Being a special education teacher is a huge job. Special education teachers impact so many struggling learners. They work tirelessly to create resources, work with student to attain learning goals, support gen ed teachers in teaching behavioral and academic skills, help students in the gen ed settings, coordinate schedules, communicate with teachers, service providers, administrators, and parents… all the things needed to track an IEP Caseload… Their to do list is never ending….and I haven’t even touched on what was the single most stressful aspect or this job for me….the paperwork… there should be a massive crack of thunder when I say that word…or at least it feels that way for me.
For many, paperwork is the most stressful part of being a special education teacher.
Whenever I talk with special ed teachers, and when I was one, the biggest stressor is paperwork. Whether it’s tracking IEP dates, scheduling, writing IEPs, writing reports, tracking data, graphing or reporting data, or the 8 million other things we do to get the paperwork done, it is so much! The weight is just overwhelming and exhausting!
So, how can we reduce this IEP Caseload paper monster? How can we get it under control so we have more time to focus on students?
Ok, here are some steps you can take.
Step 1
Start with looking at all your IEPs due dates and triennial or reeval due dates.
Make a list of the meetings due each month. MY TRICK- I write down the IEPs due the month prior so that I know to schedule them then. For example, all my IEPs due in October, I write for September so that I know to get them scheduled and all that.
Step 2
Next step-If you can schedule them out….DO IT! It gives you an opportunity to have an introductory conversation, and to tentatively schedule a time-it really helps parents to know that their child is a priority and valued. This way, no matter how many students are on your IEP caseload, the parents know you are focused on their student’s needs.
Step 3
Now, look at each student-make an IEP Snapshot (or cheat sheet) to share with gen ed teachers. As much as I’d love to say gen ed teachers read the whole IEP when we provide it to them….we know that’s not going to happen. So make a sheet with accommodations, modifications, goals, services, and IEP due dates-or the meeting date if you have already scheduled it.
Click on the picture to the left to see what I have used to make my IEP Snapshots for years.
Step 4
After you complete your snapshot, make a list of all the paperwork or steps you need to complete for your IEPs. Use this to make a checklist on your student roster. I like to list my IEP caseload down the left hand side of a sheet, and along the top I list every step to the process, including invitations, reminders, writing goals, everything to filing it at the end. This helps to ensure that you don’t miss a step accidentally along the way.
What other little pieces can you do ahead of time so that you save 5-10 minutes once the IEP season is in full swing?
In that mindset, I’ve been using my caseload tracker for years to keep my IEP monster under control. I put dates, services, goals, accommodations, all that stuff in at once, and it auto populates my snapshot for teachers, roster for my lists, meeting reminders, accommodation trackers, and…I input my progress monitoring in and it graphs it for me. My biggest thing is saving time not typing the same thing multiple times, so it has been a life saver for me.