3 Reasons you should request a fidelity check
Fidelity checks of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) are not common practice, but they should be.
A fidelity check is a document that outlines the plan and then is used as a way to check if others are following it as written. Often, there is a percentage score given at the end to show how closely staff are following it.
Here are 3 reasons why you should request a fidelity check (or implement a fidelity check if you’re school staff!) to support your learner’s goals:
IEP’s often aren’t followed. I’m sure that’s not news to anyone. We spend hours collaborating and creating a document that lays out exactly what a student needs in order for it to not be given to the people that need it most (i.e. Classroom aides!?), not be thoroughly trained on, or not be implemented at all. A fidelity check will support with documentation that others are monitoring and following through with the implementation of an IEP and BIP.
Behavior Drift. Over time, without supervision and training, people stray from the expectations of a plan. There are many reasons for this, however fidelity checks can assure that staff are holding each other accountable and can focus on retraining the parts that are not being followed.
Collaboration. It sparks conversation. Why aren’t they implementing certain parts? Have they not been trained? Do they have a better idea? Let’s talk about it! In the hustle and bustle of the school day, and lack of downtime, there’s often not a lot of time to collaborate. Fidelity checks can initiate some of the hard conversations that otherwise would not be had.
Need more information on how to conduct a fidelity check or an easy template to get started?
Let me know in the comments!
