Storing IEPs and IEP related paperwork can prove challenging when you have a large caseload of students. Figuring out the best way to store that paperwork really depends on three things:
If you are not required to store physical copies of the majority of the paperwork, the storage options become broader. For those with a lot of space, storage is not as much of an issue as it may be for those who have small offices. Finally, if your students are with you for only a year or two, the amount of paperwork that you have for them is significantly less than a teacher who has been with the student for four or five years.
There is no right or wrong way to store IEPs. The storage options below range from compact ideas to storage for a lot of material. Using the criteria above, select the option that will work best for you and your space.
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If you are in it for the long haul and have students who stay on your caseload for many years, nothing beats a 2″ binder for storing IEPs. The binder is big enough to hold information across several years and can be organized with tabs so that you can quickly and easily find the information you are looking for. Clear binders that you can customize with covers work best as they are the easiest to label.
For those students who are only staying on your caseload for a short amount of time, a 1″ 3-ring binder is ideal. It doesn’t take up a lot of space in your office or storage room, but it still gives you the ability to organize the information in an easy-to-access manner. Again, the clear cover binders that can have covers slipped into the front pocket work best for organizing.
One of the most important parts of organizing IEP paperwork is making sure that there are clear sections for easy organization. Accordion files with divider tabs work well for this as they can be labeled, and all of the paperwork has a clearly designated slot. Plastic accordion files with fold-over covers are great because everything remains in place if the file gets dropped or falls off of a desk. Sometimes the manila-style accordion files cannot be secured, and the paperwork goes flying all over if they fall. They’re also easy to store and don’t take up any more room than a 3-ring binder.
Here is a short snippet from one of the trainings inside of TII membership about staying organized:
The membership also provides guidance on Having an Organized IEP Process, which can be challenging for anyone!
You can join The Intentional IEP to gain access to over 150+ different IEP related trainings, and access to our IEP Goal Bank. Click the image above to join!
These look like regular folders, but they have two dividers where things can be organized and stored on the inside. If you must keep an original hard copy of a student’s IEP but not the other paperwork, the classification folders work great. The sections can be used for the actual IEP, evaluations, and progress notes/monitoring. They’re slim and easy to carry around, as well as store, so they work well for small offices and large offices alike.
If you are required to keep paper copies of IEPs, The Intentional IEP can help you with a variety of templates in our IEP toolkit. Join The Intentional IEP here or by clicking the image above.
Digitize EverythingIf you are not required to keep the original hard copies of documents, consider digitizing them. All of the paperwork can be stored on your school’s secure server and accessed by the teachers and specialists who need the information. It’s a good idea to create a cheat sheet for the IEP goals, though, so that you can have that handy throughout the school year. The Digital IEP Binder is another way to keep all of your IEP paperwork organized and together. With 73 pages of Google Slides, it’s easy to make sure you have everything you need for your students right at your fingertips! Check it out here!
Using a system that works for you and your available space will make it easier to organize and navigate IEP paperwork all year long. If your current system isn’t working, try one of the options above!
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