IEP Sections Explained: What to Check in Each Section

An IEP is the written plan for a public-school student who qualifies for special education. It should connect your child’s current needs to measurable goals, the services and supports that address them, and a clear way to report progress. Reading it section by section helps you spot vague language, missing details, and decisions that need to be in writing.

Updated September 1, 2026. This guide is educational, not legal advice. District forms and a child’s needs vary; use the official resources at the end for current requirements.

Start here: Do not try to judge an IEP by its length. First, trace each important need through the document: Where is the baseline? What goal addresses it? Which service or support makes the goal possible? When will the team show progress? If one link is missing, write that question down for the meeting.

For timelines, rights, and what to do if you disagree, start with the Washington IEP guide. This guide is the document-reading companion. When you are packing for a meeting, see 5 things to bring to an IEP meeting.

The five-minute IEP section checklist

Use this as a first pass through the draft or current IEP. The federal baseline is set out in 34 CFR §300.320; Washington families can also use OSPI’s IEP overview.

Find this section	Check for this before you move on
Present levels	Current strengths, needs, and data, not only labels or general impressions
Annual goals	A baseline, a measurable target, and a way to know whether the child is progressing
Progress reports	How progress is measured and when you will receive it
Services and minutes	Frequency, duration, location, and start date for each service
Supports	Accommodations, modifications, supplementary aids, and support for staff when needed
Placement and LRE	Why the setting fits and when the child learns with nondisabled peers
Assessments	Any individual testing accommodations and, if applicable, why an alternate assessment is used
Transition	Postsecondary goals and transition services by the first IEP in effect when the student turns 16, or earlier when appropriate
Prior Written Notice	A written explanation when the district proposes or refuses a change to evaluation, placement, identification, or FAPE

The four-question connection check

For every priority need, ask four questions:

1. What does the current data say? A number, work sample, observation, or other specific baseline is more useful than “struggles with reading.”
2. What is the goal? It should say what skill will change and how success will be measured.
3. What will the school provide? Find the service, support, accommodation, or staff responsibility that makes work toward the goal realistic.
4. When will we know whether it is working? The IEP should explain how progress is measured and when it will be reported.

Here is an illustrative chain (an example, not a prescription): a present level identifies difficulty starting written work independently; a goal measures starting a task after a visual prompt; a service line identifies who teaches and supports that skill; and the progress-report section tells the parent when the data will be shared. The right goal and supports depend on the individual child. The useful test is whether the chain is visible on the page.

A note on IEP software

Every district uses one of a handful of software platforms to build IEPs. Those tools often mix canned language with real teacher input, and the order of sections can change depending on the vendor. Use this guide to find the substance, even if the tabs look different on your printout.

Student information and present levels (PLAAFP)

This is a snapshot of your child’s current skills and challenges in academics, behavior, communication, and functional skills. A solid PLAAFP includes:

• Data-based descriptions of strengths and areas for growth
• How the disability affects access to general education
• Input from teachers, therapists, and parents

Ask for: measurable data. “Struggles with reading” is not enough. “Reads 25 words per minute” gives the team something to build goals from.

A practical parent check: if an important concern is only mentioned in conversation, an email, or an evaluation report, ask where it appears in the present levels. A need that is invisible in present levels is harder to trace into a goal or service.

Measurable annual goals

These are the targets for the next year. Strong goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant to your child’s needs, and time-bound within the IEP year. Vague wording like “improve reading” does not give anyone a clear finish line.

A practical goal audit

There is no universal, legally required number of goals. The better question is whether every material educational need has a measurable goal or a documented reason it does not need one. A goal is easier to use when it names a baseline, the skill or behavior, the conditions, the criterion for success, and the progress-measurement method.

Watch for: after preschool, all academic goals dumped under “Cognitive.” Ask the team to show how reading, writing, and math needs will each be taught and measured. For younger children, that may mean separate pre-academic skills such as matching or color identification rather than one catch-all cognitive goal.

Watch for: goals that skip foundational skills. Assigning prepositions and spatial concepts (“put the toy under the table”) to a child still working on attending, pointing, or color ID often creates frustration instead of progress.

Ask for: the baseline, the data-collection method, and the reporting schedule for every priority goal. If your child has needs in multiple areas, ask how the team will keep each one from disappearing inside a broad, bundled goal.

Behavior and a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)

When behavior impedes learning, the IEP team must consider positive behavioral interventions and supports. That does not automatically mean every child needs a separate BIP. When a BIP is appropriate, a useful one names the behavior and context, teaches replacement skills, gives staff clear strategies, and says how progress will be tracked. Ask how the plan connects to the present levels, goals, and service minutes.

Special education and related services (and minutes)

This section lists the supports your child will receive to meet IEP goals:

• Special education services (resource room, 1:1 support, and similar)
• Related services (speech, OT, behavioral supports, and others)
• Frequency, duration, and setting for each

Ask for: specific service lines. Not “Speech therapy,” but “Speech therapy, 2x per week, 30 minutes, in a 1:1 setting.”

