Student Education Plan
As you develop your family’s Family Education Plan, it will make it easier for you to communicate with your child’s teacher about what is important to you as a parent and what your goals are for your child. The Student Education Plan (SEP) and Student Education/Occupation Plan (SEOP) conferencing models are ideal places for you to help the school understand your child better and for you to learn what you can do in your Family Education Plan to support the learning your child is doing at school.
Student Education Plan or SEP is Utah’s format for Parent-Teacher Conferences at the elementary school level. This is a time when the parent(s) and their child sit down with the teacher to discuss what the student’s strengths and interests are and what would be the best approach to take to make sure they learn the things they need to that year. It is important that the child’s parent has thought about what their child is good at and what goals they would like see their child meet during the school year. During the SEP the teacher, student and parent talk about what they can each do to support the student’s learning.
An SEP should include:
- Learning about the student
- Showing evidence of student learning
- Working together to set goals
- Celebrating the student’s progress
Student Education/Occupation Plan or SEOP is a process used at the Junior High/Middle School and High School levels to help students identify their strengths and to help them plan and manage their education so they can be ready for what they would like to do after high school. This is an excellent way to help students and parents see how the things the student is doing in school are preparing them for the future.
The process includes:
- Assessments to help students identify their strengths, interests and abilities
- Guidance information taught in regular classes to help students with career and further education exploration and life planning
- Creation of a 4-year plan to help the student to prepare for their next step after high school
- A portfolio where the student can put examples of their best work to show future employers or schools
An Individual Education Plan or IEP is for children who have been identified with special needs and have been put in a Special Education Program. This plan is put together with input from a team including the teacher, the parents, the principal, and anyone who is giving the child special services. The goal is to come up with a plan that identifies strategies that will help the child reach his or her full potential during the school year. The Federal Government requires this plan for any child in Special Education and parents are very important to the process.