Required IEP Sections in Tennessee
What sections are required in an IEP in Tennessee?
Tennessee IEPs must include all components required by federal law (34 CFR 300.320) as implemented through Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-09-.12. Every IEP must contain: present levels of academic achievement and functional performance; measurable annual goals; a description of how progress toward goals will be measured and reported; a statement of special education, related services, supplementary aids and services, and program modifications; an explanation of the extent to which the child will not participate with nondisabled peers; individual accommodations for state and district assessments (or a statement that the child will take an alternate assessment and why); projected start dates and frequency, location, and duration of services; and transition services beginning at age 14. Tennessee's transition planning age of 14 is lower than the federal baseline of 16 — rule 0520-01-09-.12(2)(b)-(c) requires postsecondary goals and transition services in the first IEP in effect when the student turns fourteen. Tennessee follows the federal IEP content structure without additional state-mandated sections beyond federal requirements, with services documented through the Tennessee IEP process system.
What Tennessee Requires
The IEP must include a statement of the child's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including how the disability affects involvement in the general education curriculum (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-09-.12; 34 CFR 300.320(a)(1)).
The IEP must include measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals, designed to meet the child's needs from the disability and enable progress in the general education curriculum (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-09-.12; 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)).
For children taking alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards, the IEP must include benchmarks or short-term objectives (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-09-.12; 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)(ii)).
The IEP must include a description of how and when progress toward annual goals will be measured and reported to parents (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-09-.12; 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3)).
The IEP must specify all special education, related services, supplementary aids and services, and program modifications, including projected start date and anticipated frequency, location, and duration (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-09-.12; 34 CFR 300.320(a)(4)-(7)).
For students aged 14 and older (Tennessee-specific, lower than federal age-16 threshold), the IEP must include appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based on age-appropriate transition assessments, transition services, and courses of study (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-09-.12(2)(b)-(c)).
Beginning at least one year before the student reaches the age of majority (18), the IEP must include a statement that the student has been informed of rights that will transfer at age 18 (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-09-.21; 34 CFR 300.320(c)).
Key Timelines
The IEP must be implemented as soon as possible after development; if no agreement was reached, no change in IEP or eligibility shall be made for 14 days to afford the parent time to request a due process hearing (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-09-.12(3)).
The IEP must be in effect at the beginning of each school year (34 CFR 300.323(a)).
The IEP must be reviewed and revised at least annually (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-09-.12; 34 CFR 300.324(b)).
For a student who transfers from another Tennessee LEA, the receiving district must provide comparable services and adopt the previous IEP or develop a new one (34 CFR 300.323(e)).
For a student who transfers from out of state, the receiving Tennessee district must provide comparable services and develop a new IEP if appropriate (34 CFR 300.323(f)).