August 2025: 

The MLO Minute: “A Few Tips for the Start of the New School Year” — 

By Michael Connolly, Esq., Chief Operating Officer and Supervising Partner of Special Education — 

The start of the school year can be exciting for many students, but for some children and their families, and in particular students with special needs and their families, the start of another school year can be daunting and anxiety provoking.  School for many students is challenging both regarding academic performance as well as social-emotional issues.  Over the many years of representing students and families in educational matters, we have seen strategies that can help ensure students have a good year.  Here are a few in no particular order:

 

• Start prepping your child for the start of the school year a few weeks before the first day of school. While the idea of going back to school is not a welcomed event for many, for some students talking about it ahead of time may help.  Depending on the needs and/or age of the student, some examples may include reminding them of friends they will see, particularly if they weren’t able to see that friend over the summer; if they have a favorite class (even a nonacademic class like art, music, or gym), talk to them about that class, review their schedule with them, talk about who their teacher(s) will be; if possible arrange an opportunity to come into the building early or meet their teacher(s) before school starts, etc.

 

• Review your child’s IEP before the start of the year. You want to refamiliarize yourself with the supports and services your child is to receive so that if there are problems you can make sure those supports are being implemented.  Additionally, when reviewing the IEP, if you think additional supports or services that may be necessary to assist your child with returning to school, you can ask for a revision to the IEP to include those supports.

 

• Introduce yourself and your child to any new teachers that don’t already know you and your child.  If your child is going to have a new teacher, send them a short email at the beginning of the year introducing yourself and letting them know they can reach out to you with any questions or concerns.  Also, let them know about your child, both the things they do well and the things they struggle with. You can also let them know a few supports in the IEP that have worked well in the past.  Keep in mind that the beginning of the school year is busy and can be stressful for students and teachers alike, and teachers are likely getting bombarded with emails.  So don’t go overboard with the email and try and explain everything.  Keep it succinct and to the point, and you are more likely the teacher will read it.

 

• Monitor how things are going during the first few days/weeks. Check-in regularly with your child about how things are going so far and if there are issues or concerns, address them with your child and the school when you learn of them.  Don’t wait for an IEP meeting that is going to happen later in the year.  Also, depending on your child’s, age, grade, and needs, check-in with the teacher a couple weeks into the year to see how they feel the beginning of year going.

 

• Review progress monitoring during the first marking period. Review any progress monitoring provided over the course of the 1^st marking period and review the first marking period progress report.  If you don’t understand the data or progress report provided, ask for an explanation. If you are not getting data or progress reports, ask for them.  If you have concerns with the data or progress report at the end of the 1^st marking period, raise those concerns and consider requesting an IEP meeting to look at modifying/changing some of the supports or services in your child’s program.

 

These are only a few of the strategies that can help with the start of the year and in ensuring a good school year overall.  The most important thing to keep in mind is that if you have questions or concerns, don’t wait to bring them up with the District.  Even thought it may be early in the year, and possibly too soon to know if supports or services need to be changed, you should make the school aware so they can continue to monitor the situation and if necessary, make changes to the program.

 

Our firm provides free consultations in all special education matters, and most cases are handled without charge to families. At this critical time of planning and assessing entitlement to compensatory education, families should not hesitate to reach out to us for a free consultation by CLICKING HERE.