Field Guide · Chapter Two

IEP & Accommodation Tracking

The plan is a promise, and the data is the proof of whether we kept it. This is the chapter I never rush.

What we're actually tracking

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the document developed for each public-school child in the United States who needs special education — it's a documented, organized plan of action tailored to that child, and it sits at the accountable core of special education itself.

Source: Wikidata — Individualized Education Program (CC0), subclass of Individual Education, a facet of special education.

Every IEP lists specific accommodations the school is obligated to provide — extended time on tests, read-aloud support, a quieter testing room, breaks, assistive technology. The tracking I do is the difference between that list being a document and that list being a lived reality.

The accommodation tracker, one row at a time

For each student on an IEP, I keep a weekly page with one row per accommodation. The columns force me to be honest:

Accommodation	Required?	Offered this week?	Evidence / note
Extended time (1.5×) on tests	Yes	Yes	Math quiz, Wed — given 60 min
Read-aloud for directions	Yes	Yes	Administered by aide, both days
Separate testing room	Yes	No	Room booked; used for vocab, not math
Preferential seating	Yes	Yes	Front row, window side, all week

Notice the third row: it's honest even when the answer is no. A blank "didn't get to it" column hides the gap. A written no forces the question — why not? — which is where the real work lives.

The weekly review

Every Friday I run the same review with the classroom teacher. It takes four minutes and it's the conversation that keeps the promise alive:

1. Did every required accommodation get offered this week?
2. For any that didn't — what's the reason, and what's the fix for Monday?
3. Is anything on the plan no longer matching the child's current needs? (That's a note for the next IEP meeting, not a self-directed change.)

"The IEP is a battle plan written by the adults who care. My job is to make sure nobody fights on paper only."

A note on privacy

None of this goes in a shared spreadsheet with a family's name and a medical history beside it. IEP data is among the most sensitive records a school holds. I keep identifiers separate from medical/eligibility details whenever I can, the file lives on a school-managed drive, and I never discuss a student's plan in a hallway. Respecting the record is also respecting the child.