This post is based on personal experience and advocacy training. I am not an attorney and do not provide legal advice. Please check your state regulations and seek professional guidance as needed.
I’ve talked about different aspects of the IEP process and the document itself. One important part that I haven’t discussed much is placement.
Placement is where a student’s services are carried out.
The IEP won’t list a specific room number or classroom—instead, it describes the type of setting where services will be delivered.
The continuum of placements, from least restrictive to most restrictive, includes: full inclusion, partial inclusion, substantially separate programs, collaborative programs, separate schools, and home or hospital instruction. (Collaborative programs can vary in how restrictive they are, depending on the specific program.)
A full inclusion classroom is considered the least restrictive environment (LRE) because it provides the minimum amount of support needed. The student learns alongside nondisabled peers, typically through push-in services. These services are provided in the general education classroom, usually by a special education teacher or a paraprofessional. Some inclusion classrooms use a co-teaching model, while others do not.
A partial inclusion placement typically includes a combination of push-in services and pull-out services in a resource room. In some cases, the placement may consist of pull-out services only.
For example, if a student only receives speech services, the IEP would indicate that the service will be provided as a pull-out in the resource room.
A collaborative program (often called a “collab”) is a multi-district program that provides specially designed instruction. These programs may serve specific populations, such as students with autism or intellectual disabilities.
A substantially separate (sub-sep) classroom is a setting where students receive specially designed instruction. These programs typically have a smaller teacher-to-student ratio and may provide limited interaction with nondisabled peers.
Separate school settings may include public or private day schools, as well as residential placements.
Home or hospital instruction is a highly restrictive placement for students with medical needs or significant therapeutic needs.
When determining an appropriate placement, the Team must consider the least restrictive environment first. This means starting with inclusion and only moving to more restrictive settings if the student’s needs cannot be met there. Once a placement is agreed upon, it is documented in the IEP.
Parents or guardians have 30 days to make a decision about both the IEP and the placement. This is done by checking the appropriate box and then signing and dating the document. (Don’t forget to return it to the school—the IEP won’t be implemented until the district receives it. And yes, that comes from personal experience…lol.)
I’ve provided all that explanation about placements so I can share a conversation I had last week. A family member was telling me about her grandson, Jack. She is upset because he is being moved from a program where he was doing well to a new one at the local public school.
This is considered a change in placement. Placement decisions must be made by the Team, which includes the parents. Parents must agree to the proposed placement by signing the placement page. In most cases, a student cannot be moved from one placement to another without parental consent.
I know that Jack has autism, so I’m assuming he is currently in a substantially separate program. The district is likely proposing a move to a less restrictive setting within the public school.
I haven’t seen Jack’s IEP, so I can’t say for certain why the placement is being changed. However, a likely reason is that he has made progress and may no longer need that level of support. In that case, the current placement may now be too restrictive for his needs. (Remember, students must be placed in the least restrictive environment.)
Changes like this can be difficult. When it involves your child’s education, it’s completely normal to feel scared, anxious, or upset. Not fully understanding the reasons behind the change—or being unsure about your rights—can add even more stress.
If a student’s parents or teachers feel the placement needs to be reconsidered, the Team—including the parents—must be involved in the decision. In many cases, this means reconvening the Team to review the student’s progress and needs. Since an IEP is data-driven, the district should be able to show that a change in placement is supported by the student’s progress and current needs.
This is getting a bit long, so I’m going to end here. I just want parents to understand that a change in placement is not necessarily a bad thing.
Think about it like buying your child new sneakers. When little Joey starts telling you his sneakers are making him run weird, you listen and take care of the issue.
You take him to the store and figure out what he needs (this is the IEP meeting). You don’t just assume his sneakers are too big or too small—you ask questions and measure his feet. You use that information to get sneakers that fit properly. (This is the data the district and parents use to show why your child may need a different placement.)
Maybe his current sneakers are too big because he was wearing extra fluffy socks when he first tried them on. Now they no longer fit the way he needs them to. (This is a placement that is not providing enough support—for whatever reason, it is no longer a good fit.)
Or maybe he’s had a growth spurt and the sneakers are too tight. (This is a placement he has outgrown—it has become too restrictive for his current needs.)
We don’t expect our kids to wear the same pair of sneakers for an entire school year, so we probably shouldn’t expect them to remain in the same placement for an entire school year either.
Sometimes placements, like sneakers, last a month. Other times they last six months. Whether it’s sneakers or placements, what matters is giving our kids what they need when they need it.
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