IEPs and More

Individual Education Plan Information & Much More

Resources, Descriptions & Links

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Table of Contents for this page                                                  

  • Ontario Human Rights Commission, Right to Read inquiry report
  • Individual Education Plan (IEP) Resources
  • Communication with School
  • Identification, Placement, and Review Committee (IPRC)
  • Parent Guides for IEP and IPRC
  • Transition Planning
  • Inclusive Education
  • Resources to Strengthen You and Your Family

Scroll down to the topics you are interested in . . . . .

Ontario Human Rights Commission, Right to Read Inquiry Report 

To learn about the OHRC Right to Read Report, Public inquiry into human rights issues affecting students with reading disabilities you can go to this webpage. It contains the Inquiry Report (558 pages), the Executive Summary (74 pages), PDFs for downloading, and an excellent 9 minute video – all found at this link: https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report

Direct links to resources follow:

Individual Education Plan (IEP) Resources

NEW RESOURCE: Individual Education Plans, Transition Planning – A PowerPoint                              This information was put together for a presentation earlier this year by Karen Wilson, Family-to-Family Coordinator with Windsor-Essex Family Network. Karen is a family leader in Windsor-Essex, and has a background in teaching.  Designed for ease of understanding, we recognize that the fullness of information comes out during a live PowerPoint presentation but do hope this will be helpful.     Click here to open: IEPs, Transition Planning PPT – WEFN 2022

What is an Individual Education Plan?
Inclusion Action in Ontario (IAI) provides an overview of what an Individual Education Plan is.
https://inclusionactionontario.ca/docs/the-individual-education-plan/

Parent Individual Education Plan (IEP) Checklist
Easter Seals Ontario has made this chart available for downloading. It was developed to help families review the different sections of their child’s IEP.
https://education.easterseals.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/2021-IEP-Checklist.pdf

The Individual Education Plan (IEP) – Frequently Asked Questions An Easter Seals Ontario Blog by Alison Morse, November 5, 2019 https://education.easterseals.org/the-individual-education-plan-iep-frequently-asked-questions/

Appendix E: The Individual Education Plan
This government document explains the importance of developing an IEP for students whose behaviour may be misunderstood due to an underlying cause. It also outlines the steps of developing an IEP and its contents.
https://www.ontario.ca/document/workplace-violence-school-boards-guide-law/appendix-e-individual-education-plan

Accommodations
The Ontario Teacher’s Federation provides a definition for accommodations and specific examples.
https://www.teachspeced.ca/accommodations

Determine Accommodations                                                                                                              Pages from the Ontario Ministry of Education’s Individual Education Plan: Resource Guide, 2004    Determine Accommodations, pg 28 & 29 – IEP, Resource Guide, 2004

Communication with School

Family Checklist for Effective School Meetings
Windsor-Essex Family Network families created this document for families to assist them with organization, preparation, and participation in school meetings.
Your link to viewing or downloading the: Family Checklist for Effective Meetings

What is the Parent Concern Protocol?
Inclusion Action in Ontario (IAI) notes that the protocol to resolve conflicts between the home and school is frequently called a Parent Concern Protocol, and outlines basic steps to follow.
https://inclusionactionontario.ca/docs/what-is-the-parent-concern-protocol/

Steps to Success: Communicating with Your Child’s School,
CADRE, The Centre for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (United States) published ‘Steps to Success’ which contains helpful tips for building communication skills that can help parents develop and maintain strong partnerships with their child’s school.
https://www.cadreworks.org/sites/default/files/resources/Steps%20to%20Success%202019%20Final%20Accessible%201.15.21.pdf

The ABCs of Staying in Touch with Your School,
Created by the National Public Relations Association, Rockville, MD to help schools and parents build strong partnerships.
https://cpacinc.org/special-education-issue-resolution-abc.aspx

Identification, Placement, and Review Committee (IPRC)

What is the Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC)?
By Inclusion Action in Ontario (IAI). A plain language explanation of what IRPCs are.
https://inclusionactionontario.ca/docs/what-is-the-iprc/

Highlights of Regulation 181/98 (IPRCs)
This Ministry of Education document provides information about the Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) process.
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/hilites.html

