Laying The "Paper Trail"

You never know when you may need to refer back to previous contacts with your child's school. Many times no action is taken unless there is a written record of your request. Keep records of the following:

notes to and from the teachers
correspondence on requests for meetings (including dates,places and who is to attend)
requests for services or information
written or oral complaints or concerns
filing of any formal complaints or requests for hearing

Records of meetings should include:

persons involved
date,time, duration and location of the meeting
the primary purpose of the meeting
key words and abbreviations used in the meeting

Records of phone calls should include:

date,time and length of call
who initiated and who accepted the call
subject of the call
conclusions reached and actions promised

Following a verbal agreement with a decision maker, a letter should be sent or a call made to him/her to confirm your understanding of the agreement. If note-taking is a problem, the meeting or phone call can be taped, provided the others participating know it is being done and do not object. Copies should be kept of important records, which include:

all relevant correspondence between a person and an agency
reports from agencies,doctors or other professionals
minutes of meetings
diagnostic reports
IEP's or 504 plans

Parents are entitled to see all their child's records. Questions or challenges to a report should be made in writing and a copy sent to the person responsible for the report. If there is no response to your first lettter to a decision maker, write again, attaching a copy of the first letter. If there is no response within ten to fourteen days, write again, with copies of your earlier letters. If there is still no response, you may need to seek help from an advocate.

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