An Individualized Educational Program (IEP) can be a helpful tool in bullying prevention. Bullying can be an obstacle in students learning and all students are to have a Free, Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). There is an IEP team and most of the teams always include a parent or guardian. This team can think up ways to stop bullying. Often times you want to involve the student on this part of the IEP to see what he or she is comfortable with.

Some of the strategies an IEP team can use are as follows:

1. Identifying an adult in the school the student feels comfortable to report to,
   
2. Determining how school staff will document the incident,
   
3. Allowing the student to leave class early to avoid any incidents,
   
4. Holding separate in-services for school staff and school peers to help them understand the student’s disability,
   
5. Educating the school on the districts bullying policies,
   
6. Having a buddy system for the student,
   
7. Having reassurance from school staff that the student is in a safe environment and being safe is a right they have, and
   
8. Shadowing of the student being bullied, either in hallways, classrooms, or playground.
   

When talking with the IEP team, be sure to discuss different strategies to help keep your student safe in schools.

https://www.pacer.org/publications/bullypdf/BP-4.pdf