Web IEP's

I work at a school site in the Special Ed Department where almost all of the children are on IEP's. An IEP's is an individualized education plan, that allows us to address the area that the child is struggling in and show the progress of the child. For many years they have used a simple form that they filled out with a pen. Recently they developed an omini form, which is a program that allows you to type in the information you need to regarding the child. This is a wonderful idea that allows you to read the IEP clearly and will also help to avoid many spelling mistakes.

The new form that will be effective January 1, 2009 will be available online to everyone with an access Id. This will allow all the personal involved in the IEP access to the IEP so they can have the goals, strengths and ect ready before the meeting. This will benefit the OT, RSP and also the SLP's. They will also be able to be viewed by many other school districts which will allow the new school to access any special services faster and they will not have to wait for the release of paperwork to arrive.

I think the only down fall in the Web IEP's will be if the Internet is down for some reason. The personal will not be able to access the completed form online. Another issue they may possible face is the fact that not all the staff will have access to a computer and with budget cuts this could be an issue. I know that the employees will face some difficulties in getting used to the new IEP, it will not allow you to print out the form until you have completed the whole IEP. On the other hand this will be a benefit to many people because as sometimes they forget to fill out the very important fields that are needed.