Last Updated on October 16, 2023 by Editorial Team
Many things might be similar in the quest to understand the realms of education. IEP (Individualized Education Program) and ILP (Individual Learning Plan) are two terms that are different in nature, implementation, and outcomes, yet sound vaguely similar. Both programs are created for school-going children and to ensure better education. Read further to get a better understanding of what each includes.
What is an IEP?
The Individual Education Program Plan (IEP) is a written plan created by the special education department of the school, along with inputs from parents. The plan specifies the student’s academic goals and the method to achieve them. The law IDEA mandates that the school district brings together parents, students, general teachers, special educators, and other specialists to make decisions that would be reflected in the IEP.
The IEP is created and shared with the child’s guardians a week before the meeting. The IEP team is encouraged to ask questions, request modifications, and change goals within reasons. It will focus on the area of disabilities and how it affects the educational and emotional well-being of the child.
IDEIA (Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 2014) is a federal law designed to spell out how the local education authority (LEA) will attend to the deficits identified in the Evaluation Report (ER). It will define how the programs will be provided, who and where the services will be provided, and how the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) will be created for the child.
Along with LRE, the plan will list out the adaptations required. It may also mention the modification to the curriculum needed by the child to flourish academically. The IEP also designates services required by the child to function better. This may include services like speech pathology, physical therapy, or occupational therapy. The plan also creates a transition plan for the students when they reach the age of sixteen.
IEPs are a part of public education, though they cannot follow the student to college. Kids aged 3 and up attending public school are eligible for IEP. Non-school-going babies and toddlers can get services through early intervention. To be eligible for an IEP, a student must have one or more of the 13 conditions covered under IDEA, which also distort their ability to learn and grow like their peers.
What is an ILP?
Individual Learning Plans, or ILPs, are achieving traction as a plan for encouraging students’ college and career readiness and success. ILPs are also known as student success plans, academic and career plans, and individual career and academic plans. These student-directed plans developed with teachers, counselors, and parents document students’ academic and career interests.
ILPs are not recent developments but have been around since the 1990s, with West Virginia being one of the early adopters of the plan. The recent mandate by 704 KAR 3305 demands that the individual learning plan for each student’s development be established within the first 3 months of the sixth-grade year. The plan must be focused on career exploration, post-secondary education, and training needs.
The ILP has various features and resources that engage students on multiple levels:
- Scouting careers starting in the 6th grade
- Discovering occupations that correspond to their aptitudes and interests
- Making education plans
- Setting personal goals and reviewing these as they advance through school
- Forming, maintaining, and revising resumes
- Tracking and meditating on their employment experiences, community service experiences, career-planning activities, and extra-curricular and organizational training
- Researching colleges and post-secondary prospects that fit their career, after-school, and life goals
- Connecting to organizations for help with college planning, scholarships, fee assistance information, and applications
- Gathering personal information like examination results, advising activities, demographic data, and academic record
A study by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy has shown ILPs as a powerful tool that helps students become more involved in their educational experience. The paper suggests practices supporting ILP implementation, including access to online career information systems, professional growth, ILP curricula, and inclusion.
The research shows the significance of ensuring family engagement. Furthermore, research suggests that ILP implementation results in higher aspirations and greater engagement in school. Positive attention and involvement of caretakers in ILP are linked with student accomplishment as calculated by grades, standardized test scores, and increased graduation rates.
ILPs represent both a procedure and a tool to record that procedure. As a procedure, ILPs entitle learners to scour post-secondary opportunities, recognizing and characterizing career interests and the aptitudes required for career success. Along with the guidance of guardians, school teachers, and counselors, the students set intentional out-of-school goals. These include goals like getting work, apprenticeships, technical schools, college, military service, internships, and other necessary supports that align with career and life goals.
The ILP process records students’ advancement and transitions through middle, high, and post-secondary classes while satisfying their educational, employment, and personal goals. The ILP document will be reevaluated annually to create informed post-secondary goals by reviewing assessments and activities in which learners have participated throughout the years. Finally, this process conveys whether students are fulfilling their purposes and are successfully moving toward graduation.
ILPs are also a tool to record and track student advancement and achievement of skills. The ILP document echoes the developmental stage of the learner. Examples of the range of information that an ILP may record include:
- Present and past classes, activities, and hobbies
- Grades, test scores, and results from career aptitude assessments
- Personal goal statements
- College financial planning activities like applying for scholarships, or tuition relief
Key similarities
1. Eligibility
Both programs promise to serve the best interest of the students, with slight differences in implementation and particular goals. The IEP can be claimed by any school-going child with a disability aged three and above. If the toddler is not school-going, they can still get an IEP through early intervention. IEP has to be created within a month of the child being found eligible and then carried on to the future academic years.
