The First 30 Days of School: What Parents Should Watch For

By: Dr. Gabrielle Baker, President & Advocate

The first few weeks of a new school year can tell you a lot.

Everyone is adjusting to new teachers, new routines, new expectations, and sometimes an entirely new school. For students with IEPs or 504 Plans, there is another layer to that transition: making sure the services and supports they need are actually happening.

As an educational advocate and former special education teacher, I encourage parents to pay close attention during the first 30 days of school. That doesn't mean expecting everything to be perfect on day one. There is naturally an adjustment period at the beginning of a school year.

But there is a difference between normal back-to-school growing pains and signs that your child's educational plan isn't being implemented appropriately.

Here are some of the things I recommend watching during that first month.

1. Are Your Child's Services Actually Happening?

One of the first things I would confirm is that your child has started receiving the services outlined in their IEP.

If your child's IEP includes speech therapy, occupational therapy, specialized reading instruction, counseling, resource services, or other supports, you should have a general understanding of when and how those services are being provided.

Consider asking:

• When did services begin?

• How frequently are they being provided?

• Who is providing them?

• Is your child receiving the amount of service time listed in the IEP?

• Are services being delivered individually or in a group, as required by the IEP?

"School just started" shouldn't become a reason for weeks to pass without required services.

2. Are Accommodations Being Used Consistently?

Accommodations don't only apply when your child is taking a test or struggling.

If an accommodation is included in an IEP or 504 Plan, the appropriate staff should understand when and how it is supposed to be provided.

Talk to your child about what is happening in their classrooms. Depending on their age, you might ask whether they are receiving extended time, breaks, preferential seating, access to assistive technology, shortened assignments, visual supports, copies of notes, or whatever accommodations are included in their plan.

Pay particular attention when your child has several teachers. Middle and high school students may have six or seven different teachers, and implementation needs to occur across applicable settings, not just in their special education classroom.

3. Does the Staff Understand Your Child's Behavior Plan?

If your child has a Behavior Intervention Plan, or BIP, don't wait for a behavioral crisis to find out whether everyone understands it.

The beginning of the year can be particularly difficult for students who struggle with transitions, regulation, communication, sensory needs, or changes in routine.

Ask whether the staff members working directly with your child have access to the BIP and understand the strategies, supports, and responses outlined within it.

A behavior plan is supposed to be proactive. It shouldn't sit in a file until something goes wrong.

4. Is Your Child Showing a Significant Change at Home?

Sometimes the first indication that something isn't working at school shows up at home.

Pay attention to changes such as:

• Increased school refusal

• Frequent stomachaches or headaches before school

• Significant exhaustion after school

• Increased meltdowns or emotional dysregulation

• Changes in sleep

• Increased anxiety about school

• Statements that they hate school or don't want to return

• A sudden loss of confidence

• Behavior that is significantly different from what you typically see

One difficult afternoon doesn't necessarily indicate a problem. Starting a new school year is tiring for many children.

Instead, look for patterns.

If your child consistently comes home completely overwhelmed or begins showing a significant change in behavior, it is worth asking what their school day looks like and whether their current supports are sufficient.

5. Is the Work Appropriate for Your Child?

Look at what is coming home.

Is your child completing the work independently? Are assignments dramatically above or below their instructional level? Are they spending hours completing homework that should take 20 minutes? Are you essentially reteaching the entire lesson every evening?

On the other hand, is the work so heavily modified that your child isn't being appropriately challenged?

Neither situation should be ignored.

Grades alone won't always tell you whether a student is accessing the curriculum appropriately. A child can earn good grades while receiving significant help from parents, tutors, teachers, or paraprofessionals.

Pay attention to how your child is getting those grades, not just the letter on the report card.

6. Are You Seeing Evidence of Progress Monitoring?

You probably won't have enough data within the first few weeks to determine whether your child is making meaningful progress toward every annual goal.

But you can start asking how progress is being measured.

What baseline is the team using? What data is being collected? How frequently will progress be monitored? When will that information be shared with you?

This is especially important when your child has struggled significantly in an area such as reading, writing, math, behavior, communication, or executive functioning.

You don't want to reach the middle of the school year and discover there hasn't been consistent data collection.

7. Is Communication Happening?

You shouldn't need daily reports from every teacher unless that level of communication is part of your child's plan, but you should know how communication will work.

Who should you contact with questions? Will there be weekly updates? Is there a home-school communication log? Who is your child's case manager? How will concerns about missing work, behavior, services, or progress be communicated?

Establishing those expectations early can prevent a lot of frustration later.

It also gives you an opportunity to build a positive relationship with your child's team before there is a problem.

8. Is Your Child Spending Their Day Where the IEP Says They Should?

This is an important one that parents may not immediately think to ask about.

Your child's actual schedule should align with their IEP.

If the IEP says your child participates in general education for certain subjects or portions of the day, make sure that's happening. If specialized instruction is supposed to occur for a certain amount of time, understand where and when it is taking place.

Ask for your child's schedule if you don't have it.

Sometimes scheduling decisions made at the beginning of the year unintentionally change how much time a student spends in special education or general education. A scheduling issue shouldn't quietly become a placement change.

9. Is Your Child Becoming More Independent or More Dependent?

Support is important, but the ultimate goal should be helping students access their education and develop skills.

For students with paraprofessionals or significant adult support, pay attention to whether that support is encouraging independence.

Can your child interact with peers without an adult constantly speaking for them? Are they given opportunities to attempt tasks before someone steps in? Are they learning how to ask for help themselves?

The right support should provide access without unnecessarily creating dependence.

10. Trust Patterns, Not Panic

Parents know their children.

If something feels different during the first few days of school, pay attention to it, but give yourself time to gather information.

Document what you're seeing. Save emails. Keep examples of schoolwork. Write down what your child tells you. Ask questions. Look for patterns.

Then, if the same concern continues, communicate with the school.

You don't have to wait until the annual IEP meeting to raise a concern. You also don't have to wait until your child is failing, refusing school, or completely overwhelmed.

What Should You Do If You're Concerned?

Start by asking questions.

Sometimes there is a simple explanation and an easy solution. Other times, those questions uncover a larger issue that needs to be addressed.

If you're concerned, consider requesting information about your child's service schedule, accommodations, progress-monitoring plan, classroom performance, behavior, or current supports.

And if the concern isn't resolved through regular communication, you can request an IEP or 504 meeting to discuss it with the team.

The first 30 days aren't about catching the school doing something wrong. They're about making sure everyone has what they need to help your child have a successful year.

Don't Wait Until the First Report Card

One of the biggest mistakes I see families make is waiting too long because they want to "give it time."

Giving your child time to adjust is reasonable. Ignoring persistent concerns for an entire grading period is different.

By paying attention during the first month, you can identify concerns early, ask better questions, and address small problems before they become much bigger ones.

A new school year is a fresh start. Use those first 30 days to build relationships, understand what your child's school day actually looks like, and make sure the supports on paper are showing up in practice.

If you're already seeing concerns with your child's IEP, 504 Plan, services, placement, or progress, Education Advocates of America can help you understand what's happening and determine what questions to ask next.