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We all want these outcomes for our students.
Placement Should Be Driven by Data, Not Assumptions
Before recommending a more restrictive setting, IEP teams must review multiple sources of data that reflect the student’s experience, strengths, and needs in the general education setting.
Below are five kinds of data IEP teams should consider when placement decisions are being made.
Embedded into these questions are several High Leverage Practices (HLPs) in special education. Most notably, HLP 3: Collaborate with families to support student learning and secure needed services, HLP 4: Use multiple sources of information to develop a comprehensive understanding of a student’s strengths and needs, HLP 5: Interpret and communicate assessment information with stakeholders to collaboratively design and implement educational programs, and HLP 6: Use student assessment data, analyze instructional practices, and make necessary adjustments that improve student outcomes.
When discussing a change in placement, consider:
1. Progress on IEP Goals
Ask This Critical Question: “Is the student making meaningful progress on their IEP goals in the general education setting with the supports in place?”
Start here. Review clear, consistent progress monitoring data, ideally using graphs, not just anecdotal impressions. This is the heart of every placement conversation. If the answer is ‘no,’ that doesn’t mean the student can’t be successful in general education. It means we need to dig into the data and our implementation.
Discuss with the team:
- Is the student showing growth toward their goals in the general education setting?
- Do we have the right accommodations and instruction in place within the general education setting?
- Have we given the supports time to work?
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If the student is not making progress, what specific skills are interfering with their success? Have we explicitly taught those skills? If not, instruction should begin on the missing skills rather than a jump to a different setting.
When students struggle to participate or succeed in general education, we must ask: What do they need to be taught, and how can we teach those skills within the setting they are meant to thrive in? This may mean additional IEP goals are warranted.
If we remove them before we teach those foundational skills, we remove the opportunity to learn and apply them in that context.
2. Implementation Fidelity
Before making conclusions about placement, confirm that all services, accommodations, and modifications are being delivered as written in the IEP.
For example:
- Has instruction been consistent and implemented with fidelity?
- Are co-teaching models implemented as planned?
- Is paraprofessional support consistent and have they been trained as needed?
- Has assistive technology been provided and integrated?
- Are behavioral or social-emotional supports happening as designed?
- Has the student been attending school consistently?
If the answer to these questions is “no”, then the data we're using to make placement decisions may be incomplete or misleading. Moving a student to a more restrictive classroom based on incorrect data would be a disservice.
3. General Education Performance Data
This includes more than just academic outcomes. It should reflect how the student is functioning and engaging in their learning environment.
- Classroom assessments, grades, and work samples
- Participation in discussions, group work, and classroom routines
- Teacher observations that describe academic and functional performance
Look for evidence of the student’s strengths. Where are they engaging? What instructional strategies or settings are helping them shine? Are they happy, making friends, and socially included? This data doesn’t need to be limited to scores on a test and teacher notes. You can use engagement data collection to monitor how the student engages and participates as they spend time in general education settings.
4. Behavioral Data (When Relevant)
If behavior is impacting learning, we need to look at the why, not just the what.
- Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA)
- Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP)
- Discipline records (with considerations to the context, cultural responsiveness, adult responses, and school climate)
Behavior alone should never drive a move to a more restrictive setting. We need to return to the key question: What skills does this student need to be successful in general education, and what supports will help them learn those skills in that setting?
If the student is lacking the skills needed to be successful (for example, asking for a break, gaining the teacher's attention, or remaining in their seat), the school team should first address these skills in the general education classroom, as this is where the skills will ultimately be needed.
5. Student Voice and Family Input
This data source is frequently overlooked, but it’s essential. Limiting the time students have in an inclusive setting to interact with peers and friends can be heartbreaking for the family and lead to real impacts on the student’s long term happiness and ability to make meaningful connections with peers. Plus, families know their student best and their opinions should be sought at every decision point. Before recommending a change in placement, ask:
- What does the student say helps them to learn? Where do they want to be educated?
- What are the family’s goals for their child, now and in the future?
- What do families observe at home and hear from their child about their school day?
- Are we considering cultural, linguistic, or environmental factors that may affect engagement or success?
When students and families are genuinely heard, placement decisions become more responsive and better aligned with the student's full experience.
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