The ILP is mandatory for all school-going students entering sixth grade. It has to be created within three months of entering the school. Similar to IEP, ILP shall be carried on to the higher classes with changes according to the interest and growth of the child. All school-going children have a right to ILP or IEP according to their needs and requirements.
2. Documentation and Goals
Like the IEP, ILP is also a documented plan made in collaboration with students, parents, and the school. Both the ILP and IEP include a process and tools to assess and document student skills and interests. Just like IEP, ILPs require that plans be updated regularly (usually annually) to ensure that plans remain appropriate for any emerging student interests and goals. In terms of goals, both ILPs and IEPs focus on academic goals and career-related personal goals.
3. Transition Services
Both ILP and IEP offer transition planning to adolescent kids getting ready to venture into the adult phase of their lives. ILP as a plan is designed to cater to transition planning, while IEP is more holistic. Regardless, IEP has a transition plan built into the program for students with disabilities who avail of IEP services. In both the plans the transition programme and discussion begin when the child reaches sixteen years old.
It can be started earlier if need be. The IEP transition plan and ILP transition plan are created by the education staff who assist with counseling, identifying vocational interests, educational and vocational planning, goal setting, pre-vocational skills training, academic support, and links to specific programs and services. Students eligible for special education intervention can have an ILP and an IEP.
The goals in the IEP transition plan and ILP transition plan identify what a learner wants to do or accomplish after high school. Objectives can be in four areas:
- Vocational training (e.g., learning a trade)
- Post-secondary education (e.g., college or other form of schooling)
- Careers and Employment
- Independent living, if required (usually for Students with Special Needs)
Once transition goals are set, the team will decide what assistance a student needs to meet goals. Here are a few examples of the services:
- Instruction (including special education)
- Related services
- Community experiences, like volunteer work
- Career and college counseling
- Help with daily living skills, if required (usually for Students with Special Needs)
As a student gets older, they prepare for the change to adulthood. At least a year before a teen turns the age of majority — 18 in most states — the team must start preparing for the transfer of IEP or ILP documents. Students who graduate from or leave high school also get a performance summary. This document lists academic and functional skills. It also offers recommendations for achieving post-secondary goals.
Significant differences
| IEP | ILP | |
| Eligibility | The IEP majorly addresses the child’s academic achievement and functional performance. The IEP identifies all the child’s needs, how the school will meet these needs, and how the school will measure the child’s progress. The transitioning planning is a part that begins when the child reaches the age of 16. | Unlike IEP, for which the eligibility is narrowed to a list of disabilities, ILP is meant for all students entering middle school. |
| Goals | The IEP majorly addresses the child’s academic achievement and functional performance. The IEP identify all the child’s needs, how the school will meet these needs, and how the school will measure the child’s progress. The transitioning planning is a part that begins when the child reaches the age of 16. | Since ILPs kick in the beginning of middle school (11-13 years) it focuses more on academic goals (both secondary and post-secondary), career goals, and career-related personal goals. |
Final thoughts
IEP and ILP are essential tools for learners and guardians to ensure they get the best out of the education system. These plans were created to ensure that all access to quality education was made fair and available. They create an environment conducive to the student’s academic growth, make learning fun, and guarantee a path to happy schooling and subsequent higher education.
IEP and ILP give rights to parents and students to claim for the plan and are federally protected. It also helps to make schools and other educational institutions accountable for delivering the services promised and mandated. It must be noted that once the schooling of the child is done IEP or ILP stops and so do transition planning services. However, if transition planning is done properly and the goals are accomplished satisfactorily, the young person should be equipped to take on the next phases of adulthood with relative ease.
Sharlet Mary Sebastian is a special educator specialising in working with Children with intellectual disability. After completing her Bachelor’s in Special Education, she has worked in school setups creating effective IEPs, counselling parents, and nurturing an environment of learning for children under her care. A strong advocate for inclusion in all walks of life, especially in academic and workplace settings, she believes that learning shouldn’t be rigid and unschooling is the new schooling. Before venturing into education, Sharlet worked as a writer for a few years. When not engaged in teaching, she still dabbles as a freelance writer for causes closer to her heart. Her preferred way to unspool is a good book and a cup of piping hot tea. You can follow me on Linkedin