Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC)

What is an Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC)?

An Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) is a legal committee of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. It is mandated under Regulation 181/98 of the Education Act. An IPRC is composed of at least 3 people, one of whom must be the school principal or a supervisory officer of the Board. Parents/guardians are invited and encouraged to attend the meeting.

What does the IPRC do?

• Decides whether or not a student should be identified as exceptional
• Identifies the student's exceptionality according to the categories and definitions of exceptionalities provided by the Ministry of Education
• After considering the options available, decides on an appropriate placement for the student, based on individual strengths and needs
• Reviews the identification and placement at least once in each school year.
  

  Placements Available

  Placement	Description
  A regular class with indirect support	The student is placed in a regular class for the entire day, and the teacher receives specialized consultative services.
  A regular class with resource assistance	The student is placed in the regular class for most or all of the day and receives specialized instruction, individually or in a small group, within the regular classroom from a qualified special education teacher.
  A regular class with withdrawal assistance	The student is placed in the regular class and receives instruction outside of the classroom for less than 50 per cent of the school day, from a qualified special education teacher.
  A special education class with partial integration	The student is placed by the IPRC in a special education class (Learning and Life Skills) where the student-teacher ratio conforms to the standards in O. Reg. 298, section 31, for at least 50 per cent of the school day, but is integrated with a regular class for at least one instructional period daily.
  A full-time special education class	The student is placed by the IPRC in a special education class (Primary Communications Class) where the student-teacher ratio conforms to Regulation 298, section 31, for the entire school day.

When would a student be identified by the IPRC?

Students would be identified through an Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) in the following circumstances: 

• The student has a developmental disability and is being placed in a Learning and Life Skills class
• The student is being placed in a Provincial or Demonstration School
• The parents/guardians have requested the IPRC meeting in writing to the principal
• The school staff believe that it is in the best interests of the student to be identified.

How to Request an IPRC meeting

Parents/guardians have the right to request an IPRC meeting. The request must be in writing and sent to the child's school principal. Upon receiving the written request, the principal must:

• acknowledge, in writing, the request within 15 school days

• provide parents/guardians with a copy of the KPRDSB IPRC Guide for Parents/Guardians, and
• include a written statement of approximately when the IPRC will meet.

Before the IPRC meeting will be held, the principal or chairperson of the committee will provide parents/guardians with written notice of when the IPRC meeting shall meet (location, date and time). If the date is not convenient, parents/guardians may request an alternate date or time and the principal or chairperson will try and accommodate the request. If parents do not wish to attend, the principal will forward a copy of the IPRC meeting minutes, which includes the decision of identification and the recommendation of placement.

Parent/Guardian Guide to Identification, Placement and Review Committee

What happens at an IPRC?

The chairperson of the committee will introduce everyone, explain the purpose of the meeting, and encourage parents/guardians to participate fully in the discussions. The chairperson will ask that a summary of all information be presented to the committee. The members will: 

• review relevant assessments describing the student's strengths and needs, including educational assessments, health and/or psychological assessments conducted by qualified practitioners (subject to parental/guardian consent), information from the parents/guardians/student (if over 16)
• decide whether or not the student should be identified as an exceptional pupil based on those assessments
• identify the area(s) of the student's exceptionality(ies), according to the categories and definitions of exceptionality provided by the Ministry of Education
• decide on an appropriate placement for the student
• provide reasons for placement
• discuss proposals for special education programs and services if the parent or the student age 16 or over requests it
• review the identification and placement at least once in each school year, unless the parent gives written notice dispensing with the review.

Parents/guardians will be invited to ask questions and to join in discussion.

Decisions will usually be made during the meeting. The chairperson will explain the decisions carefully.

Parents/guardians will be given a written record of the decisions of the committee in the form of IPRC Minutes.

What will the IPRC consider in making its placement decision?

The IPRC must consider the student's strengths and needs. A regular classroom placement should be considered as the first option. Before recommending a placement, the IPRC must decide whether the placement will: 

• Meet the student's needs
• Be consistent with parent/guardian preferences.

The IPRC will look at placement options and explain the choice of options available. Parents/guardians are encouraged to participate fully and make their choice(s) known. The IPRC should describe the nature of a congregated class, such as the Learning and Life Skills program, or the mainstream options to parents/guardians. Options may also include provincial or demonstration schools. 

What will the IPRC's written statement of decision include?

The IPRC's written statement of decision will state:

• Whether the IPRC has identified the student as exceptional
• The categories and definitions of any exceptionalities identified, as they are defined by the Ministry of Education
• The IPRC's description of the student's strengths and needs
• The IPRC's placement decision
• The IPRC's recommendations regarding any special education program and special education services.

What happens after the IPRC has made its decision?

If parents/guardians agree with the IPRC decisions, they will be asked to sign the IPRC Minutes indicating this.  The principal will facilitate either the creation of an IEP as the result of an IPRC, or the revision of an existing IEP to indicate the results of the IPRC, and this will be sent home for review.

Once a student has been declared exceptional through the IPRC process, the placement can be reviewed.  A review IPRC meeting will be held within the school year, unless the principal of the school at which the special education program is being provided receives written notice from the parent/guardian, dispensing with the annual review. 

Parents/guardians may request a review IPRC meeting any time after the student has been in a special education program for three months.  An IPRC review would consider the progress the student has made in relation to the IEP goals. It would consider the same type of information that was originally considered by the IPRC, as well as any new information.  The IPRC would review the placement and identification decisions and decide whether they should be continued or whether a different decision should now be made.

If parents/guardians do not agree with either the identification or the placement decision made by the IPRC, they may: 

• within 15 days of receipt of the decision, request that the IPRC hold a second meeting to discuss your concerns; or
• within 30 days of receipt of the decision, file a notice of appeal with the Secretary of the Board, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, 1994 Fisher Drive, Peterborough, ON K9J 6X6

If parents do not consent to the IPRC decision, but do not appeal it, the board will instruct the principal to implement the IPRC decision.

It is always the goal of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board that parents and school staff are communicating effectively about students' strengths and needs, and what is required to reach their potential.