High Quality IEPs

09/29/2026

🏁 We’ve reached the final letter in ASCEND!
Over the past several weeks, we’ve explored the skills that help students know themselves, use their voice, participate, make choices, and move toward their goals.

Now we arrive at:
D — Determination

Determination isn’t simply “never giving up.”
It’s the ongoing choice to stay connected to yourself and what matters—even when progress is uneven or circumstances change.

Students practice determination when they:
🎯 Focus on their goals and effort
❤️ Stay grounded in their self-worth
🔄 Make adjustments instead of giving up
🌱 Return to and refine strategies over time
Most importantly, challenges don't define a student's worth. Determination allows students to pause, reflect, adjust, seek support, and choose their next step with intention.

💭 This week’s reflection:
How are we helping students stay connected to their goals and their sense of self when things get difficult?

09/25/2026

🧭 What does Navigation have to do with the IEP?

A lot.

The IEP itself is a system—and students can learn how to navigate it.

Navigation skills can help students:

🗺️ Understand what an IEP is, who is involved, and how decisions are made.
🧰 Identify accommodations, services, tools, and people that support them.
🎯 Break goals into steps and make choices about strategies.
📈 Monitor their progress and think about what comes next.
🔄 Recognize when something isn't working, ask for support, and adjust their approach.

Navigation isn't about expecting students to figure everything out alone.

It's about helping students understand the system and learn how to use the people, tools, resources, and strategies available to them.

That can help students take a more active role in their learning and their IEP journey.

🌱 The goal isn't independence from support. It's knowing how to navigate with support.

https://sites.google.com/sdcoe.net/hqiepsascend?usp=sharing

09/24/2026

✨ ASCEND in Action: Try It!

When a student gets stuck, our instinct may be to jump in and solve the problem.

Navigation gives us another option:

Coach the student through what comes next.

Try asking:

🚧 What’s getting in the way?
🧭 What are your options?
🧰 Who or what could help?
➡️ What will you try next?

Then give the student space to think, choose, try, and adjust.

Over time, experiences like these can help students learn to recognize barriers, use available supports, make thoughtful decisions, and revise a plan when something isn't working.

🌱 This week’s challenge: The next time a student is stuck, try asking a question before providing the solution.

09/21/2026

🧭 We’re continuing to ASCEND!

We’ve explored Awareness, Self-Advocacy, Confidence, and Expression. This week, we’re moving forward with:

N — Navigation

Navigation is about helping students understand the systems, expectations, and choices around them—and learn how to move within them effectively.

Students build Navigation skills when they learn to:

🗺️ Understand systems and expectations
🧰 Identify and use supports and relationships
🧭 Make decisions connected to their goals
🔄 Adjust and problem-solve when things don’t go as planned

And Navigation does not mean doing everything on your own.

It means knowing who, what, and which strategies can help you move forward.

💭 This week’s reflection:
Are we simply helping students get through systems—or teaching them how to navigate those systems themselves?

Follow along this week as we put Navigation into action!

09/18/2026

💬 What does Expression have to do with the IEP?

Expression helps students turn what they know about themselves into a voice that others can understand.

Throughout the IEP journey, expression can help students:

💬 Share their thoughts, needs, and goals

🎨 Use different ways to communicate what they know, want, and need

⭐ Share their strengths, interests, preferences, and perspectives

🤝 Work with others and build relationships

🎯 Take a more active role in their IEP journey

And meaningful expression doesn’t have to mean speaking in front of a room.

A student might talk, write, draw, use visuals, prepare notes, use assistive tools, or communicate in another way that works for them. Offering multiple ways to participate can expand access and help students more accurately communicate their perspectives.

That’s an important reminder for all of us:

Student voice isn’t about how a student communicates. It’s about making sure the student has a way to communicate.

💜 When students can express themselves, they can participate more fully and help shape their IEP journey and future.

https://sites.google.com/sdcoe.net/hqiepsascend?usp=sharing

09/16/2026

✨ ASCEND in Action: Try It!

If we want students to express themselves, we need to create opportunities—and multiple ways—for them to do it.

