An IEP is a legal document that spells out your child's special education services, and is updated every year. Do you know what you've done with all those thick copies and letters and reports? Try one of these five storage ideas, or suggest your own.
1. Notebook
Photo by Terri Mauro
A large binder with big rings makes a good holder for IEPs and related school papers. Use clear plastic page protectors to keep papers neat and in order, and tab dividers to sort things by year. If you can find a binder with a clear plastic sleeve on the front, slip a current photo of your child in it to remind everyone at meetings that you're talking about a real child, not a pile of paperwork.
2. Accordion File
Image courtesy of PriceGrabber. Compare Prices
Get a sturdy accordion file from an office supply store and write a year on each tab. For each year, file the IEP, testing reports, any school correspondence, report cards, and a few samples of schoolwork. The file is roomy enough to store what you'll need for each year (you can always spread a year over two pockets if needed) but compact enough for toting to school meetings.
3. File Drawer
Photo by Terri Mauro
If you've got some file space handy, that's an obvious spot for stowing paperwork. Instead of going by year, try making one file folder for IEPs, one for reports, one for school correspondence, one for report cards and papers. (Too much for one file folder? Use file dividers to group several together.) When you have a meeting to go to, grab what you need for reference and place then in an empty file folder for the occasion.
4. File Stand
Photo by Terri Mauro
A stand-up file holder that sits on your desk works in the same way as a file drawer, but makes stowing papers when they come and accessing them when you need them easier (or at least more in your face). Try this set-up if you frequently need to access IEPs and other school papers when talking to teachers and case managers. When the current crisis is over, you can always move the files back to a drawer.
5. Computer
Photo by Terri Mauro
Have access to a scanner? You may be able to do away with those stacks of paper altogether. Scan all those IEPs and reports into your computer, turn them into PDFs for easy printing if needed, and use virtual folders to file them in instead of space-hogging real ones. You may want to still store the originals away somewhere out of sight, but your computer files will make sure the info you need is at your fingertips.
