Starting Strong: A Back-to-School IEP Checklist

Most of the difficult cases that reach me in the spring can be traced back to something that happened, or failed to happen, in August. A related service that was never added to a provider's schedule. A new teacher who didn’t understand the accommodations page. A parent who was told to let things settle for a few weeks, and then a few more weeks, and then found that the year was more than half over.

The beginning of the school year is the easiest time to address an IEP problem. Schedules are still being built, staff assignments are still moving, and no one has yet taken a position they feel obligated to defend. The same conversation in December generally costs three months of instruction that the student does not recover. What follows is a practical way of confirming that the district is doing what they need to do for your child.

Week One

1. Read the current IEP before doing anything else

Print the full document and read it with a pen in hand. Four areas warrant particular attention.

•     Present levels. The question worth asking is whether they describe the child who left the building in June, or a child from one or two years earlier.

•     Goals. Each goal should make clear what data will be collected, how often, and by whom.

•     The service grid. Minutes, frequency, group or individual delivery, the provider responsible, and the setting in which the service occurs.

•     Accommodations. Particular attention should go to anything requiring advance arrangement, such as assistive technology, specialized seating, or sensory supports.

A goal stating that a student “will improve reading comprehension,” with no baseline and no criterion for mastery, is not measurable. It is worth flagging in August, while there is still time to rewrite it. Goals written this way tend to produce annual reviews in which everyone agrees that progress has occurred and no one is able to quantify it.

2. Confirm in writing that the plan will be implemented as written

An IEP is an enforceable commitment, and the transition between school years is the point at which implementation most often slips. During the first week, send the case manager a brief and cordial email containing three questions.

•     Has every teacher and service provider working with my child received the current IEP and been informed of their responsibilities under it?

•     On what date does each related service begin?

•     Who is providing each service this year, and in what setting?

Email is generally the best way to get these answers. A written question tends to produce a written answer, and a written answer becomes part of the record. A reply within the same week is a reasonable expectation.

One caveat is worth noting here, though. During the first days of school, related service providers are frequently observing students and building caseload schedules, so direct services often begin in the second week. That is ordinary practice and does not require a response. A third week with no schedule in place is a different matter and warrants follow-up.

3. Provide the new team with a one-page picture of your child

For younger or more impacted students, a single page, sent during the first days of school, tends to change how quickly a new team gets things right. Useful content includes what your child does well, what a difficult day looks like and what typically precedes one, which strategies actually work at home, and how you prefer to be contacted. The tone should be warm and the length should not exceed one page. This is not a legal document and does not need to read as one.

4. Record the relevant dates on your own calendar

Note the annual review date, the reevaluation due date, and the date on which this year's services actually began. A reminder set six weeks ahead of the annual review allows time to prepare rather than react.

It is worth noting that the annual review is not the only opportunity to discuss your child’s program or make changes to the IEP. A parent may request an IEP meeting at any point during the year. In California, the district must convene the meeting within 30 days of the parent's request (not including breaks of more than 5 days). The request should be made via email so it is time-stamped.

5. Begin a file

One folder, physical or digital, is sufficient. It should hold every email, every progress report, every work sample, and a dated note summarizing every phone call, written while the conversation is still fresh. Records created at the time carry a weight that memory does not. In a due process hearing, the burden generally falls on the party seeking relief, which is usually the parent. There is no way to know in September which conversation will matter in April.

Week Two:

A degree of settling-in friction is normal and does not require a response. The following items are different and warrant early action.

•     Homework that takes hours and ends in tears, while the same work is described as manageable in class

•     “We are still working out the schedule” offered as an answer past the second week

•     Behaviors at home that were not present in the past

•     Accommodations described by the aide or teacher as something the student has to earn

•     A teacher indicating that the IEP is not workable in their classroom

•     Any statement that the district “does not do that” or “does not have that,” unaccompanied by anything in writing

The final item carries more significance than most parents realize. Refusals are frequently delivered verbally rather than in writing, precisely because a conversation leaves no record behind. Requesting the refusal in writing, courteously, is entirely appropriate. The request itself often changes the answer.

When Additional Support Is Warranted

Many families manage the fall check-in independently. There are circumstances, however, in which proceeding alone places a parent at a genuine disadvantage, and recognizing those circumstances in August is considerably better than recognizing them in March. Working with an advocate is worth considering in the following situations.

•     An evaluation, an eligibility determination, or a triennial reevaluation is underway, or a requested evaluation has been declined

•     A request has been made twice and declined in some form on both occasions

•     The student is being restrained, secluded, sent home early, or disciplined for behavior connected to their disability.

•     The team is proposing a change in placement or a reduction in services

•     You have been told that the student does not qualify, or no longer qualifies

•     You are seated across from eight district staff and feel outnumbered

Districts bring a full team to these meetings for a reason. Having someone beside you who knows the regulations and has as much, or more, experience as the folks on the other side of the table tends to change both what is said and what is agreed to.

This post provides general information about the special education process and does not constitute legal advice.