Sunday, February 17, 2019

Keeping Special Education Process Organized with Check Lists

This year started out as my busiest fall in the 24 years I have been a special education teacher.

Five of the six Re-evaluations in progress. 
 I changed from normal file folders to
 Poly Project Pockets from Amazon
These allowed me to see quickly what was in each folder.


Six of my 10 students required three-year re-evaluations before Thanksgiving.  That was six within the first 90 days of the school year!

When I complained to my special education supervisor about all the ESER due so quickly, she simply said that she had no fear I’d get it done. I rarely missed deadlines, and when I did, there was usually something out of my control that caused this. This fall would be no different.

So, how did I manage it?  Check-lists for both Evaluation Summary and Eligibility Reports (ESER), and Annual Individual Education Program (IEP).  

This is the first district I worked at that didn’t have these check-lists, so I had to create my own.  If your district has checklists, use them, or modify them to meet your needs and work style. If your district doesn’t provide you with checklists to help you keep current, you will need to make your own.

Both lists have before, during and after sections. I have lists started in my TpT store, Special Education Communication & Check Lists, they are fully editable. Unless you have the same process, you will have to edit them to meet your needs. The cost is under $2, and I've been told they were lifesavers to those in my district. Others have reported they were great at helping them start their own checklists.

As I worked on either ESER or IEP's I wrote notes on the various cover letter/checklists. It wasn't easy, it was a lot of work. One student changed schools less than a week after our planning meeting; we worked with that school as best as we could. I had one meeting that ended up being late, and it was due to parents not attending a meeting and we had to reschedule.

During the first 13 weeks of school, I had meetings on 10 of them! One day, I had three hours of meetings. I couldn't have done it without being organized, without an amazing team of other special education professionals!

The 8th IEP of the year; only one more to go!
Turned over to our records department minutes after the meeting!
This was the first year I had 6 re-evaluations due in such a short time. I couldn't have done it without my checklists!