Read every IEP and 504 plan before day one
They aren't suggestions. They're legal commitments, and you're part of keeping them.
Written with AI — this one isn’t Tammy. The Field Guide covers ground her videos don’t, and keeps to what’s well established. It doesn’t know your students, and nothing here overrides your school’s policy or your state’s law. · 1 min read
What to do
- An IEP (under IDEA) or a 504 plan (under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act) sets out services and accommodations a student is entitled to. You're responsible for the ones that apply in your class.
- Know the difference: an accommodation changes how a student learns or shows learning (extra time, a quieter space); a modification changes what they're expected to learn.
- Find each student's case manager in your first week. They're your best resource and will answer questions you didn't know to ask.
- Keep a simple note of when you provided accommodations. If questions come up later, you'll be glad you did.
- Bring real work samples and observations to IEP meetings. Your view of how the student does day to day matters.
Why it works
Accommodations only help if they actually happen, and they happen in classrooms, not in the meeting where they were written. Getting this right is part of your legal obligation to the student — and the supports usually turn out to be good teaching for the rest of the room too.
Try this tomorrow
Make a private one-page summary of the accommodations for each class, and keep it where students and visitors can't see it.
Watch out
These plans are confidential. Don't leave them on your desk, discuss them where students can overhear, or mention a student's plan to another family.
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