yes. Information that reflects changes in the current functioning of the child since the initial/prior IEP must be included in the PLEP. Inventories and running records are examples of methods teachers often use to collect the necessary baseline data for developing the next IEP.

11 Is it best practice to include a percentage in your annual goal? Posted 03/29/2002

This may be appropriate. The Special Education Compliance Standards and Indicators Manual requires that annual goals are written in measurable terms that include:

A skill or behavior to be achieved;

A direction for that behavior (e.g., increase, decrease, maintain); and

A level of attainment.

The particular criteria used for the level of attainment of a goal will vary based upon what the IEP team is attempting to achieve. If the goal were to increase the number of sight words recognized by the child at the end of the IEP year, then the best measurement might be an exact number of words recognized compared to the baseline data (i.e., increase sight word recognition by 40 words). However, a behavior goal to decrease acting-out behaviors might be represented with a percentage during a class period (i.e., decrease acting-out behaviors by 50% during a 50 minute class period).

12 Must a school district have a “curriculum” of age appropriate activities for the preschool level other than the Parents as Teachers curriculum? Posted 03/29/2002

If a district is providing preschool services, they should use an age-appropriate curriculum. Parents as Teachers (PAT) curriculum is primarily a curriculum for parents, not children, so it is not an appropriate curriculum for preschool children. Please refer to the Show Me How Technical Assistance Document, “Choosing Preschool Curriculum”, which is available on the DESE web site. This document provides practical guidance on selecting and modifying appropriate curriculum for preschool age children. www.dese.mo.gov/divspeced/ Choose Effective Practices; ECSE; and then Technical Assistance Bulletins.

13 If a student has significant physical or mental changes due to a progressive condition or accident since the last three-year evaluation, how is this addressed in the Present Level of Performance? Must a new re-evaluation be done? Posted 03/29/2002

The IEP team will need to determine if the current data is sufficient to write a Present Level of Educational Performance (PLEP) that meets the requirements and, if not, a reevaluation should be initiated. See question number 2 under this topic for a definition of what the PLEP must address.

14 If the direction of a goal is to maintain a specific level of functioning, how do we write the benchmarks? Posted 03/29/2002

Benchmarks generally define the level of attainment that the team expects to see at specific reporting periods during the IEP year. If the goal is to maintain a skill or behavior, then the level of attainment for each benchmark would be the same for each reporting period and the IEP should state that expectation for each benchmark.

15 Where can we get more information on MAP-A, IEPs, wording for goals, and portfolio information? Posted 03/29/2002

The DESE website: www.dese.mo.gov/divspeced/ contains information under the topic “MO Assessment Program (MAP)”. Choose Alternate Assessment.

More information regarding writing goals for the MAP-A portfolio process is provided in MAP-A training. DESE will be offering programs through the Regional Professional Development Centers (RPDC) to train teachers on how to develop IEP goals that will met MAP-A portfolio requirements.

16 If you put a weakness or concern in the Present Level of Performance, is it required by law to have a goal or objective to address this? Posted 03/29/2002

The law does NOT require a goal for each concern in the PLEP. The IEP team must consider which of the concerns are the most important for the coming year and write goals to address those concerns. By prioritizing the concerns, the child’s IEP will be focusing on the skills or behaviors that are most critical for the child to acquire during the duration of the IEP (typically 12 months).

17 Can you write a grade level on a goal (Example: the student will increase reading comprehension to a 5th grade level)? Posted 03/29/2002

For some children the use of a grade level may be the most appropriate way to define the goal and the level of attainment. This is not, however, a requirement.

18 Are we now being directed to write goals to address concerns as well as the specific areas of eligibility? Posted 03/29/2002

IDEA requires the IEP for each child with a disability to include a statement of measurable annual goals related to meeting the child’s needs that result from the disability. The goals will address those skills and /or behaviors that are necessary to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum or appropriate activities for preschool children. The concerns identified in the PLEP should focus on the how the child’s disability affects this involvement and progress.

19 How should the goals for children in an Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) program address the Show-Me Standards? Posted 03/29/2002

The Present Level of Educational Performance should address how the disability affects the preschooler’s participation in appropriate activities for this age child. ECSE teachers should use age-appropriate curriculum and while the Show-Me Standards address grades K-12, the ECSE curriculum should consider the Show-Me Standards that begin at kindergarten in order for the child to have a foundation for later school success. DESE has worked to develop Pre-K Literacy Standards and is currently working on Pre-K Social Emotional Standards. These standards will be helpful for early childhood teachers when aligning their curriculum with standards that are designed for preschool-aged children.

20 How do we handle the situation of a high school junior with a disability in math who has fulfilled all graduation requirements for math and, therefore, takes no more math classes? Posted 03/29/2002

The IEP team should evaluate the student’s math needs across the curriculum (e.g., science, business courses, transition service needs, etc.) to determine the individual goals necessary for the student to continue making progress toward graduation and post-secondary expectations.

21 How should we address the situation of a high school student who is unable to function academically in a secondary curriculum? Posted 03/29/2002

The Alternate Frameworks are aligned to the Show-Me Standards and provide a functional interpretation of curriculum for students for whom the general education curriculum is not meaningful or achievable. The PLEP must include a statement about how the student’s disability affects his/her progress and involvement in the general education curriculum and should describe the concerns that demonstrate the student’s needs for a functional curriculum.

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education