Barriers to Implementing Student-Led IEPs

Abstract

Traditional teacher-led Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) typically provide limited opportunities for students receiving special education services to meaningfully participate in the process. Even with a significant body of literature supporting the benefits of student-led IEPs, many school-based personnel maintain the traditional teacher-led model. As such, this study explored barriers to student-led IEPs, including an analysis of the differences in perceptions between school personnel who currently report facilitating student-led IEPs and those who report not facilitating student-led IEPs. In total, 275 participants completed quantitative survey items, with 155 of these same participants providing responses to a qualitative open-ended question. Results suggest common barriers to student-led IEPs include factors related to (a) students, (b) systemic issues, and (c) other IEP team members. In addition, those who do not have students who lead IEPs were more likely to identify the following specific factors as barriers: student ability, teacher self-efficacy, personal interest, and the age of the student. Discussions about implications for practice and future research are included.