Pupil Planning and Placement Team

This group is the decision-making body who designs/produces the IEP, or the individualized education plan. Members include parents, special and regular educators, an administrator, special service providers, such as OT's, the student (if appropriate), and other invited members which could include an attorney, parent or child advocate, or other parent support.

Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

This is a legal document which is designed as a group process and serves as a mandatory tool for progress, communication, and ongoing evaluation. The IEP must include the child's current level of educational performance, annual goals, short-term objectives, the services required to meet objectives, and criteria to assess whether objective have been met. It is imperative that the goals an objectives be specifically related to education.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

The environment where the child will receive her education is determined by the team. The intent is to address the student;s special education needs with her peers who do not have special needs. The child can be included in the typical classroom with modifications implemented as appropriate. The child can be mainstreamed into specific regular education classes that meet her needs, typically art, music, physical education, lunch, library, and classroom special activities. She can then receive specific, academic instruction within the special education or resource room.

Related Services

When a child is identified as requiring special education, she is entitled to related services which are necessary to support the special education instruction, OT, as an educationally based related service, is not intended to be a medical service, The OT must determine if the therapeutic intervention is necessary for educational performance.

Teams

The interdisciplinary team approach is the most common educationally based model for students 6 to 21 years. Each member completes an evaluation and then shares/coordinates the findings with other team members for planning purposes