State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Deborah A. Gist

8 1 Shepard Building Commissioner
255 Westminster Street
Providence, Rhode Island 02903-3400

Individual Learning Plan (ILP) Framework

Purpose

The Individual Learning Plan (ILP) is a student directed planning and monitoring tool that customizes
learning opportunities throughout their secondary school experience, broadens their perspectives and
supports attainment of goals. The ILP documents students’ interests, needs, supports, course selections
(including access to college level programming), transition placements and other learning experiences
both in and out of school. This information produces a thoughtful program of study leading to
proficiency for graduation and post-secondary experiences.

The ILP, which supports personalization and proficiency in a culturally and linguistically responsive
manner, is a vital component of the Regents’ Secondary Regulations (RIDE, 2008). Research and
The design of the ILP process is research-based and includes both local and national resources:
best practices. The ILP process reflects articulation and collaboration among involved  ASCA
 Breaking Ranks
adults, within and across schools. As a working document, the ILP is at the center of  Turning Points
a flexible educational program. The ILP is more than a repository of information  Gysbers &
Henderson
about a student; it is a dynamic tool that maps academic plans, and reflects each
student’s unique set of interests, needs, learning goals and graduation requirements.
This document guides individual students’ development towards meeting the ASCA standards1 found in
the Rhode Island Framework for Comprehensive K-12 School Counseling Programs, culminating in
students’ achieving goals in three domains: academic, career, and personal/social.

Students who engage in the ILP process assume an active role in the mapping, assessment, and
reflection required when developing current and future academic, career, and personal/social goals.
Students’ involvement in concrete activities (interest inventories, individual learning style assessments,
goal setting, and internships) helps to demystify the process so that success is no longer viewed as
something bestowed upon individuals by outside forces. As students’ skills surrounding individual
planning improve, the process becomes more transparent, and manageable. The likelihood that students
will not only accept but embrace the responsibility of impacting their current and future plans increases.

The ILP must also coordinate with IEPs, 504s, PLPs, and ELL programs. The ILP supports changes in
instructional placements and key transitions including middle level to high school, high school to post-
secondary placement, and transfer across schools and districts. The ILP process engages all students in a
way that advances goal setting, decision-making, and self-advocacy skills that support their life-long
learning. This process promotes student responsibility and accountability for their learning by adopting
attitudes and learning behaviors that contribute to their success.

1
http://www.ade.az.gov/cte/Counselors/NationalStandards.pdf
Telephone (401) 222-4600 Fax (401) 222-6178 TTY 800-745-5555 Voice 800-745-6575

The Board of Regents does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, sex,
sexual orientation, race, religion, national origin, or disability
Roles and responsibilities

The ILP process is a collaborative effort shared by the student, the student’s family and involved
educators (not limited to school counselors).

Student: All students develop and maintain their ILPs with direction and support from
parents/families and school personnel. They develop an understanding of the purpose, process,
importance and use of an ILP in designing their learning opportunities. During this process,
students learn and practice the skills to become self-directed and advocate for their learning.
Through the ILP process, students are reflective individuals discovering and reflecting on their
strengths, personal interests and needs, and learn how to best use this understanding to promote
their success throughout their secondary years.

Educators: As active participants in the ILP process, all educators share responsibility for
facilitating development and implementation of the ILP, ensuring that students have regular and
multiple opportunities to review and revise goals, plans, and reflections. Educators use ILP data
to identify additional experiences that can lead students to meeting their goals, including course
selection and/or scheduling at the high school level.

Families: The ILP process must reflect the cultural and linguistic needs of a school community
in order to provide families with significant and meaningful information about their child as a
student that helps them support and advocate for their child’s success. Families have access to
their child’s ILP and are actively involved in the ILP process. This allows families to engage in
conversations with their children about their choices, learning experiences, and future goals and
allows for families to have input into their child’s education.

Local Educational Agencies (LEAs): Administrators within the LEA

LEA resources:
are responsible for developing policy that supports a culturally and  Time
linguistically responsive ILP process, including monitoring its  Professional
development
effectiveness. Further, LEAs support this process by providing adequate  Access to support
resources and by communicating with the learning community at large and technology

about the advantages of the ILP process.

