The Individualized Educational Program is a federal law that offers mitigation to students having disabilities. This federal law was created in line with the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004 that introduced proper guidelines for Special Education in the United States. This program is a document prepared for a child who qualifies to get special education and other related educational services. Presently, many states have adopted this law and thus provide the disabled students with the Individualized Education Program so as to meet their special needs.
Since this individualized education program is designed in accordance to individual student educational needs, it should be made available for all learners. This is because the Individualized Education Program has several benefits than the normal program offered for learners without any disabilities. The Individualized Education Program according to the law must be tailored to meet the individual learner’s spectacular needs giving learning a better meaning. With this approach, the program ensures that the student’s performance track records, special needs and specific related services that reinforce the achievement of these special needs and the current academic performance are considered and catered for. The sustainability of this educational strategy for the mentally and physically challenged learners is further assured by the law. This program is a creation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This implies that this program is legally binding and can therefore only be reviewed or revised based on the above Education Act. (Stanberry)
Incorporating all learners into the Individualized Education Program will ensure that a strong teamwork is fostered and maintained between the parents and teachers. In fact, not only teachers and parents are brought together but also the entire educational community that surrounds the learner. It means that even administrators and the personnel involved in other related services will pull together to ensure that the objective of every learner is achieved. By every member of a student’s academic environment discharging their respective duties, the educational outcome of the student will be highly improved. As a matter of fact, many students under the Individualized Education Program have posted good performance results due to teamwork. This teamwork is further built among the learners themselves as they learn to appreciate and help each other. In essence, disabilities can no longer be stigmatized by other students as everybody is undergoing the same program. (Yell, 2006)
Provision of a class-wide Individualized Education Program allocates extra time for learners with disabilities. This implies that there is more than enough time for the teachers to address a learner’s special needs and help the student meet them accordingly. As Bryna Siegel puts it, and Individualized education program should not run on normal school time frame. For instance, he cites that for a child to get meaningful progress in education under this program, then the student should spend more hours than the normal school time allocation. Siegel further emphasizes that the law clearly states that the length of Individualized Education Program must exceed the normal school time frame. (Siegel, 2008). This ensures that the Individualized Education Program remains time conscious and results oriented. If all the students are allowed to pursue their academic objectives with this approach then good academic performances will become a common scenario.
However, making of Individualized Education Program a class-wide agenda may not be fully beneficial. Learner’s individual educational needs vary from one student to another and therefore attending to each specific need of all the students in a class may be cumbersome. Besides, design of the program’s document suits only the children with special education needs and may not be useful to other learners who does not have any learning disorders. This is a sure hindrance to the implementation of a class-wide Individualized Education Plan.
References
Education Center. (n.d.). Retrieved May 22, 2013, from 504 Plan vs. IEP:
http://www.ed-center.com/504
Siegel, B. (2008). Getting the Best for Your Child with Autism: An Expert's Guide to Treatment.
New York:Guilford Press.
Stanberry, K. (n.d.). What are the Benefits of IEP? Retrieved May 22, 2013, from National
Center for Learning Disabilities:
http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/iep-504-plan/benefits-individualized-education-
program
Yell. (2006). The Law and Special Education. USA: Pearson Education, Inc.