Parent Guides to IEP and IPRC

Parent Guide to Individual Education Plan, Greater Essex County District School Board https://www.publicboard.ca/en/programs-and-learning/resources/Documents/Parent-Guide-to-the-IEP.pdf

Parent Guide to IPRC, Procedures regarding the Identification, Placement and Review of Exceptional Pupils, Greater Essex County District School Board
https://www.publicboard.ca/en/programs-and-learning/resources/Documents/GECDSB-Parent-Guide-to-IPRC.pdf

Parent’s Guide to Special Education (Pages 27 – 41 of the Special Education Plan 2022) Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board (WECDSB) To view this parent’s guide which includes IEP and IPRC information, click here

Transition Planning

Policy/Program Memorandum 156
This memorandum sets out for school boards and schools the new requirements for individual transition plans for students with special education needs from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
https://www.ontario.ca/document/education-ontario-policy-and-program-direction/policyprogram-memorandum156

Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) 156: Supporting Transitions for Students with Special Education Needs (PowerPoint)
http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesSpecEd/PLF/IEP/PPM156_PPTwithNotes.pdf

Start Early, Connect with Developmental Services Ontario (DSO)
Created by Windsor-Essex Family Network family leaders and allies, this flow chart was designed to help families who have high school students with a developmental disability plan ahead.
To view or download this document link here, start-early-connect-with-dso-mhmc.pdf

Inclusive Education

Inclusion Action in Ontario: Inclusion Action in Ontario (IAO) is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to the inclusion of students with disabilities in education and the community. IAO believes that inclusive education is the foundation of an inclusive life. They support families who want inclusive education for their children with disabilities, and assist parents, teachers and school boards in developing individualized programs for students in inclusive settings. Information is available under these topics and others: working with your school board, funding, advocacy, the law, and inclusive education. Look for Frequently Asked Questions and Additional Resources on the site:  https://inclusionactionontario.ca/

Below are two examples of the kinds of questions and quality of resources available through the Inclusion Action in Ontario website: 

-Is inclusive education really better for all students? A common concern or argument that is often brought up when discussing inclusive education is, “won’t this negatively impact the other students in the regular classroom?” The answer in short? No.  In the article Including Students with Exceptionalities by Dr. Sheila Bennett at Brock University, she states:  “… systematic review of the literature over the last 20 years suggests that including students with exceptionalities in the regular classroom does not have a negative impact on the academic achievement of the other students.”

-What does peer to peer support look like in the classroom? . . . Learn more about the power of peers in this article, “Wide Open Spaces: Maggie’s Story”. 

Inclusive Education; Program versus Placement (Two documents)
The Ontario Coalition for Inclusive Education explains what inclusive education means in the first document. The second document outlines the difference between program and placement.
Use this link to see both documents, inclusive-education-program-versus-placement.pdf

Inclusive Education: Internet Resource Links
Windsor-Essex Family Network developed this document as a quick ‘go-to place’ for links to helpful resources regarding inclusive education, including Ministry of Education documents and other excellent website resources promoting inclusion. Links are updated every year.
Inclusive Education: Internet Resource Links

Resources to Strengthen You and Your Family

The Natural Authority of Families
By Dr. Michael Kendrick. This article has become a mainstay of Windsor-Essex Family Network (WEFN) with a commitment to sharing the article with families across the ages and stages of their lives. The WEFN Board of Directors has readily embraced the concept of families having natural authority when it comes to their dependent children/family members living with disabilities.  
To download a copy click here: the-natural-authority-of-families-mkendrick-ct06.pdf

One-Page Profile Templates
By Helen Sanderson Associates. UK Families create their own profiles with input from the child, parents, family members, friends and other relatives. These are very helpful in school meetings to help educators and supporters learn at a glance what the students need for success.
http://helensandersonassociates.co.uk/person-centred-practice/one-page-profiles/one-page-profiles-education/

Ways to Keep Humour in Your Life
By Christine Byrne, Living Resources
Click this link to view the document: ways-to-keep-humour-in-your-life.pdf

Why Self Care is Essential to Parenting, Caring for children with intense needs can take an emotional and physical toll on parents. By Julianne Garey.
https://childmind.org/article/fighting-caregiver-burnout-special-needs-kids/

For more resources, return to the EDUCATION RESOURCES AND MORE page.