How to Document Everything
“If it was not written down, it was not said. If it was not written down, it did not happen.”
When you have a child who is receiving special education services through an IEP, it’s so important that you, as their parent advocate, document EVERYTHING – every interaction, concern, and conversation. You must keep a written record of everything that transpires between you and your local education agency (school district, school, etc.). Start now, don’t delay! If it’s not in writing, it did not happen.
Consider documenting the following:
• When you discuss a concern with a teacher over the phone, follow up with an email outlining the concern and the actionable next steps.
• When you attend an IEP meeting, document your input prior to the meeting and share that documentation with the team.
• When you’re at an IEP meeting, take notes or audio record – or do both!
• After the IEP meeting, follow up in an email with key takeaways such as increase in service time/frequency, evaluations to be conducted, a new progress monitoring schedule, etc.
• If you’d like changes to an IEP outside of the meeting, document those requested changes and send them to the team. Some changes can be made outside of an IEP meeting with an amendment.
During an IEP meeting, which can certainly be overwhelming, you should audio record with your phone or an app like otter.ai. I prefer to record with otter.ai, which provides a real-time transcript, or record with my iPhone and upload the recording to temi.com, which will convert the audio to a transcript for a nominal fee. There’s also the good old fashion handheld recorder, which I have on hand for a backup. Be sure to test out any recording devices prior to a meeting. First check your states guidelines on recording meetings – know whether your state is a one party or two-party consent state – and be sure to notify all parties if you plan to record.
Also be familiar with the local education agency’s obligation to document through prior written notice – each proposed or refused action related to identification, evaluation, educational placement, or provision of FAPE to a child. Actions proposed could include conducting an initial evaluation, determination for special education, implementing an IEP, changing placement, proposing extended school year, and discontinuing services.
When documenting be sure to keep a copy of all emails, evaluations, progress reports, writing samples, etc. For email correspondence, always cc yourself and then save the emails in a dedicated email folder. For data such as progress reports and evaluations keep a digital copy locally and/or on your google drive. It is helpful to name each document starting with the date. And for hard copies, organizing all documents in a binder in reverse chronological order. Remember, if you don’t document, it didn’t happen.
Read more of my Top Tips for Productive IEP Meetings including Preparing for an IEP Meeting, Building Your Village, Taking a Child-Centered Approach, and Using Data to Drive Decisions.