Documentation: If it’s Not in Writing, It Didn’t Happen
Today, in our series exploring services that get your learner on a path to school success, we’re talking about one of the most important services that we offer… Assisting Clients and Teams with Proper Documentation of Educational Records.
At the start of my career as a school psychologist, I was placed at a school where my predecessor abruptly left the education field and couldn’t file and hand-off important documents for the next school year. Before my students even entered the building that school year, I learned this phrase:
“If it wasn’t written down, it never happened.”
Long story short, I worked with several important folks from the school district to identify the gaps in documentation. They were wonderfully proactive, and held IEP Meetings to inform the parents of the situation, and to offer make-up (“Compensatory”) services. I spent the next several years providing compensatory psychological services and completing assessments because the therapy logs and psychological assessment reports were missing for a number of students.
This was the beginning of a very important lesson in the idea that folks can do awesome things for kids, or fail to do important things for kids; there’s a good chance that the only way the next school/district/related services provider/educator will know about it in order to continue or rectify it, is only if it was written down.
Here are a few examples to underscore how this topic can make an enormous impact on your learner’s education. As you read, look for why it’s crucial to:
Ensure accurate documentation, and
Have your input about decisions/discussions pertaining to your learner’s educational programming documented in writing.
Scenario 1:
You handed your child’s third grade teacher a copy of an outside psychological report. They were wonderful and tried to implement a bunch of recommendations, but never passed it along to a 504 or IEP Team. You move schools the next year, and there’s nothing in the File to show the new school/teacher what was previously done (and no evidence that a psych report was ever given to the school). So, they have you bring the report in for the school team to review as the first step in the IEP or 504 Process. In this case, one of the better outcomes would be that your learner is only unsupported for 90 days during their transition to a new school. It’s also possible (and more likely) that it will take much longer to restore supports for your learner. This could translate to years of missed opportunities to help your learner.
Scenario 2:
The school proposes a change to your learner’s educational programming. You are upset and you verbally disagree at the meeting. The notes come back a few days later and they do not include a written description of your stated concerns and disagreements. You didn’t get a chance to open it because there are many other priorities competing for your time and energy. A few months go by, and your learner is really struggling. You decide to pursue your “Parental Rights & Procedural Safeguards.” As you do so, you go back through notes and meeting minutes. You realize your input and concerns were never documented in writing. In this case, you’ll likely have a harder time negotiating remedies with the school system (e.g., it will take longer, and perhaps become contentious and more expensive).
Over the next few weeks, we’ll share a bit more about this important topic. More importantly though, we’ll share a bit about how, GPS Education Consulting works to empower and support parents, caregivers, & school staff to identify and rectify the significant issues that arise from errors and omissions in documentation within educational records (If you want to learn more in the meantime, go back and read our post on Comprehensive Record Reviews).
Best,
Evan Gallena, Ed.S., NCSP
Founder & Lead-Consultant: GPS Education Consulting L.L.C.
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Together, as one… Navigating the path to school success!
