My child’s IEP goals are vague and cannot be measured
The goal on the page says your child ‘will improve reading comprehension’ or ‘will show better self-control’, with no starting point, no target number and no way to tell whether it has been met. No: each annual goal has to be measurable, and the IEP has to say how progress toward it will be measured and when you will hear about it (34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)(i) and (a)(3)). Start by pulling the IEP page or the letter the dispute turns on and writing down today’s date; every move below adds to that record.
What the rule says
“A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals designed to … Meet the child’s needs that result from the child’s disability to enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum”
34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)(i)(A)
The district owes you a number and a method for every goal; a goal you cannot count is a page that needs rewriting.
What to do this week, in order
Copy each goal into four columns: starting point, target, how it is counted, and the date it is due.
One row per goal, with the blanks visible
Pull the present levels page and the last progress report, and mark every goal whose report shows no number beside it.
Present levels and progress reports, marked34 CFR 300.320(a)(1), (a)(3)
Email the case manager the paragraph below, naming one goal and the target you want written into it.
A dated request naming the goal
Draft the rewritten goal yourself, with a baseline from the present levels and a target the school can count.
Your version of the goal, on paper34 CFR 300.324(a)(1)(ii)
Ask for a meeting to rewrite the goals, or agree in writing to amend the IEP without one, and get the revised copy.
A meeting date, or the signed amendment page34 CFR 300.324(a)(4), (a)(6)
What to put in writing
Replace what sits in brackets and send it by email, so the date is fixed.
- To
- The case manager, and whoever chairs the IEP team
Dear [Case manager’s name], The [subject] goal on page [page] of the IEP for [Child’s name], dated [IEP date], gives no starting point, no target and no method for counting progress, so the [most recent] progress report tells me nothing about whether it is being met. Please send me the data behind that report, and either a meeting date to rewrite the goal or a written amendment adding a baseline, a target number and how it will be measured. Should the district decide the goal stays as written, please put that refusal in a prior written notice that cites 300.503, with the reasons. Kind regards, [Your name]
If the answer is no, it arrives as prior written notice: what was refused, why, and the records the district relied on (34 CFR 300.503(b)).
When to escalate, and to whom
Escalate when the written answer is a no, or when the record you built this week draws no answer at all.
| The path | The count | How it runs |
|---|---|---|
| A state complaint | 60 days to a decision | A signed letter to your state education agency about a violation inside the past year; the state decides in writing within 60 days.34 CFR 300.152(a), 300.153(c) |
| Mediation | Voluntary, at no cost to you | You and the district sit with an impartial mediator the state pays for; it can start before any complaint and may not delay a hearing.34 CFR 300.506(b) |
| A due process complaint | 2 years to file | A hearing before an impartial officer; the district holds a resolution meeting within 15 days, and the decision is due 45 days after the 30-day resolution period.34 CFR 300.507(a)(2), 300.510(a)(1), 300.515(a) |
Those counts are IDEA’s; your state may set its own window for due process, and publishes its own complaint form.
This page explains the federal rule, and it does not replace your state’s procedures, or advice from someone qualified to read your file.
Have the pages this dispute is about read back to you, free.
The review reads every page you upload, names the service, goal or wording that is vague or missing, and gives you its page number.
Review my IEP — freeFree, no card. It reads your pages and contacts no one.
Where this comes from
- What an IEP contains (34 CFR 300.320)The words quoted above, and (a)(3).
- How an IEP is developed and amended (34 CFR 300.324)Your concerns, and amending without a meeting.
- Endrew F. Q&A on ambitious goals (OSEP, 2017)Questions 13 and 15, on stalled progress.
- Prior written notice (34 CFR 300.503)What every no owes you.
When the paragraph needs to become a full letter, the letter templates carry one for each request.