Guide to Process and Standards for Writing Behavioral IEP Goals

This article is written to present a process and standards for writing IEP goals related to behavior challenges. The attached forms provide two examples and a form that can be used in preparation for writing goals to be placed into Indiana’s IEP format. The goals provided should be looked at as simply examples. In your real work and before writing behavior goals, staff will need to understand present levels of performance (PLOP) and have a deeper understanding of the behavior through the FBA process. The functional behavioral assessment process will inform staff where, when and with whom the behavior is most and least likely to occur. It should also highlight skill deficits, learning styles and point to the forms of systematically designed instruction that will be most helpful, including what reinforces the student. Present levels of performance should inform the metric used, baseline for the student, and skills that can be built upon. It is important to know all pieces before you begin writing a goal.