RunningheadSTUDENT-LEDIEPS.docVIP

Running head: STUDENT-LED IEPS 20/20 Student-led IEPs: What does it take? Sara Mills George Mason University EDSE 842 March 24, 2009 Abstract This collective case study will describe the perceptions and experiences of students with disabilities, their teachers, and their parents regarding the student-led IEP process. The study focuses on five high-school students participating in a student-led IEP training program (Martins et al., 2006). Data will be collected through interviews, classroom observations, IEP meeting observations, and IEP documents. Data will be analyzed using the constant comparative method to describe each student’s case and look for themes across the five cases. Student-led IEPs: What does it take? The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) requires students to participate in their IEP meetings at age 14 or grade 8. At that point in his or her education, a transition plan must be included as part of the IEP that reflects the student’s interests and post-high school goals (reference). Self-determination is a core value of special education. As the professional standards developed by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) (2004) state, “Special educators shape environments to encourage the independence, self-motivation, self-direction, personal empowerment, and self-advocacy of individuals with exceptional learning needs” (Standard #5). There is a growing conversation within special education about the need for secondary-aged students to take an active role in developing their own IEPs. Too often, students are non-participants in their own IEP process (Martin et al., 2006). There have been a few experimental and single-subject studies done, to date, that demonstrate an increase in student participation and an increase in time spent discussing transition plans for students who receive explicit instruction in conducting student-led IEPs (Martin et al.). In spite of this growing body of literature,