#tuesdaytips | Organizing your IEP paperwork

We are happy to welcome Carly Quinlan, IEP Consultant & Advocate back to share another great IEP tip! You lovers of organization are going to love this!

If you have a child with an IEP, you know you will undoubtedly be receiving a TON of paperwork, forms, reports, etc all the time! It can be very confusing as to what each one is and what it all means. Staying organized as you receive each set of paperwork can help alleviate the feeling of being so overwhelmed.

Creating an IEP 3 ring binder with tab dividers and a 3 hole puncher can help you not only look but feel more prepared for your next IEP meeting.

Email me at IEPconsultingLLC@gmail.com for a FREE copy of my IEP Binder Organization set! This packet includes divider page covers to organize all the paperwork you receive from your school. My packet also includes helpful handouts such as parent-school communication tools, IEP acronyms and definitions, meeting prep tools for the parent, meeting note taking tools, and more!

Ideas for divider pages for your IEP binder organization or filing system may include:

—Procedural Safeguards (you will receive a copy of this document annually)

—Domain paperwork updated every 3 years or as needed (includes consent for evaluation or re-evaluation, Identification of Needed Assessments, & Evaluation Reports)

—IEP Meeting Invite & Draft of Reports for your upcoming meeting (you should receive a draft copy of updated progress and draft of proposed new goals before your next annual review IEP meeting)

—Finalized current IEP in place (to be replaced after each annual review meeting)

–Meeting Notes (include your own notes as well as the school’s notes)

–IEP Amendments if applicable (amendments are edits/changes to the IEP throughout the year)

—Progress Reports on Goals & Report Cards (you may want to tab each goal by related service area using post-its)

—Parent-School Communication (copies of emails and notes from school staff to quickly refer to later if needed)

Once you receive your finalized paperwork after your IEP meeting, you may want to tab the following pages with post-it notes so you can easily refer to each section when needed:

–Present Levels of Performance

–Behavior Plan (if applicable)

–Goals & Objectives/Benchmarks

–Accommodations, Supports, & Modifications

–Services, Minutes, & Placement

–Transportation

–ESY (Extended School Year)

–Transition Plan (starting at age 14 ½)

Store old IEPs in a separate file in chronological order, marked with the dates it was in place. You may want to refer back to it later, even if it is just to see how far your child has come over the years.

You may want to create a separate binder(s) to store/organize student work samples by grade, including tests/quizzes (both good & bad), homework, etc. You can use it to refer to in a meeting and/or to document your child’s growth.

To receive your FREE IEP Binder Organization set, email me at IEPconsultingLLC@gmail.com. If you are unsure or too overwhelmed, hand over all your paperwork to me and I can help you sort it out, organize, and make sense of it all as part of my report review service!

Also, be sure to like IEP Consulting, LLC’s new Facebook page for updates on IEP advice and tips! Feel free to tag your friends in your support groups! The more resources in parents’ hands, the better, so keep spreading the word!

If you have a request for an IEP blogging topic you would like to read about, feel free to comment in the comment section below!

Written by: Carly Quinlan, IEP Consultant & Advocate with IEP Consulting, LLC IEPconsultingLLC@gmail.com