Consultation services on the IEP: what counts and how to log it

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

Consultation is a service where a specialist works with the adults around the student, not with the student directly, so those adults can carry out the plan. Write it with a purpose, a frequency, minutes, a location and a provider, tie it to a goal, and log every contact with the date, minutes, who attended and what was decided.

Consult services are the IEP rows most likely to be vague and least likely to be logged. "Consult as needed" appears on thousands of IEPs and means nothing at a review. A well-written consult row says who meets with whom, how often, for how long and about what, and each meeting leaves a record.

The federal rule asks the IEP to state the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided, along with special education, related services and supplementary aids.^[1] It also requires the anticipated frequency, location and duration of each.^[1] Consult time usually sits in one of two places: as a related service delivered indirectly, or as a support for school personnel. For the overall services page, see IEP services and minutes.

What counts as consultation

Counts as consult	Does not count
SLP and teacher review a student's data and adjust the visual supports used in class	A hallway "how's it going?" with no decision
OT shows the para how to set up a slant board and checks the para's set-up	The OT emailing a handout with no follow-up
Special educator and science teacher plan how a unit test will be adapted	General staff meeting where the student is mentioned
Behavior specialist observes and gives the teacher feedback on the BIP steps	Writing the annual IEP itself
Teacher of the deaf checks the classroom microphone set-up with the teacher	Time spent billing or scheduling

The test is simple: did a specialist and another adult work on this student's plan, and did something change because of it? If yes, log it.

Discipline-specific detail lives elsewhere: OT consult minutes and PT consult models cover those providers. This page is the case manager's view across all of them.

What you need before you start

The student's current goals and the data for each.
The name of the adult who will carry out the plan most days (teacher, para, or both).
The specialist's schedule, so the frequency is realistic.
A log the provider will actually use. A paper or spreadsheet service log works.

Step-by-step

Step 1: Name the purpose

Write what the consult is for in one phrase tied to a goal. "SLP consult with the classroom teacher to adjust visual supports for following 2-step directions" tells a reviewer which goal this supports. "Speech consult" does not.

Step 2: Name both sides of the meeting

Say who provides the consult and who receives it. Use roles, not names. "Occupational therapist with the general education teacher and paraprofessional." If the receiving adult changes mid-year, the row still works.

Step 3: Pick a frequency you can keep

Monthly is common for stable plans. Every 2 weeks fits a new plan or a new device. Weekly fits the first 4 to 6 weeks after a big change. Choose the frequency the student needs, then check that the provider's schedule can hold it. If it cannot, that is a staffing issue for the district, not a reason to write "as needed."

Step 4: Set the minutes per contact

Fifteen to 30 minutes per contact covers most consults. Write the minutes per session and the period: "20 minutes, 2 times per month." Avoid minutes per year, which hide a missed fall.

Step 5: Write the location

Consult can happen in the classroom during instruction (the provider watches and coaches) or outside instruction (a planning meeting). Say which. "General education classroom" and "planning room" describe different services.

Step 6: Plan the record

Agree on what each log entry includes before the first meeting. A useful minimum is the date, minutes, who attended, what was reviewed, what was decided and who does what next.

Worked example

This is a fictional, illustrative case.

Student: Marcus, 2nd grade, autism, in a general education class most of the day. Goal: follow 2-step classroom directions in 8 of 10 opportunities, from a baseline of 3 of 10 measured across 3 days in September.

Services row:

Service	Frequency	Location	Duration	Provider
Speech-language consultation with the classroom teacher and paraprofessional, to adjust visual supports for following directions	2 times per month	General education classroom	20 minutes per session; 9/22/2026 to 9/21/2027	Speech-language pathologist

What the log shows from September to December:

Date	Minutes	Status	Who	Decision
9/29	20	Delivered	SLP, teacher, para	Start a 3-picture direction strip at centers; para records 10 opportunities a day
10/13	20	Delivered	SLP, teacher	Data 4, 5, 5 of 10; add a first-then card for transitions
10/27	0	Provider absent		Rescheduled
10/30	20	Make-up	SLP, para	Para was pointing at the strip and then reading it aloud; SLP models pointing only
11/10	20	Delivered	SLP, teacher, para	Data 6, 7, 6 of 10; fade the strip at morning meeting
11/24	20	Delivered	SLP, para	Para now fades the strip on her own; SLP checks 5 opportunities
12/8	15	Delivered	SLP, teacher	Data 7, 8, 8 of 10; keep the plan, review in January

Six contacts were scheduled through December 8. One was missed when the SLP was out and made up 3 days later, so all six happened, for 135 minutes. A reviewer can read this log and see the support, the change it caused and the data that followed.

Common mistakes

Weak: Consult as needed. Better: SLP consultation with the classroom teacher, 2 times per month, 20 minutes, general education classroom.

Weak: 180 minutes per year of OT consult. Better: OT consultation with the para, 1 time per month, 20 minutes. A monthly figure shows a gap within weeks.

Weak: Logging only the meetings that happened. Better: Logging every scheduled contact with a status code, so a missed session and its make-up are both visible.

Weak: A consult row with no goal attached. Better: A purpose phrase naming the goal or the skill, so the team can tell if the consult is working.

Weak: Consult used to replace direct service the student still needs. Better: Direct service while the student is learning a skill, then consult once the classroom adults can carry the plan, with data showing the student kept the gains.

Logging consult time with the service log

The free service log prints a sheet with date, start and end time, minutes, a status code, individual or group, location, provider initials and a notes column. For consult, use the location column for "classroom" or "planning," the group column for who attended, and the notes for the decision. The status codes separate delivered (D) and make-up (MU) sessions from student, provider and school causes, which matters when the team discusses missed time. The spreadsheet version calculates minutes from the start and end times. For a filled example of a full log, see the IEP service log template.

ASHA's guidance on documentation in schools is a useful reference for SLPs on what a session record should contain.^[2]

Frequently asked questions

Is consultation a related service or a support for school personnel?

It can be either, depending on your state form. If the specialist works on the student's plan with the adults, many forms list it under related services as indirect service. Training for staff is often listed under supports for school personnel.

Can consult minutes count if the student is not present?

Yes. Consultation is indirect by nature. What matters is that the time was spent on this student's plan and that the log shows what was reviewed and decided.

How often should consult happen?

There is no federal number. Monthly is common for stable plans, and every 1 to 2 weeks for new plans or new devices. Pick the frequency from the student's needs, then check it against the provider's schedule.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

34 CFR §300.320: Definition of individualized education program, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
Documentation in Schools, ASHA

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.