Progress Monitoring of IEP Goals: A Legal Analysis and Recommendations for Practice

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that the annual goals included in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) be monitored to determine progress toward those goals. The IEP team is required to meet at least annually to review the IEP and to revise the IEP to address any lack of expected progress toward the annual goals. Due to the lack of a reasonable progress standard and guidance for evaluating the adequacy of the IEP, progress monitoring practices are inconsistent and often incongruent with the legislative intent. A qualitative, interpretive content analysis of legal decisions from state administrative, district and circuit court decisions was employed to explore the procedural and substantive violations of the progress monitoring IDEA requirements. The findings are presented in three themes, and recommendations for improving progress monitoring practices are offered.