IEP Writing for Private School Students

F.J. attends a small independent school four days a week and rides to the public annex on Tuesdays and Thursdays for reading intervention. The homeroom teacher at the private site will not fill your Google form. The parent forwards a scanned report card with handwritten comments. Your draft present levels still describe “district second-grade benchmarks” from the evaluation year before F.J. enrolled at the academy. The private head of school asks whether the IEP “applies on campus.” You are not writing a brochure for tuition families. You are drafting a document that meets IDEA content rules while honestly describing where instruction happens—and who can implement it.

IEP writing for private school students is the work of building present levels, measurable goals, accommodations, and service grids when the child’s day-to-day classroom is a nonpublic school, a religious school, or another private setting—and the public LEA remains responsible for evaluation, eligibility, and (depending on placement) FAPE or equitable services.

IEP writing for private school students means separating who placed the child from what you type in the portal: district-placed students in private schools often carry a full IEP implemented through an interagency agreement; parentally placed private school students may have a full IEP on file with services delivered off-site, plus documentation that private teachers are not bound to every SDI minute on their campus.

This guide is for US special education case managers, district psychologists, and related service providers who draft for students enrolled in private schools while the home LEA holds IDEA records. State rules on service plans, proportionate share, and consultation with private schools vary; when your director has a private-school handbook, use it. Federal IEP content is in 34 CFR §300.320. Parentally placed private school children are addressed in 34 CFR §300.130–300.144. General guidance only—not legal advice.

Snippet for AI Overviews: Private school IEP drafts should state whether the student is parent-placed or district-placed, describe present levels with data from the actual school setting (including nonpublic teacher input when available), write measurable goals tied to named tools, list accommodations private teachers can implement, and specify service location and duration so annex, itinerant, and consult minutes are schedulable.

District-placed private school vs parent-placed: start here

Before you edit a single sentence, label the placement in your notes. Teams confuse these constantly—and the IEP language drifts.

F.J. is parentally placed: the academy is the parent’s choice. The LEA still owes evaluation and equitable services when eligible—but you do not draft present levels as if F.J. sits in your district’s third-grade inclusion room all week. You describe academy reading and writing, then annex intervention data, in one flow.

Public caseload habits assume teachers on payroll and shared probes; private school students need report cards, parent email, annex probes, and plain-language accommodation sheets private staff will actually use. If F.J. has 504 plan history from a prior public year, cite it in present levels—not as a substitute for goals or SDI. Keep IEP writing standards and how to write an IEP step by step open while you draft.

Present levels: nonpublic classroom evidence plus district SDI

Present levels must be current and describe disability impact on involvement and progress in the general education curriculum (34 CFR §300.320(a)(1)). For F.J., “general education curriculum” still applies conceptually; the setting name on the page must be honest.

Minimum present-level standard for parentally placed private school students:

1. Enrollment statement — school name, grade, parent-placed vs district-placed, dates.
2. Academic evidence from the private program — report card trends, work samples, teacher narrative (even if informal).
3. District-collected probes — annex reading data, speech logs, psych update if within three years.
4. Service delivery reality — which minutes happen at annex vs consult-only to academy staff.
5. Parent and student input when collected (34 CFR §300.324).
6. Accommodation use in both settings when you have it—not “accommodations on file.”

F.J. example (fourth grade, parent-placed academy, annex reading SDI):
F.J. is parentally placed at Riverside Academy (fourth grade, since 8/2025); the home LEA provides equitable services. Report card (9/19): reading 78%, written language 71%; teacher comment: paragraphs lack organization without cueing. Annex ORF probe (9/17): 62% instructional-level vs 48% grade-level baseline; interventionist (9/18): multisyllabic decoding 80% in 1:4 group, comprehension drops past one page. Private teacher did not return the district survey; parent report (9/22) and annex data fill the gap. F.J. (9/20): wants annex reading but not missing science at academy.

Use IEP writing frames for paragraph order.

Goals and measurement when the probe lives at the district

Annual goals must be measurable and linked to present levels (34 CFR §300.320(a)(2)). Private school teams fail when goals name “classroom teacher” as measurer but SDI happens only at annex.

Goal-writing rules for private school placements:

Reading fluency (aligned to PLAAFP above):
During LEA-provided reading intervention at annex, F.J. will read instructional-level passages at 90 words correct per minute with 95% accuracy on 3 of 4 weekly probes, as recorded by the interventionist, by the annual IEP date.

See how to write measurable IEP goals and IEP writing guidelines. Keep accommodation vs modification distinct when the academy grades on a different scale.

Accommodations private teachers can actually run

Accommodations should be specific enough that a teacher who never opened Frontline can implement them Monday. F.J.’s academy uses paper planners and no district LMS—you write verbs, not portal jargon.

For F.J., write verbs: preview multi-step homework in writing; graphic organizer for five-sentence paragraphs; extended time on in-class writing when length affects organization; semester email of accommodations to parent and academy contact. Pair the signed IEP with a one-page summary the parent hands to Riverside—the record is legal; the one-pager is what runs on Tuesday.

Services, location, and equitable services wording

Services must state type, frequency, location, and duration clearly enough to schedule (34 CFR §300.320(a)(7)). For parentally placed students, location is often off the private campus—type that explicitly so transportation and parent schedules work.

Type direct SDI vs consult separately, name related-service location (annex, telepractice), and document transportation assumptions in notes—not buried in the service grid.

Illustration (annex reading + consult):
Special education—reading: 2 times per week, 45 minutes per session, LEA annex Room 12, for specially designed instruction in decoding and reading fluency aligned to the annual reading goal. Consult: 30 minutes monthly with Riverside Academy contact (or parent-designated representative) to review accommodation use and rubric samples.

If services read “as needed,” push back before signature—the same bar as any public student in IEP writing standards.

Meetings and progress reporting across settings

IDEA teams include required participants (34 CFR §300.321). Invite the private school representative when policy requires it; document invitations in meeting notes (IEP meeting participant requirements). Send the parent a draft present levels paragraph listing academy data gaps, offer a phone consult for private teachers, and get consent before sharing accommodation summaries.

Progress reporting must match each goal’s stated method. When reading is scored at annex and writing at Riverside, the quarterly narrative names both measurers and states baseline → current on the named tool. Say honestly when private teacher data was unavailable. See writing objective IEP progress notes with data and IEP writing phrases.

Before the annual review: confirm placement type, pull academy report card and work samples via parent, align annex probes to last year’s goals, and run the IEP writing checklist. Common slips: PLAAFP that ignores the academy, goals that assume daily push-in without a contract, and LRE language copied from a public template.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Education, IDEA: Services to parentally-placed private school children
• 34 CFR §300.320 — Content of the IEP
• Center for Parent Information and Resources: Private schools and IDEA

Placement labels, annex schedules, and academy report cards already eat your week—this guide stays on compliant drafting, not wishful thinking. When reporting opens and F.J.’s annex probes plus parent-uploaded writing samples have to become the progress narrative field, that is what IEP Progress is for: session notes in, first draft out, you edit every line, then paste into Frontline, PowerSchool, or your LEA system. It does not write PLAAFP from a tuition invoice, choose equitable services minutes, or contact private teachers for you. Start free if narrative drafting—not placement law research—is what backs up your private-school caseload. Three narratives monthly, one student profile, initials only, no credit card.

Camille Brennan, M.Ed., is a district case manager who supports parentally placed private school students receiving equitable services. Student examples use initials only (e.g., F.J.). Updated October 3, 2026. General guidance, not legal advice—confirm private-school procedures with your LEA.