Part I: Reviewing Literature for an Annotated Bibliography Why is it important to review literature? Why is it helpful to do an annotated bibliography of your research when p

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Introduction

Empowering Speech-Language Pathologists: Strategies for Effective Individualized Education Program Navigation and Inclusive Practice in Schools Marie C. Irelanda and Shannon Hall-Millsb

a School of Arts and Education, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, Australia b School of Communication Science and Disorders, Florida State University, Tallahassee

A R T I C L E I N F O

Article History: Received March 7, 2024 Revision received March 11, 2024 Accepted March 11, 2024

Editor-in-Chief: Kelly Farquharson

https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_LSHSS-24-00026

Correspondence to Marie C. Ireland: [email protected]. Pub- lisher Note: This article is part of the Forum: Developing and Imple- menting IEPs for Children With Disabilities in Schools: Current Pro- cesses, Models, and Research. Disclosure: The authors have declared that no competing financial or nonfinancial interests existed at the time of publication.

This forum for Language, Speech, and Hearing Ser- vices in Schools, focusing on the Individualized Education Program (IEP), presents a unique opportunity to provide a series of curated research articles, viewpoints, clinical focus articles, and tutorials about translational research that can be used immediately by school speech-language patholo- gists (SLPs), school administrators, and university faculty providing preservice training. Some articles provide a proof of concept, while others explore feasibility of approaches or provide a model to follow with explicit information on implementation within the context of the current education landscape and awareness of the requirements of the Indi- viduals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA; U.S. Department of Education, 2016).

IDEA and IEPs

The IDEA requires each child with an identified dis- ability have an IEP that includes specific information. The IEP should serve as a roadmap for educators and families, including the student, and provide information to assist the IEP team and educators in meeting the student’s indi- vidual needs. An IEP is required for every student with a disability under the IDEA, which makes available a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and ensures special education and related services are available to eligible chil- dren with disabilities.

IEPs are the foundation of special education services and should serve as the guiding document for teams including SLPs. Federal regulations require that the IEP be developed with input from general and special educa- tors, SLPs, other related service providers as needed, plus the student and their family members. The document should provide a robust description of the student’s strengths and weaknesses as well as goals, supports, transi- tion plans, and statements about how student progress will be monitored. The practices reflected in the goals and ser- vices outlined in IEPs should be evidence-based. In addition to federal regulations, each state education agency (SEA) promulgates regulations addressing special education and may publish guidance to assist in the implementation of the regulations. Local education agencies (LEAs) are required to implement both federal and state regulations and may adopt additional policies or procedures at the local level.

Procedural compliance means adhering to the fed- eral, state, and local rules for IEP development, such as meeting timelines, IEP team composition, and ensuring all parts of the IEP are included. Substantive compliance

Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools Vol. 55 225–230 April 2024 Copyright © 2024 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 225

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means developing an IEP that focuses on the student’s unique needs. IEPs should target high expectations and meaningful progress to ensure educational benefit (Yell et al., 2020). There should be alignment between parts of the IEP (Hott et al., 2021) to create “meaningful educa- tional experiences” (Blackwell & Rossetti, 2014, p. 12). IEPs should be high quality, objective, and ambitious (Turnbull et al., 2018) and include quality indicators. Without genuine individualization, the focus on compli- ance alone may result in poorly written IEPs that under- mine student outcomes.

SLPs in Public School Settings

Over 50% of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s 223,000 members work in the public school setting (ASHA, 2022) providing services to students as mandated by the student’s IEP. In 2022, over 7.2 million students in public schools in the United States received spe- cial education services. Speech-language impairment is the second largest primary disability category (National Center for Education Statistics, 2023). SLPs must be aware of state and local requirements to ensure consistent development of IEPs and be aware of changes in public policy and current evidence-based practices to ensure the development of an IEP that is both procedurally and substantively compliant.

The Changing Education Landscape and IEPs

Since the initial legislation that mandated educational services for children with disabilities, approaches to edu- cating children with disabilities have changed significantly. Inclusion and meaningful experiences have replaced segre- gated and more restrictive educational environments. Additionally, the climate of accountability in public education has heightened due to additional focus on ade- quate yearly progress (Twachtman-Cullen & Twachtman- Bassett, 2011) in No Child Left Behind (NCLB; United States Congress, 2015). The 2004 changes to IDEA increased focus on inclusive settings and narrowing the achievement gap and introduced federal monitoring of spe- cial education outcomes (U.S. Department of Education, n. d.). Annual reporting of disproportionality, inclusive prac- tices in the least restrictive environment (LRE), and out- comes including graduation rates and other measures of student success are now required. Subsequent reauthoriza- tion introduced multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) tar- geting instructional effectiveness. This, combined with efforts to address misidentification, requires increased col- laboration between general and special education staff.

Advances in technology have shifted the development of IEP from paper forms to computerized applications that

may contain goal banks, robust information menus, and audit rules to improve compliance with state and federal regula- tions. While most IEPs are written using computerized sys- tems to increase procedural compliance, the use of technology does not guarantee a quality IEP. The quality and appropri- ateness of content (substantive compliance) is more difficult to analyze than procedural compliance such as signature checks or automated date calculations. Professional collabo- ration is needed across work settings (e.g., LEA, SEA, and researchers) to examine processes and implement evidence- based practice within the context of special education.

