An individualized education program, also called an individualized education plan or an IEP, is both a document and a personalized instructional program created for disabled students under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which was passed by the United States Congress in 1975. The IEP for each disabled student has as its goal the provision of a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), a right that was arbitrarily and unfairly denied to disabled students in the past. The IEP is designed to provide an educational environment that is as nonrestrictive and accessible for disabled students as possible.

Each disabled student is carefully evaluated and his IEP is then fitted to his specific educational requirements. The evaluation must take into account the student's current academic proficiency; desired annual goals; means of assessment of progress toward those goals; procedures, materials, and personnel to assist the child in meeting educational goals; necessary modifications to programs and methodologies; and any other relevant information such as behavioral histories, in some cases.

Your challenge regarding IEPs is to make absolutely certain you don't perpetuate the exclusionary and discriminatory practices of the past. Just as parents doubtless have high expectations for their disabled children, you also should fully expect that your disabled students will progress as far and as fast as they possibly can, despite any limitations imposed by their disabilities. You should follow the IEP's requirements and help your disabled students adequately prepare for their future.

That future may include college, as with many of your students. Educator and author Leanna Landsmann, in her nationally syndicated column A-Plus Advice for Parents(November 2007), quotes Dr. Arlyn Roffman of Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the subject of disabled kids making it to college: “Doors get closed when students with disabilities are underestimated and prematurely guided into taking non-college track courses. … Only 20 percent of students with learning disabilities enroll and many of those never graduate. We need to change these numbers.”

Make sure you help your disabled kids advance as far as possible. Adhere each day to their IEPs, try to instill a sense of confidence, try to eliminate feelings of helplessness, and assist with goal setting. In this way, you'll encourage your disabled students to turn their focus away from their disabilities and focus on their magnificent individual abilities, which every child possesses in abundance.