The Individualized Education Program process is familiar to any educator in special education, but the details of the system may not have been fully explored. IEPs allow for disabled students to receive a quality education and individualized learning. It is imperative for educators to follow the mandates outlined for IEPs.
The S.M.A.R.T.E.R. STEPS(TM) GUIDE TO CREATING SMARTER IEP GOALS serves as a way to check the legal compliance of IEP goals and train educators to work toward this compliance. It outlines the thirteen federal mandates related to IEP goals and presents information and research in a simple, easy-to-understand format. Included appendices help test readers on their new knowledge with a quiz, worksheet, reflection page, and additional resources.
Authors Kelly Ott, MEd, MHS, CCC-SLP, and Lara Wakefield, PhD, CCC-SLP, focus on how important it is not only for educators to have this information but for administrators as well. Too much time and energy is lost in miscommunications between the two different groups. When you add in concerned parents, the focus may shift away from the students and lead to personality clashes. With a solid foundation for IEPs and a thorough understanding of the mandates, these conflicts can be avoided.
About the Author: Kelly Ott, MEd, MHS, CCC-SLP, has spent more than twenty years as a school administrator, educator, and speech-language pathologist. She has worked with students from preschool to high school. Ott currently works as a contractor with public schools and in private practice. She has shared her expertise and experience with several state and national organizations, and she has served in many different roles on IEP teams.
Lara Wakefield, PhD, CCC-SLP, has worked for over twenty years as a speech-language pathologist, researcher, and parent advocate. Wakefield helps parents with special-education advocacy through her private practice. She has worked in over twenty-seven districts in Missouri. Wakefield has received three US Department of Education grants and three Missouri Department of Education grants. She has presented her work on a national level.
