Beginning-of-year checklist for special education teachers

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

This beginning-of-year checklist covers what a special education teacher does from the week before students arrive to the sixth week of school: reading every IEP, building the service schedule, setting up data sheets, briefing teachers and paras, contacting families and collecting fresh baseline data. Each item has a one-line reason, so you can skip what does not apply.

The first six weeks set the year. Services that start late stay behind, and a teacher who never got the accommodations list in September is still guessing in December. This checklist is about the classroom side of the start: the schedule, the room, the data and the people.

The compliance side of the whole year (dates, notices, reevaluations) is in the IEP case manager checklist. The role itself is described in the case manager's handbook. Use this page alongside them.

Before students arrive

Get your final roster from the office and the IEP system, and compare them. Reason: students move over the summer, and the two lists rarely match in August.
Read every IEP in full, then write a one-page snapshot for each. Reason: the IEP must be in effect from the first day of school, and you cannot deliver what you have not read.^[1]
Enter annual review and reevaluation dates in the caseload tracker. Reason: reviews due in September and October need data you have not collected yet, so you need to see them now.
Check every date you are unsure of in the IEP due date calculator. Reason: a review that came due over the summer is already late.
Build your service schedule from the IEP minutes, then add them up. Reason: if 150 minutes on the IEP becomes 120 on the schedule, the gap starts on day one.
Meet with each co-teacher for 30 minutes. Reason: agree on who plans, who grades and who collects data before the first lesson, not after the first conflict.
Write each para's schedule and the goals they support. Reason: a para with no written schedule ends up wherever the loudest need is.
Check assistive technology and communication devices. Reason: a charger missing in August is a communication goal missed in September.
Set up the room: a small-group table, a quiet work area, visual schedules, labeled materials. Reason: the room is where accommodations like breaks and reduced distraction actually happen.
Print data sheets for every goal and a service log for every student. Reason: first-quarter progress reports depend on September data.
Assemble the sub folder: bell schedule, health plans, behavior plans, who to call. Reason: you will be out at some point, and the first sub of the year usually arrives with no warning.

The first week

Send each general education teacher their students' accommodations and responsibilities. Reason: each teacher must be informed of their specific responsibilities under the IEP.^[1] The teacher notification guide shows a format that gets read.
Collect a reply or signature from each teacher. Reason: it proves the information arrived, and many districts require it.
Call or email every family with a short introduction. Reason: a first contact with good news makes the hard calls later much easier.
Start every service on schedule and log the first sessions. Reason: a late start is one of the most common reasons families file complaints.
Walk each student through the schedule and where they go. Reason: younger students and new students often miss pull-out sessions in week one because nobody showed them the room.
Check health plans with the school nurse. Reason: seizure, diabetes and allergy plans must be in place before a field trip or a fire drill tests them.

Weeks 2 to 6

Take 3 baseline probes on every goal. Reason: skills drop over the summer, and spring data may no longer show where the student is. See how to collect baseline data.
Graph the first data points. Reason: a graph started in September makes the November progress report a 10-minute job.
Total each student's delivered minutes at the end of every week. Reason: a missed week is easy to make up; a missed month is not.
Check in with each general education teacher once. Reason: two minutes at the door catches an accommodation that is not happening.
Observe each student in at least one general education class. Reason: you learn more about how accommodations are working in 20 minutes of watching than in a week of emails.
Train paras on each data sheet they use. Reason: data from an untrained adult cannot go in a progress report. The para data collection guide covers this.
Plan the meetings due before winter break. Reason: fall meetings need notice and input requests started by mid-October. Put them on your IEP compliance calendar.
Set your weekly 30-minute caseload review. Reason: a fixed time is the difference between a system and a pile.

Dates to put in the tracker this month

Item	When	Where it lives
Every annual review and reevaluation date	Before day 1	Caseload tracker
First progress report due date	Before day 1	Compliance calendar
Accommodation lists sent and acknowledged	Week 1	Contact log
Services started	Week 1	Service log
Baseline probes complete	By week 4	Data binder
Fall meeting notices	By week 6	Compliance calendar

What to do if something is missing

An IEP is missing or the student is not in the system. Ask the office for the prior school's records the same day. A student who arrives with an IEP from another district gets comparable services right away.^[1] The new student with an IEP page has the full process.
The schedule cannot fit the minutes. Write down the gap in minutes and take it to your administrator in week 1. Do not quietly cut minutes; an IEP change needs the team.
A teacher has not acknowledged the accommodations. Visit in person with a one-page snapshot. Note the date in your log.
A device or material has not arrived. Note what the student is using instead, tell the family, and follow up weekly in writing.
A review is already past due. Tell your supervisor the same day and schedule the meeting as soon as the parent can attend.

Print this page, date each item as you finish it, and file it with your caseload records. At the end of the year, the end-of-year checklist closes the loop. New to the role? First-year special education teacher tips puts this list in context.

Frequently asked questions

What should a special education teacher do before school starts?

Read every IEP, enter all due dates in a tracker, build a service schedule that matches the IEP minutes, set up data sheets and service logs, brief co-teachers and paras, and prepare a sub folder.

When should accommodations go to general education teachers?

In the first week of school, or before it if possible. Each teacher who works with the student must know their specific responsibilities, so send a short list and ask for a reply.

Do I need new baseline data at the start of the year?

It helps. Skills can drop over the summer, so take 3 short probes on each goal in the first weeks. They give an accurate starting point for the first progress report.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

34 CFR §300.323: When IEPs must be in effect, U.S. Department of Education (IDEA website)
34 CFR §300.324: Development, review, and revision of IEP, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School

Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.