The IEP Notebook – Guidelines & Glossary

Advocates agree that the best way to prepare for an IEP meeting for your child is to bring along an IEP Notebook.

I alway advise my clients to create two IEP Notebooks.

IEP Notebook – #1

Start with the notebook: Large with plastic pocket on front cover (to put your child’s picture and name on the front side and a calendar of the school year in the pocket on the back side)

• 504 Plan and list of parents’ rights (Understand the laws before the meeting)
• All IEPs and Notes from all IEP meetings
• All of his/her school records, report cards, progress notes, and discipline records
• District and Independent assessments
• Examples of her/his school work
• Formal and informal correspondence with all schools
• Informal correspondence
• List of involved professionals, student study team members, other resources
• Logs of contacts with school, and a separate one to show contacts with other professionals outside school environment
• Medical records/ medication logs
• Parent/family observations outside of school
• List of questions/ideas
• List of your expectations for IEP – Prioritize the long-term goals (which will have the greatest impact for your child?) and short-term objectives

The IEP Notebook #2

Divide the notebook into 11 sections:

1. Current IEP
2. Past IEP’s
3. IEP meeting information
4. Assessments and testing information
5. Important Contacts and Telephone numbers
6. Medical and other vital records
7. School information
8. Your legal rights and relevant education laws in effect
9. Information on Due Process
10. Important relevant articles
11. Glossary of Terms

The Glossary is filled with 78 pages of Special Education terms that you may be unfamiliar with, or unfamiliar with as they apply to material regarding IEP’s.  

This is a PDF file that is available for download and print out and may be immediately be inserted into your IEP Notebook. 

Dore E. Frances, Ph.D. continues her wonderful profession as an advocate and educational / therapeutic consultant.

www.familysolutionsteenhelp.com – Click here to order

She is covering many subjects for parents on blogs and is preparing other downloadable information that can be readily used for IEP meetings.

Dr. Frances was able to receive an 80% payment of residential treatment services for 2 years for her daughter as well as retroactive monies that had been denied. Her IEP Notebook, used at Mediation, was 500 pages.

The State Mediator was so impressed with the thoroughness of the 500 page IEP Notebook and documentation, she asked permission to use it as a training tool.