By Roxanne Bradley, certified special education advocate

When my kids were in school, summer seemed to be short and long at the same time. All of a sudden it was not only time to get my kids ready for school, but it was time for me to organize and get ready for the inevitable meetings with school personnel. If you have a child who benefits from a specialized learning plan, it will serve you well to prepare for the upcoming school year, whether the child is gifted and/or has a disability.

If you have a gifted student in your household, he/she should have an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) that states the student’s learning objectives for the year. If you have a child with a disability, he/she will have either a 504 or an Individual Education Program (IEP). These documents explain the supports your child needs to be able to have access to the correct curriculum. Every year meetings are held to update each of these documents.

Being prepared for conversations with school personnel and the upcoming meetings will help the year to run smoother for both you and your child. Here are seven steps that I suggest you take to prepare.

Step 1: Gather all your paperwork in one place. Put it all in one binder and put your child’s picture on the front. The following documents are recommended (if it applies):

• Last 2 ALPs/504s/IEPs
• Last 2 evaluations from the school
• Last 2 evaluations from a private provider
• Current Health Plan
• Current Behavior Intervention Plan
• Diagnosis letters
• List of medications and supplements your child is currently taking
• Past medications and your child’s reactions to these medications
• Any state, school district, or school standardized testing

Step 2: Remind yourself of the challenges that your child faces every day. Every child, no matter where they are in terms of school success, has challenges they must tackle to be successful.

• Read the previous year’s documents to remind yourself of the challenges your child faces as well as the school plan that will still be in effect when school starts.
• Jot down some examples of strengths and weaknesses that your child exhibited over the summer. For example, if you have videos of your child or copies of work from vacation bible school, gather these together and add them to the binder mentioned in Step 1.

Step 3: Put the review date for the ALP/504/IEP on your calendar. All of these documents are reviewed each year to make sure that they are up to date. About a month before the review date, send an email to the school and ask them for a copy of the draft ALP/504/IEP at least a week before the meeting gets scheduled.

Step 4: Determine how you are going to keep track of your correspondence and interactions with the school. You could use a daily calendar or keep copies of emails. Remember: if it is not written down, it doesn’t exist.

Step 5: Make sure that all the teachers are aware of the ALP/504/IEP and that they know their role in meeting the requirements of the contract. If you think it is important for the teacher to have a copy of the plan, make sure you provide a copy. This includes:

• ALP – the teacher’s role in challenging your child and helping the child meet their “effective learning goals”
• 504 – the teacher’s role in providing accommodations
• IEP – the teacher’s role in providing accommodations and helping the child meet their IEP goals

Step 6: Make sure that your child is aware of the ALP/504/IEP and that your child knows their role in meeting the requirements of the contract.

Step 7: Ask yourself these questions:

• Does my child’s Health Plan need to be updated?
• Does my child’s Behavior Intervention Plan need to be updated?
• Does the ALP/504/IEP reflect my child’s strengths and weaknesses?
• With the current plan in place, will my child be farther behind even if all the goals are met?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, email the school and request an ALP/504/IEP meeting even if it is not time for the annual review meeting.

Remember:

• It’s ok to speak up and advocate on behalf of your child.
• You can call a meeting to discuss the ALP/504/IEP whenever you feel it is necessary. Sometimes you need to call an official meeting and sometimes it can just be an informal meeting.
• Call a meeting with the school before you get mad. If you see your child struggling or not being challenged, check in with school personnel to determine how to support your child.
• Document all meetings.

Roxanne Bradley is a certified special education advocate and is president and founder of Learning Differences World. Her passion is supporting families as we work together to ensure that the school is meeting the needs of your children. As a former teacher, engineer and corporate manager — and mother of two foster-adopted children– Roxanne brings her unique experience to bear on every situation. She is not a lawyer and cannot offer legal advice.