By Frances Shefter, Esq. (and mom)
Parent’s Guide to Reading an IEP Series:
Part 1: Present Levels
Part 2: Annual Goals
Part 3: Accommodations
Part 4: Supplementary Aids and Services
Part 5: Special Education and Related Services
Part 6: Progress Reports – Coming Soon.
Parts 7 and 8: Coming Soon.
Part 1 of the Parent’s Guide to Reading an IEP
Your child’s annual IEP review is coming up. The school scheduled the meeting, you agreed to the date and time, and now you’ve received the pre-meeting documents. Attached to that email is a draft IEP that may be 35 pages or longer. If you’re like most parents, you open the document, scroll through page after page of educational jargon, percentages, and acronyms, and wonder, “How am I supposed to know if this is right?”
The good news is that you do not have to be a special education teacher or attorney to spot many of the strengths and weaknesses in a draft IEP. In my experience as a special education attorney, advocate, former teacher, former special education coordinator, and mom, there is one section that tells me almost everything I need to know about the quality of the IEP: the Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance, often called the present levels.
If the present levels are well written, the rest of the IEP usually makes sense. If they are vague, outdated, or incomplete, the rest of the IEP often has problems too.
Why Parents Often Skip the Most Important Part
Many parents immediately turn to the services page, accommodations, or placement. Those sections certainly matter, but they should not be where you start. Every decision in the IEP should flow from the present levels. Think of the present levels as the foundation of a house. If the foundation is weak, everything built on top of it is affected.
What Are the Present Levels?
The present levels describe how your child’s disability affects educational performance today. They should explain who your child is as a learner, what happens in the classroom, what supports are already helping, where your child struggles, and what strengths can be built upon. Each area impacted by the disability should have its own meaningful description. Some of the most common areas are:
- Reading
- Writing
- Math
- Executive functioning
- Attention
- Communication
- Social skills
- Behavior
- Emotional regulation
- Motor skills
Why present levels matter. Read More here.
Think of the Present Levels as the Baseline
The present levels are the baseline for the entire IEP. Without a clear starting point, it is impossible to measure meaningful progress. A strong present level should answer questions such as:
- How does my child learn?
- What supports are currently being used?
- What are my child’s strengths?
- What are my child’s greatest challenges?
- What strategies are working?
- What still needs improvement?
Learn more about present levels of performance.
The Present Levels Should Tell a Story
One sentence saying, “John struggles with reading,” tells you very little. A stronger present level might explain that John reads approximately 70 words per minute with 88% accuracy on fourth-grade text, benefits from pre-teaching vocabulary, and needs teacher check-ins during independent reading. The second example paints a picture of the student and provides information the team can actually use.
Data Matters More Than Opinions
One of the biggest themes I talk about is data literacy. Opinions are helpful, but data drives decisions. Instead of simply stating that a student struggles with organization, the IEP should explain what that looks like, how often it occurs, and what level of prompting is required. Parents should be able to distinguish between an opinion and measurable information.
The Four Questions I Ask Every Time
- Do I understand exactly what the student can do today?
- Do I understand exactly where the student struggles?
- Is there enough data to measure future progress?
- Can I predict what the goals, accommodations, and services should be based on these present levels?
If the answer to any of those questions is no, the present levels probably need more work.
More Than a Copy and Paste
One of the most common problems I see is present levels copied directly from an evaluation or a progress report. Evaluations are snapshots in time. Present levels should synthesize evaluations, classroom performance, teacher observations, and progress monitoring into one current picture of your child as a learner.
The ‘So What?’ Test
Every statement in the present levels should answer one simple question: So what? If the IEP says your child has ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or anxiety, the next question is, ‘So what does that mean educationally?’ How does it affect attention, organization, reading, writing, behavior, or social interaction? If the educational impact is missing, the statement is incomplete.
Red Flags to Watch For
- Present levels are vague or generic.
- They look identical to last year’s IEP.
- They are copied from an evaluation report.
- There is little or no current data.
- There are no classroom examples.
- Executive functioning or behavior needs are missing.
- The accommodations already being used are not described.
The Present Levels Should Drive the Rest of the IEP
A well-written IEP tells one consistent story. The present levels identify the needs. The annual goals address those needs. The accommodations and supplementary aids support the goals. The services provide the instruction necessary for meaningful progress. If those pieces do not connect, ask why.
What Happens When the Present Levels Are Wrong?
An inaccurate baseline often leads to unclear supplementary aids, inappropriate goals, inadequate services, and another year of limited progress. That is why spending time reviewing the present levels before the meeting can make such a difference.
Questions to Ask at the IEP Meeting
- Can you show me the data that supports this statement?
- When was this information collected?
- What accommodations were in place when this data was gathered?
- How does this present level support this annual goal?
- Is this description still accurate today?
Watch our Stress-Free IEP® episode on what schools should be measuring.
How Shefter Law Can Help
Preparing for an IEP meeting should not feel like you are studying for an exam. At Shefter Law, we help families understand the draft IEP before the meeting so they can walk in prepared and confident.
We can review your draft IEP, identify concerns, explain what the data means, and help you prioritize what should be discussed. If you would like additional support, we can also attend the IEP meeting with you to help ensure your concerns are addressed and that the discussion remains focused on your child’s unique needs.
You do not have to do it all alone. Sometimes having an experienced attorney or advocate review the draft before the meeting can make all the difference.
Schedule a Free Case Analysis Here.
Data Detective 🔎
Can you spot the problem?
Present Level: “Emma is making progress in reading.”
What’s missing? We do not know how progress was measured, what level Emma is reading at, what interventions are being used, what remains difficult, or what the baseline is. Without that information, it is much harder to determine whether Emma is making meaningful educational progress.
Remember: if the data isn’t there, it becomes much harder to know whether the IEP is truly meeting your child’s needs.
Final Thoughts
Parents often tell me they thought the IEP meeting was where the important decisions were made. I see it a little differently. The important work starts before you ever walk into the meeting. It starts with understanding the draft IEP, asking thoughtful questions, and making sure the document truly reflects your child.
An IEP should never be just a stack of paperwork. It should be a roadmap to meaningful educational progress. And every great roadmap starts with knowing exactly where your child is today.
Parent’s Guide to Reading an IEP Series:
Part 1: Present Levels
Part 2: Annual Goals
Part 3: Accommodations
Part 4: Supplementary Aids and Services
Part 5: Special Education and Related Services
Part 6: Progress Reports – Coming Soon.
Parts 7 and 8: Coming Soon.
