Documentation Checklist

We strongly encourage you to keep up with any and all documentation that goes along with your child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP). An IEP is not a document that sits in a filing cabinet all year; it's not a meeting that's held once a year. It's a living, breathing, dynamic plan that described who and what will be in place to help your child be successful at school. Your child's school (teachers and IEP providers) will be keeping up with yearly documentation, but it's of great benefit for you, as the parent, to keep your own documentation too. The easiest way to do this is to get a binder to keep all the information in, and add to it throughout the year. Below is a checklist of the information we recommend you keeping in your IEP documentation binder. We have created forms for some of this information for you to print and use as needed.

1. Contact Log: We recommend keeping a contact log with any/all contact you have with your child's school and IEP providers: every phone call, every note, any face-to-face interactions, etc. Note the date, person talked to, as well as reason for contact and/or results.

2. Any evaluations, re-evaluations or waivers. A re-evaluation or waiver must take place at least every three years. It can take place sooner if there are new or additional concerns.

3. The completed IEP (they will give you a copy at the IEP meeting or soon after)

4. The IEP worksheet (link below). As a parent, you are an integral part of the IEP team. The worksheet covers the basic information that should be discussed at any IEP meeting, but the worksheet gives you an objective way to document that information throughout the meeting. We strongly encourage you to take notes as you are able to throughout the meeting. The worksheet also allows you to write down your concerns, questions, etc. prior to the meeting to ensure you bring them up that day. There is a link below for an Initial IEP (the very first IEP your child ever has) Worksheet, and a Review IEP (any IEPs that take place after the initial) worksheet. Clicking the links will take you directly to the document that can be printed.

5. Progress reports. In addition to the progress reports and report cards that your school will provide, the IEP providers will send a separate progress report for each area covered in the IEP. These typically go out around the same time the report cards go home.

6. Extended School Year Services (ESYS) information. Toward the end of each school year, each child has to be screened for the need for extended school year services. Information regarding if your child did or didn't qualify will be sent home.

7. Due process information. Please see the links below from the Louisiana Department of Education regarding dispute resolution, due process hearing, official complaints, etc.

If your child has a 504 plan instead of an IEP, we still recommend you keeping up with that documentation throughout the year. The only differences from the list above is:

• It will be the Individual Accommodation Plan you will keep instead of an IEP. The 504 plan/Individual Accommodation plan still has to be renewed yearly, so each year you will get a new copy.
• You will not get progress reports from the 504 coordinator. You will still get any progress information and report cards from your child's classroom teacher though, and these would be great to keep in the documentation binder---in order to have an objective means of tracking their progress in the classroom.
• You will not get Extended School Year Service information; this is only for Special Education students.