Protocol and Logistics

Each student, beginning no later than entry into sixth grade, will have an ILP. The ILP document reflects
the developmental stage of the student and is consistent with regards to content and process within a
district and, at a minimum, reflects the requirements set within this framework.

The ILP is a confidential document; levels of access to the ILP are based on the role and responsibilities
of those accessing the document (some sections of the ILP can be shared, such as in advisory groups,
while respecting privacy as requested). Access to some sections of the ILP may be limited to the
student, the family, and involved educators (those providing direct educational and support services to
students). LEAs are advised to follow all Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA) and related privacy policies in the implementation of ILPs.

LEAs are responsible for developing an iterative and interactive ILP process that provides regular and
multiple opportunities for students to revise their ILP. Minimally, the frequency of review occurs prior
to the start of each semester. Students review their ILP by reflecting on past goals, revising and/or

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setting goals, and developing plans to meet these goals. The ILP process documents students’
progression and growth through middle level, high school and into post secondary while meeting their
academic, career and personal/social goals. Ultimately, this process communicates whether or not
students are meeting their goals and are successfully progressing toward promotion or graduation.
Involved school personnel and family members help facilitate this process.

LEAs monitor the effectiveness of the ILP process by using student data: for example, discipline and
attendance data, promotion and graduation rates, transition/post-school outcome data, the effectiveness
of targeted supports connected to student needs and goals, student questionnaires that ask students to
reflect on the value of the ILP process, and educator and parental questionnaires that garner ideas for
improving the process.

Components

The following components must be structured to include guiding prompts and probing questions that
enhance students’ goal setting, planning and reflective skills. Further, the ILP includes sufficient space
for students to document their goals, plans and reflections.

Academic domain:
All students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge and skills that contribute Learning opportunities:
to effective learning in school and across their life span. They will complete  AP courses
 Dual enrollment
school with the academic preparation essential to choose from a range of  Internships
post-secondary options, including work and post-secondary education; they  Extended learning
 Early enrollment
will understand the relationship of academics to the world of work and to  ELL
life at home and in the community (ASCA, 2003)  Service learning
 Work-related
experiences
The academic component of the ILP minimally documents these features: Supports for learning:
 Short and long term
goal setting, planning, reflection (the “so what” of learning experiences), interventions –
course selection, course audit, monitoring for meeting proficiency Response to
Intervention (RTI)
requirements, transitions and transition planning. The ILP should also  IEP
include lists of accommodations, learning strategies, programs and other  PLP
 504
opportunities that support all students meeting proficiency requirements.

Career domain:
All students will acquire the skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of
self and to make informed career decisions. They will employ strategies to achieve future career
goals with success and satisfaction and they will understand the relationship between personal
qualities, education, training and the world of work (ASCA, 2003).

The career related activities that must be documented by students in their ILP include: goal
setting, career exploration and awareness, plans for attaining career goal(s), and reflections.
When appropriate, internships and work-related experiences and skills must also be documented.

Personal/social domain:
All students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes and interpersonal skills to help them
understand and respect self and others. They will make informed decisions, set goals and take
necessary action to achieve their goals (ASCA, 2003).

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 The personal/social component of the ILP minimally documents these features: exploring
interests and activities, addressing needs, setting goals, continually reflecting upon decisions that
will determine life actions.

Transition planning:
Secondary transition
The ILP process shall ensure that all students are provided with planning:
opportunities to develop and revise transition goals that include  Reference to specific
supports/programs
successfully moving from middle level to high school, from school to provided
school and from high school to post-secondary opportunities. Involved  Educational/career
goals/interests
educators, students and their families will agree to and document the  Program of study
necessary supports, programs, resources and placement to help students
Post-secondary transition
progress through grade levels. At the appropriate time, the ILP process will planning:
provide meaningful opportunities to develop informed post-secondary goals  Next placement (work,
school, military)
by reviewing assessments and activities in which students have participated  Necessary supports
in over the years.

The transition planning component of the ILP minimally documents: educational, career goals
and interests, the existence of specific supports or programs provided to the student (i.e. IEP,
504, ELL, PLP or others), scheduling considerations or other pertinent information necessary to
assist students in successful transitions. Post-secondary transition plans document students’ next
placement and how it relates to their career pathway (work, apprenticeships, technical schools,
college, and military service) and necessary supports.

