Is the IEP Actually Being Followed? A NYC Parent's First-Month Checklist
By now, the first-week chaos has settled. Routines are forming, the first worksheets are coming home, and the school year has found its rhythm. It's a good moment to stop and ask a quiet but important question: is your child's IEP actually being followed?
Many parents navigating their child’s IEP process have realized that there's often a gap between the school having the IEP and the school following it. An IEP is a legal document, but on the ground it's only as good as its day-to-day implementation — and a month in is the sweet spot to check. It's late enough that services should be up and running, and early enough that there's still a whole year to fix whatever isn't.
If you did the day-one prep, this is the follow-through. Here's a first-month checklist to work through.
Check That Related Services Are Actually Being Delivered
If the IEP says speech twice a week, the question is whether your child is getting speech twice a week exactly as the IEP specifies. Providers in NYC often carry heavy caseloads, and it's easy for sessions to get missed, shortened, or quietly folded into a group when the IEP calls for one-on-one.
You're allowed to verify this, and there are a few easy ways:
Ask the provider or case manager for the session log or service-delivery record.
Ask what the schedule is — which day, how long, individual or group.
Ask your child, if they're old enough to tell you whether "the speech teacher" or "the OT" has been showing up.
If your child works on communication, behavior, or another goal through a related service, this is exactly where you confirm that work is actually happening — not just listed.
Confirm Accommodations Are Happening in the Classroom
"The teacher has the IEP" is not the same as "the accommodations are being used." Extended time, sensory breaks, visual supports, or a behavior plan are only helpful if they show up in the actual school day.
So check the practice, not just the paperwork. Ask the teacher how a specific accommodation is being handled day to day. Look at your child's returned work or tests for evidence that, say, extended time is really being given. If your child has behavioral supports or a behavior plan, ask how consistently they're being followed. You're not micromanaging — you're confirming that what's written is what's happening.
Ask What Goals They're Working On, and How They're Tracking Them
The IEP has goals, and the school is supposed to be both teaching toward them and collecting data on progress. A month in, someone should be able to tell you what your child is working on and how they're measuring it.
If no one can answer that — if the goals seem to be sitting on a shelf while the year rolls on — it’s worth raising now, not discovering at the annual review. Asking early also sets you up to get real, data-backed progress reports later instead of vague reassurances.
Tell Normal Ramp-Up from a Real Problem
A little lag in the first weeks is normal. Schedules settle, providers finalize their caseloads, new staff find their footing. So give some reasonable ramp-up room — but set yourself a mental deadline. A week or two of "we're still scheduling" is ordinary. A full month with no speech sessions and no start date is not a delay; it's a service that isn't being delivered.
The line is roughly this: settling in is fine, not happening is not. If a mandated service still hasn't started by the end of the first month, treat it as a problem to address, not a wait-and-see.
When Something Isn't Happening
Even when the school means well, sometimes the pieces just aren't in place. Sometimes a mandated service still hasn't started. Sometimes the accommodations exist on paper but not in the classroom. Sometimes no one can say what goals your child is even working on.
If that's what you're finding, you have options, and the first one won't surprise you. Put it in writing. A short, specific email to the case manager or CSE, naming exactly what's missing and asking how and when it will be resolved, does two things: it creates a dated record, and it puts the school on notice while there's still plenty of time left in the school year. Make sure to keep a copy of any communication.
You don't have to take "we have the IEP on file" as proof that it's being followed. And you're not being difficult by checking — you're making sure the plan your child's team agreed to is the plan your child is actually living.
If the Checklist Turns Up Gaps
If mandated services aren't being delivered or accommodations aren't making it into the classroom, you don't have to just live with it. Persistent gaps can be worth an IEP meeting to address implementation directly, and sometimes more.
If your first-month check turned up problems, you have options. Schedule a consultation with us to talk through what you're seeing and what to do about it.
This article is general information for NYC families, not legal advice. Every child's situation is different — for guidance on your specific circumstances, consult a qualified advocate or attorney. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client or advocate-client relationship.