Enduring Issues and IEPs

The IDEA requires services that provide a FAPE, which is very different from a family’s desire to have the best services for their child. This juxtaposition of appro- priate versus best results in frequent disagreements and tensions between families and IEP teams. Unfortunately, the litigious nature of special education and high cost of resolving disputes has heightened the emphasis on com- pliance, drawing focus away from the IEP as a tool for educational planning. IEP teams must refocus on curriculum-relevant collaborative services and monitor- ing of student progress that results in meaningful educa- tional benefit. SLPs must be prepared to deal with this enduring conflict and share with the team specific regula- tory requirements and individualized student data to sup- port their recommendations.

Focus of This Forum

This forum actively supports the IEP process by providing articles on various topics, from gathering data to monitoring progress. It also emphasizes engaging with students and families. The articles highlight specific infor- mation regarding how to engage with conflict and work with others to address concerns in the implementation of children’s IEPs. Authors describe models and case studies to inform thinking on IEP practices and use of data for program improvement and showcase current research related to IEP development and implementation.

While spanning a variety of topics related to the IEP, this forum addresses four major areas: (a) consider- ations for before the IEP is developed, (b) approaches and considerations for use during the IEP team meeting, (c) strategies for the development of the IEP document to increase educational relevance and outcomes, and (d) use of an IEP as a data source for program improvement. Highlights from each article that align with the major focus areas are provided in Table 1. Individuals and edu- cation agencies may apply information from these articles

226 Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools Vol. 55 225–230 April 2024

Table 1. Focus areas and highlights of articles in this forum on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

Focus area Article title Highlights

Before the IEP Meeting A Balancing Act: How School-Based Speech- Language Pathologists Navigate Their Efforts Related to Individual Education Plans and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (Sylvan et al., 2024)

• A research article examining SLPs’ involvement in the MTSS framework and direct support to students with disabilities through IEPs

• Addresses the multifaceted roles of SLPs in public schools, including as pivotal members of collaborative teams

• Highlights SLP responsibilities in assessment, intervention, program design, compliance, and prevention

Special Education Assessment: Practices That Support Eligibility and Intervention (Power-deFur, 2024)

• A tutorial providing an overview of requirements for assessment, eligibility determination, and IEP development

• Explains the vital role of SLPs in conducting assessments to gauge students’ skills in academic and functional domains

• Discusses challenges that arise from conflicts between best assessment practices and the preference for standardized assessments by special education teams

IEP Meeting Approaches Using a Social Model to Guide Individualized Education Program Development and Change Educational Paradigms to Be Critically Inclusive (Murza & Buckley, 2024)

• A tutorial reviewing of opportunities to shift thinking and approach IEP development using inclusive student-centered approaches

• Provides a social model of disability framework to guide IEP development

Student-Led Individualized Education Programs: A Gateway to Self-Determination (McNaught et al., 2024)

• Clinical focus article on methods of development in transition IEP planning based on postsecondary outcomes for students with disabilities

• Provides qualitative data from the “I’m Determined” program in Virginia highlighting students’ experiences about student-led IEPs

• Underscores the importance of an individualized approach to transition IEP planning with a focus on the student’s postschool goals

Conflict Engagement for Individualized Education Program Team Members (Abell, 2024)

• Viewpoint about effective and intentional conflict engagement practices IEP teams can engage with to build trust and increase opportunities for innovation to address complex challenges in the implementation of IEPs

IEP Development Maximizing Student Outcomes in Schools: Data-Driven Individualized Education Program Goals and Objectives Aligned to the Standards (Powell et al., 2024)

• Clinical focus article to guide SLPs in using their state and local curriculum to link IEP goals to academic impact

• Discusses considerations for what the student must do to be successful in the curriculum

Exploring Speech-Language Pathologists’ Perception of and Individualized Education Program Goals for Vocabulary Intervention With School-Age Children With Language Disorders (Marante & Hall-Mills, 2024)

• Research article examining SLPs’ beliefs and expectations regarding vocabulary instruction and the content of IEP goals

• Divergent views and practices persisted in the vocabulary intervention SLPs provide for students with IEPs

• Qualitative analysis of IEP goals for vocabulary revealed the range and frequency of strategies and intervention targets as an artifact of implementation of robust vocabulary instruction

How Inclusive Practice Increases the Educational Relevance of Individualized Education Programs (Heilmann et al., 2024)

• Clinical focus article on the importance of prioritizing general education content and contexts, involving collaboration between special and general educators

(table continues)

Ireland & Hall-Mills: Introduction: Forum on IEPs 227

Table 1. (Continued).

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Focus area Article title Highlights

• Discusses shifting to an inclusive framework to ensure meaningful experiences and engaging with an inclusive mindset, focusing on academic and social performance within the general education environment for development of educationally relevant IEPs

to develop solutions for their own context. The samples and resources included in these articles may assist profes- sionals in developing and implementing new approaches but m

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