Watch for: “related services” or consultative language used in place of direct specialist time. If your child needs 1:1 work with an OT or SLP, say so, and ask how indirect input will be measured when caseloads are large.

Watch for: a goal with no visible service or support behind it. Ask who is responsible for teaching the skill, where it will happen, and how the frequency and duration connect to the goal. If the plan proposes time outside general education, ask what instruction happens during that time and why that setting is needed.

Accommodations, modifications, and supplementary supports

Accommodations change how a child learns. Modifications change what they are expected to learn.

• Accommodations: extended test time, seating near the teacher, speech-to-text software
• Modifications: simplified assignments, pass/fail grading, alternative assessments

Ask for: accommodations that are realistic and used in class, not a wishlist of possibilities. Ask how staff will document that they are in place.

Also look for: supplementary aids, services, program modifications, and supports for school personnel. These can be the missing bridge between a goal on paper and a classroom that can carry it out.

Participation in state and district assessments

This section can be easy to skip, but it matters when a child needs individual testing accommodations. The IEP should identify those accommodations. If the team chooses an alternate assessment, the IEP should state why the regular assessment is not appropriate and why the alternate assessment is appropriate.

Ask for: the accommodations your child already uses during instruction, not a brand-new list that appears only at testing time. If you do not understand an assessment decision, ask the team to explain how it connects to the present levels and goals.

Least restrictive environment (LRE)

IDEA requires that children with disabilities learn alongside peers as much as appropriate. This section explains why a special education setting may be needed and how inclusion opportunities will happen.

Ask for: the specific reason for any time outside the regular classroom, what supports were considered, and when your child will learn and participate with nondisabled peers. There is no single percentage that decides LRE; it is an individual placement decision.

Extended school year (ESY)

Some children need services beyond the regular school year. ESY is an individualized decision; it is not determined by disability category alone. If ESY is under discussion, ask what data the team considered, what skills or services are proposed, and how the program differs from the school-year plan.

ESY can sometimes sit alongside school-based ABA support, but they are not interchangeable. Ask each provider what it will address, who will communicate progress, and what your family should expect over the break.

Watch for: assuming ESY equals the school-year program. Before agreeing, ask about schedule, setting, staff, goals, and progress reporting.

Ask for: a data review if the school recommends no ESY and you believe your child needs it. Request the explanation in writing if the team refuses a change you asked it to make.

Transition plan (required by age 16)

Beginning with the first IEP in effect when a student turns 16 (or younger if the team decides it is appropriate), the IEP must include measurable postsecondary goals and transition services. That can cover education or training, employment, independent living skills when appropriate, and community participation.

Ask for: real student involvement in the planning, not a plan written about them without them.

Prior Written Notice (PWN)

Prior Written Notice is the district’s written explanation when it proposes or refuses to initiate or change a child’s identification, evaluation, educational placement, or the provision of FAPE. It should state the action, the reason, the records or evaluations considered, other options the team considered and rejected, and where parents can get help understanding their safeguards. See 34 CFR §300.503.

How to use it

If you disagree with a proposed change, say: “I am requesting Prior Written Notice of the proposal or refusal, including the data the district relied on.”

If the school denies a request for additional services, say: “Please include the rationale, the options considered, and the data supporting this decision in the Prior Written Notice.”

If a service is changing (for example, speech minutes going down), say: “I would like the data supporting this decision included in the Prior Written Notice.”

If an evaluation finds your child “not eligible,” say: “I want a detailed explanation in the Prior Written Notice, including what data was used.”

Ask for: a copy in language you understand and keep it with your meeting notes, evaluations, and progress reports. PWN documents the district’s decision; your own dated follow-up email can document the questions and information you brought to the meeting.

Before the next IEP meeting

Bring the current IEP, the most recent progress report, and a one-page list of the two or three needs you want to discuss. Next to each need, write the baseline you have, the goal or service you expect to find, and the one question you still need answered. That keeps the meeting focused on the connection between needs, instruction, and progress rather than on a long list of disconnected requests.

For the broader rights-and-timelines process, return to the Washington IEP guide. For a meeting packet, use 5 things to bring to an IEP meeting.

Primary references

• 34 CFR §300.320: IEP content requirements
• 34 CFR §300.503: Prior Written Notice
• Washington OSPI: Individualized Education Program (IEP)

How Orchid can help

At Orchid Academy, we can help families organize observations and current ABA data, prepare focused questions, and collaborate with school teams when a family authorizes that communication. Our BCBAs can help you read the document in the context of your child’s goals and support plan; they do not replace the district’s IEP team or provide legal advice.

Request a call back, reach out to your BCBA, or return to the Washington IEP guide for the process overview.