Hi there,
The first two weeks of school set the tone for a case manager's entire year. Before the schedule fills up, run through this checklist — it's the same one I use when I coach new case managers each fall.
Before Students Walk In
- Pull your caseload list and flag every IEP with an annual review or reevaluation due in the first grading period.
- Confirm service minutes match the master schedule — this is the single most common Day 1 compliance gap.
- Share accommodations with every general education teacher who has one of your students, in writing, not just verbally in the hallway.
- Check transportation and related service arrangements (OT, speech, counseling) are actually scheduled, not just written into the IEP.
First Week
- Set your timeline tracker for the year — evaluation due dates, annual reviews, and three-year reevaluations, with reminders 30 and 10 days out.
- Introduce yourself to co-teaching partners and get a recurring co-planning time on the calendar before the schedule fills in.
- Baseline your progress-monitoring data for every goal so you have a true starting point to measure against.
If you only do one thing from this list, make it the timeline tracker. Almost every compliance finding I've seen traces back to a deadline nobody was watching.
Want the full system?
I put together a more detailed version of this process for the teachers and administrators I coach — including a ready-to-use timeline tracker template. If you want help getting your caseload organized before things get busy, a single consultation is often enough to set the whole year on track.
Alexis
Williams Inclusion Consulting
Book a Consultation