Try these four practices:

💬 Ask open-ended questions.
“What do you think?”
“What matters to you?”

🎨 Offer choices for expression.
Talking, writing, drawing, visuals, technology, or other supports can all be ways to communicate.

🤝 Create safe opportunities to share.
Give students the time, space, and structure they need to contribute.

👂 Use and model active listening.
Show students through our response that their ideas and perspectives matter.

Your Expression Playbook emphasizes offering multiple modes of expression, creating authentic opportunities for students to share their perspectives and preferences, and modeling communication strategies.

🌱 This week’s challenge: Before asking a student to share, ask yourself:

“Am I giving this student a way to express themselves that works for them?”

Because when students feel heard, they’re more likely to share.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xUyIrUg8IqYi6Lr7Xwt6UOcmTfIeCVHQ/view?usp=sharing

09/14/2026

💜 We’re continuing to ASCEND!

We’ve explored Awareness, Self-Advocacy, and Confidence. This week, we’re adding the next element:

E — Expression

Expression is about sharing your thoughts, feelings, needs, strengths, and ideas with others in ways that feel true to you and fit the moment.

Expression can look different for every student. It might mean:

💬 Sharing ideas clearly
🎨 Using words, actions, visuals, or tools to communicate
⭐ Showing who they are—their strengths, interests, and preferences
🔄 Adjusting how they communicate for different people and situations

The goal isn’t for every student to communicate in the same way.

The goal is for every student to have meaningful ways to be seen, heard, and understood.

💭 This week’s reflection:
How many different ways can students use their voice in your classroom?

Follow along this week as we put Expression into action!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xUyIrUg8IqYi6Lr7Xwt6UOcmTfIeCVHQ/view?usp=sharing

09/11/2026

Excited to be a part of this fabulous resource! Thank you for including the High Quality IEPs Project!

The Fall 2026 edition of The Special EDge Newsletter is here! This issue, “Inclusive College for All,” explores how high expectations, meaningful pathways, and inclusive postsecondary opportunities can help students with disabilities thrive in college, careers, and beyond. Read the new edition today!
🔗 bit.ly/SPEDgeFall26
Riverside COE El Dorado County Office of Education California Department of Ed. California Collaborative for Educational Excellence California Statewide System of Support (SSOS) LACOE - Division of Special Education Stephanie Coleman High Quality IEPs Santa Clara County Office of Education Pathways to Partnership West End SELPA

09/11/2026

💬 What does Confidence have to do with the IEP?

Confidence can help students move from simply being present in the IEP process to increasingly seeing themselves as valued members of the team.

As confidence grows, students may be more willing to:

⭐ Share what they know they can do
🙋 Try new strategies and supports
🧗 Persist as they work toward their goals
💡 Share their ideas and perspectives
📈 Recognize and talk about their progress
🤝 Participate in decisions about their learning

But confidence doesn’t suddenly appear when a student walks into an IEP meeting.

We build it through everyday experiences.

Create safe opportunities to try. Normalize mistakes as part of learning. Recognize effort and strategy. Make progress visible. Help students reflect on what they’ve learned about themselves.

These experiences can help students take initiative, express their goals and perspectives, and participate more meaningfully in shared decision-making throughout the IEP journey.

🌱 Confidence grows when students know themselves, learn from experience, and trust that their voice and choices matter.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16RekxlAxCOUVv7JviMVsVgQvPG-5ADfe/view
https://sites.google.com/sdcoe.net/hqiepsascend?usp=sharing

09/09/2026

✨ ASCEND in Action: Try It!

Want to help build student confidence? Go beyond saying “You can do it!” and help students see evidence of their own growth.

Try asking:

⭐ What are you proud of?
🔎 What can you do now that was hard before?
🧠 What helped you keep going?
➡️ What will you try next?

Then make their growth visible. Compare work samples, revisit a goal, look at progress data, or simply name a strategy the student can now use independently.

When students can recognize their own progress, confidence becomes more than encouragement—it becomes something they have evidence to believe.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16RekxlAxCOUVv7JviMVsVgQvPG-5ADfe/view
🌱 This week’s challenge: Help one student notice progress they may not have noticed themselves.