There are SO many things to do to get our kids out of summer mode and back into school mode. It’s a wonder we get it all done! I created this simple checklist so you could have an easy to make sure you don’t lose track of anything.
This list is geared towards parents of kids who are in special education. It helps you remember specific things you need to do so your child will be success this school year. It includes:
Things I need to get
- The Ultimate IEP Binder Toolkit
- Binder and page dividers to put binder together
- New backpack (if the old one is trashed)
- New lunchbox (if the old one is trashed)
- 2 weeks of food for school lunches
- Notes, paper, folders
- Pencils, erasers, pens, ruler, calculator, compass, scissors
- Fidgets or other gadgets your child needs.
- Buy the Special Ed Mom Survival Guide book to prepare for dealing with the school
- Sign my child up for the Special Education Advocacy Online Course.
Things I need to prepare
- IEP binder with all special ed paperwork
- Re-read IEP to be sure you understand it and it has everything your child needs
- My child’s “Get to Know Me” sheet
- My child’s “Disability Info Sheet”
- Medical records for any medical special needs.
Things I need to schedule
- Pre-school start meeting with teacher
- Child visit before start of school
- If you need an IEP right away, request it in writing on the first day of school.
- Schedule follow up meeting with teacher 4-6 weeks after school starts.
Things I need to do
- Deliver information sheets to teachers (Get to Know Me, Disability Info Sheet, Accommodation Summary)
- Deliver copy of IEP to teachers
- Deliver medical record information to the school nurse.
- Attend Back-to-School Night.
- Make copies of all school communications and insert into your IEP Binder.
- Talk to your child about starting school and help him/her work through any back-to-school jitters.
- Get email addresses of everybody on your child’s team.
- If your child has a paraprofessional, make sure that person is lined up to start the first day of school.
- If your child gets transportation, find out the schedule.
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If you get stuck preparing for the new school year, or if you just need help figuring out special ed, join us in the Special Ed Mom Survival Guide: IEP, 504 and Parenting Support Group.
Summary of all Resources for Back to School:
Tools:
- Special Ed Mom Survival Guide book
- The Ultimate IEP Binder Tool Kit
- Special Needs Parent Medical Records Binder
Printables:
- ‘Get to Know Me’ sheet
- Accommodation Info Sheet
- Disability Info Sheet
- Accommodation info sheet
- Disability Info Sheet
- Calming the Hyper Child
- 55 Self-Care Strategies for Moms With Too Little Time
Infographics:
Bonnie Landau is a licensed professional clinical counselor and educational consultant in Ventura County, California. Her goal is to help parents of neurodivergent individuals find strategies and solutions to help their children succeed in school and in life. Bonnie is also the author of Special Ed Mom Survival Guide: How to Prevail in the Special Education Process and Find Life-long Strategies for You and Your Child.
Hello,
The only suggestion I have is to remove Mom and add Parent. My son is a stay at home parent who will be handling the bulk of the school duties. I don’t like seeing dad’s left out.
I love all of your materials and send them to my son regularly.
Thank you for the suggestion, Terry. I made that change. I found out from our local parent center that 91% of the time it’s the mom who does all this stuff. You’re right though, there are some dads. Good for him for taking the lead! Hope the information has been helpful!
Best,
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
The info will be helpful when they get there. The 4 year old has severe food allergies and a disease that makes him intolerant of dietary fat. He can only have 3-5 grams of fat per day. The other one is 2.5 with CP. he is in B23 and will begin to transition to school services soon. Dad has his hands full. Mom is in the military and home infrequently.
The materials are going to be a God send.
Cheers,
That is super hands full!
You might check out this new book: https://www.amazon.com/FPIES-Handbook-Information-Protein-Induced-Enterocolitis-ebook/dp/B07BHVYJ86 While it’s specific to FPIES, it talks a lot about how to manage severe food allergies at school and in life.
It’s great he is preparing ahead of time. Has he looked into primitive reflex integration for the child with CP? That is suppose to be hugely helpful.
Best of luck to him! Preparing ahead of time is really the best way to go. Hopefully he’ll get his kids to school and he won’t need the information, but if he does, it will be invaluable.
Thanks for the additional info. My son grew up hearing stories about the PPTs we attended for his brother. He is prepared to get along or get ahold lol. He will be very familiar at that table lol.
This makes me realize I should probably bring out one or two of my old blog posts about this subject and republish them. . . But I don’t want to think about school yet!
This is extremely helpful.