Teaching Assistant/Paraprofessional Documentation on the IEP

There are two major roles that paraprofessionals perform in special education including:

 

1.       A program or behavior management teaching assistant/paraprofessional that is assigned to a special education program or school.  These paraprofessionals are assigned to different students or small groups of students.

 

2.       A 1:1 teaching assistant/paraprofessional that is assigned to work with a specific special education student for a set amount of time to perform specific duties.

 

A teaching assistant/paraprofessional assigned to a program or school (#1) should be reported under the “Adaptations” section of the IEP on page 3.  Write a statement indicating that an adult will be available to assist with feeding, behavior management, toileting, or other duties that the paraprofessional is necessary for.  Do not report any minutes (e.g., up to 900 minutes) on the IEP.

 

A 1:1 paraprofessional (#2) should be reported under the services provided on page 1 of the IEP.  Indicate the minutes of service that the student will receive.  Under the “Adaptations” section, also include a statement describing the student-related duties that the paraprofessional will be performing.