End of School Year Checklist for Parents of Children with Special Needs

Most parents are in wind-down mode by May. School parties, field trips, the last push before summer. But if your child has an IEP or 504 Plan, the end of the school year is not the time to check out.

This is when critical decisions get made — sometimes quietly, sometimes without you. Services can lapse. Progress reports get skipped. Summer gaps erode months of hard work. And if you are not paying attention, you may not find out until September when your child walks back into a classroom that has already moved on.

Here is what to do before the last bell rings.

---

1. Request a Progress Report on IEP Goals

Before the year ends, you are entitled to know exactly how your child progressed toward each goal in their IEP. Do not wait for the school to send one automatically — request it in writing.

When you receive it, ask yourself:

• Were all goals actively worked on throughout the year?
• Did your child make meaningful progress, or did goals stay flat?
• Were any goals quietly dropped or deprioritized?

If progress was limited or goals were not addressed, ask the school to explain that in writing before summer begins. This protects your ability to raise it in the fall and creates a paper trail if services were not delivered as required.

---

2. Confirm the Annual IEP Review Was Held

Federal law requires an IEP review at least once every 12 months. This is not optional — it is a legal requirement under IDEA.

Check the date of your child's last annual review. If it has been more than a year and no meeting was held, contact the school in writing immediately. An overdue review means the IEP may be operating on outdated goals, services, and placements.

If the review was held but you did not feel heard, or if changes were made that you did not agree with, you have the right to request another meeting before the year ends.

---

3. Ask About Extended School Year (ESY)

Extended School Year services — ESY — are additional services provided over the summer to prevent significant regression. They are not the same as summer school, and they are not an optional extra the school can offer at their discretion.

If your child is likely to regress significantly over a summer break and that regression would require substantial recoupment time in the fall, the school is required to evaluate their eligibility for ESY. This evaluation must happen before summer — and if no one has raised it, you need to.

Ask your child's case manager or IEP team directly: Has ESY eligibility been evaluated? If not, request it in writing now. Waiting until July is too late.

---

4. Audit Service Delivery — Minutes Matter

Your child's IEP specifies exactly how many minutes per week they are to receive each service: speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, paraprofessional support, and others.

Before the year ends, request service logs that show how many minutes were actually delivered compared to what the IEP required. This matters more than most parents realize.

Schools are required by law to deliver every service minute in the IEP. If sessions were missed due to scheduling conflicts, provider absences, field trips, or state testing without being made up, that is a violation — and you can request compensatory services to make up for it.

Do not assume the minutes were delivered. Verify.

---

5. Know the Transition Milestones That Apply to Your Child

The end of the school year is also a natural time to check whether your child is approaching a critical transition — and whether the school is preparing for it.

Turning 3: Early Intervention services end when your child turns three. A preschool IEP must be in place and active on their third birthday — not the week after. If this transition is coming, make sure the IEP meeting has been scheduled well before the birthday and that services are confirmed to begin on time.

Turning 14 or 16: Federal law requires that transition planning be included in the IEP no later than age 16. Many states require it earlier. If your child is approaching these ages and their IEP does not include transition goals for employment, education, and independent living, raise it now.

Aging out at 21 or 22: Students with IEPs are entitled to services through age 21 or 22 depending on your state. But adult disability services — Medicaid waivers, supported employment, residential programs — often have multi-year waitlists. If your child is within five years of aging out, you should already be researching and applying for adult services. Do not wait for the school to tell you this. They often do not.

---

6. Plan for the Summer Service Gap

Even if ESY is in place, it rarely covers everything in the IEP. Summer is when children with disabilities are most at risk of regression — in communication, motor skills, behavior, academic skills, and social-emotional development.

Talk to your child's therapists before the last session about what to work on at home. Ask for a simple home practice plan. Consistency over the summer does not have to mean a full therapy schedule — even 10 to 15 minutes of daily practice on key skills makes a real difference.

If ESY was denied and you believe your child qualifies, you can pursue private therapy over the summer and document any regression. That documentation becomes evidence in the fall when you argue for compensatory services or increased support.

---

7. Set Yourself Up for a Strong September

Here is something most parents do not know: you can request the first IEP meeting of the new school year right now, in writing, before school ends.

Doing this early means:

• The meeting gets on the calendar before the fall rush
• You are not scrambling in October after regression has already set in
• The school cannot claim they did not have time to prepare

Send a short written request asking for an IEP meeting within the first 30 days of the new school year. Keep a copy.

Also document anything you observe over the summer. If your child regresses in reading, communication, motor skills, or behavior, write it down with dates. Photographs, videos, and written notes are all valid documentation. If you walk into a fall IEP meeting with a clear record of summer regression, it is very difficult for the school to minimize it.

---

The Bottom Line

The end of the school year is not a finish line. For families navigating IEPs and special education services, it is a checkpoint — one that has real consequences for what your child receives next year and whether their progress holds over the summer.

Request the progress report. Confirm the annual review. Ask about ESY. Audit the service minutes. Know your transition milestones. And put your fall IEP meeting on the calendar before you leave for summer.

You are your child's best advocate. The more prepared you are, the harder it is for the system to shortchange them.

---

Get the Tools You Need Before Summer Starts

If this checklist made you realize you are missing documentation, behind on transition planning, or unsure whether your child's services have been delivered as required — you do not have to figure it out alone.

The IEP Template & Guide Pack gives you the exact documents and scripts you need to request records, audit service delivery, and walk into any IEP meeting prepared.

The Transition Planning Kit is built for families approaching the age-14 to adult-services window — with templates for transition goals, adult service applications, and everything in between.

The Government Benefits Checklist helps you identify every program your child may qualify for before summer begins, so you are not leaving services on the table.

These are not complicated. They are practical, plain-language tools built for parents — not lawyers or case managers. Download them, use them, and walk into next school year knowing exactly where your child stands.

See all resources at Special Clarity →

---

The information in this post is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Special education laws and procedures vary by state. If you believe your child's rights have been violated, contact your state's Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) or a special education attorney.