The ILP is a transferable document and must follow students when they move from grade to
grade, school to school, district to district; additionally, the ILP must be given to students as they
transition to post-secondary placements.

Family Engagement: Examples of family engagement

Families are engaged in helping their children through well-established activities:
interactions that support them in school and prepare them for the future.  Homework monitoring
 Reviewing and discussing
student goals
The family component of the ILP should document these features but are  ILP comment section sign-
off
not limited to: evidence of family participation and a list of prompts that  Participation in Post
guide conversations between the student and his/her family. secondary Planning
Activities

References

American School Counselor Association. (2003). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs.
Alexandria, VA: Author.

Rhode Island Department of Education (2005). The Rhode Island Framework for Comprehensive School Counseling
Programs. Retrieved from http://www.rischoolcounselor.org/RIFramework_web.pdf

Rhode Island Department of Education. (2008). Regulations of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary
Education. In Office of Middle and High School Reform. Retrieved from
http://www.ride.ri.gov/Regents/Docs/RegentsRegulations/HS%20Regulations%20September,%202008.pdf

U.S. Department of Education (2008). Family Educational Rights and Privacy. Retrieved from
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/finrule/2008-4/120908a.pdf

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ILP Glossary
Accommodations
A change in the learning or testing conditions that support students meeting, but not changing the
expected outcome

American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

The national association that supports school counselors' efforts to help students focus on
academic, personal/social and career development so they achieve success in school and are
prepared to lead fulfilling lives as responsible members of society

Advisory
A supportive and stable student peer group that meets regularly with an adult advisor who is
responsible for creating and nurturing a caring environment for academic guidance and support;
is a requirement for Middle Level and a suggested personalization strategy for High Schools

Comprehensive School Counseling

School counseling program that integrates the functions/activities of counseling and guidance
with school-wide personalization strategies

Confidential document
Contains information about a student that may be associated with privacy issues protected under
state or federal law (i.e. disclosure of a disability, private family information, etc.), protocols are
needed to ensure that privacy is maintained

Culturally and linguistically responsive

Showing the ability to understand, communicate, relate, and provide effective services to
students and families with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds and experiences

Domains
Three areas (academic, career, and personal/social) described in the ASCA Standards and the
ASCA National Model that support students attaining their goals

Early College Access Programs

Include dual enrollment, Early Enrollment Program, JumpStart, Advanced Placement, etc. where
appropriate

English Language Learners (ELL) program

Programs that serve students who have a first language other than English, are in the process of
acquiring English, and are not yet able to profit fully from English-only instruction

Individual Education Plan (IEP)

A document developed for a child with a disability that represents a student's present levels of
academic and functional performance and describes appropriate goals and supports to assist the
student in reaching those goals within the least restrictive environment and requires measurement
of progress towards those goals.

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Involved adults
Adults who have an educational interest in and who provide supports to a particular child

Local Educational Agency (LEA)

Public board of education/school committee or other public authority legally constituted within
the State for either administrative control or direction of one or more Rhode Island public
elementary schools or secondary schools

Learning strategies
Variety of approaches used by educators and students to optimize learning

Multiple opportunities
Sufficient occasions for students to meet proficiency or other expectations/requirements

Personalization
Personalization is a learning process in which schools help students assess their own talents and
aspirations, plan a pathway toward their own purposes, work cooperatively with others on
challenging tasks, maintain a record of their explorations, and demonstrate learning against clear
standards in a wide variety of media, all with the close support of adult mentors and guides
(Clarke, 2003). In Rhode Island, every middle level and high school student is assigned a
responsible adult, in addition to a school counselor to provide this support.

Proficiency
A measure of a student’s knowledge and skill demonstrated in a consistent manner across
multiple disciplines in various settings over time

Response-to-Intervention (RTI)
A school wide instruction and intervention system that utilizes screening and progress-
monitoring data to make data based educational decisions to maximize student achievement.

Rhode Island School Counselor Association (RISCA)

A state association that promotes excellence in the school counseling profession along with the
development of all students

Section 504 Plan

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provides qualified students with disabilities a free an
appropriate public education (FAPE). A 504 plan documents the supports and accommodations
necessary for a student to receive FAPE.

Service learning
Participants engage in meaningful and personally relevant service activities that meet rigorous
Academic standards

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