The annual IEP review checklist: before, during, and after the meeting
Every IEP must be reviewed by the team periodically, but not less than annually — that’s 34 CFR § 300.324(b), and it’s the deadline that structures a case manager’s whole year. The annual review is also the meeting where next year’s document gets built, which is why a rushed one produces twelve months of downstream problems. This checklist runs the review as four phases — a month out, two weeks out, the meeting itself, and the week after — with the federal citation behind each step, so you can tell the load-bearing items from the habits. It pairs with our guide to running the meeting itself and the file review checklist a state monitor would use afterward.
4-6 weeks before
| Checklist item | Why / citation |
|---|---|
| Confirm the due date — the review must happen not less than annually, so count from last year's meeting date, not the school calendar | § 300.324(b)(1)(i) |
| Pull progress data on every current goal and graph or summarize it against the baseline | § 300.324(b)(1)(i) — the review's core question is whether goals are being achieved |
| Request written input from every gen-ed teacher and related service provider on the student's schedule | feeds § 300.324(b)(1)(ii)(C)-(D) |
| Send the meeting invitation early enough for parents to attend, at a mutually agreed time and place | § 300.322(a) |
| Check whether this is a triennial year — if a reevaluation is due, plan it alongside the review | § 300.303(b)(2) |
1-2 weeks before
| Checklist item | Why / citation |
|---|---|
| Draft the new present levels (PLAAFP) from current data — including how the disability affects involvement and progress in the general education curriculum | § 300.320(a)(1) |
| Draft new measurable annual goals with baselines, conditions, criteria, and timeframes — clearly marked DRAFT | § 300.320(a)(2) |
| Draft the service grid and check it against the goals — every goal needs a service behind it | § 300.320(a)(4) |
| Document each parent contact attempt as you make it (calls, emails, notes home) | § 300.322(d) |
At the meeting
| Checklist item | Why / citation |
|---|---|
| Review progress on every current goal — achieved, partially achieved, or not achieved, with data | § 300.324(b)(1)(i) |
| Revise for anything the data or the parents surface: lack of expected progress, reevaluation results, parent information, anticipated needs | § 300.324(b)(1)(ii) |
| Re-consider the special factors: behavior, limited English proficiency, Braille, communication needs, assistive technology | § 300.324(b)(2), applying § 300.324(a)(2) |
| Confirm placement remains appropriate — placement is determined at least annually and based on the IEP | § 300.116(b)(1)-(2) |
| Take real meeting notes: who attended, what was discussed, what was decided and why | best practice — they back up every notice you send after |
Within a week after
| Checklist item | Why / citation |
|---|---|
| Send prior written notice for what the team decided — proposed changes and anything the district refused, with the reasons and the data behind them | § 300.503(a)-(b) |
| Give the parents a copy of the finalized IEP and log the date | district documentation practice under § 300.322 |
| Tell every implementer what changed — accommodations, services, goals they're responsible for | see our case manager guide for the notification trap |
| Update the IEP-at-a-glance, service schedules, and data sheets to match the new document | implementation follow-through |
All citations are to 34 CFR Part 300, current text at ecfr.gov. Your state may add requirements on top — check your state’s page in our state-by-state series, like Wisconsin or Missouri.
The three questions the meeting must answer
Strip away the paperwork and § 300.324(b) asks three things. Did the goals get met? That takes data, not memory — if you can’t show progress against the baseline, the review starts on sand, which is why the data pull is a month out, not the night before (our progress monitoring guide covers keeping that data alive all year). What needs to change? The regulation names the triggers: lack of expected progress, reevaluation results, information from parents, and the student’s anticipated needs — note that parent information is a listed revision trigger, not a courtesy. Does the new document hold together? New present levels feed new measurable goals, goals feed services, and the special factors — behavior, communication, assistive technology — get re-considered every review, not just at initial evaluation.
August and September: annual review season’s quiet trap
Annual review dates anchor to last year’s meeting date, and meetings cluster in fall and spring. The back-to-school trap is the IEP whose review date falls in the first weeks of school — inherited caseloads, new schedules, and a date that lapsed in August while nobody was checking. The first-week move is a due-date audit of the whole caseload: sort by annual review date, flag anything due before October, and get invitations out now, because the notice has to reach parents early enough to guarantee them a real chance to attend. Our back-to-school case manager checklist builds that audit into the first two weeks, and the caseload management guide covers keeping the calendar honest for the rest of the year.
FAQ
What is an annual IEP review?
The IEP team meeting where the current IEP is reviewed and revised. Under 34 CFR § 300.324(b)(1), the team must review each IEP periodically, but not less than annually, to determine whether the annual goals are being achieved — and revise it to address lack of expected progress, reevaluation results, information from parents, the student's anticipated needs, or other matters. In practice it's where last year's goals get closed out and next year's document gets built.
Is the annual review the same as a reevaluation?
No — different events on different clocks. The annual review looks at the IEP document every year: goals, services, placement. A reevaluation re-examines eligibility and needs with assessment data, and under 34 CFR § 300.303(b)(2) must happen at least once every three years unless the parent and district agree it's unnecessary. Many teams run them together in a triennial year, but the annual review never skips a year.
Can we revise the IEP without holding the annual meeting?
Changes between annual reviews can be made by written amendment: under 34 CFR § 300.324(a)(4), the parent and district may agree not to convene a meeting and instead amend the current IEP in writing, with the IEP team informed of the changes. But that mechanism covers changes after the annual meeting for that school year — it doesn't replace the annual review itself, which must still happen at least once a year.
What if the parents can't attend the annual review?
The district must notify parents early enough to give them the opportunity to attend and schedule at a mutually agreed time and place (34 CFR § 300.322(a)). The meeting can proceed without a parent only if the district genuinely could not convince them to attend — and then it must keep detailed records of its attempts: calls made, correspondence sent, visits attempted (34 CFR § 300.322(d)). 'We sent one email' does not meet that bar.
What happens if the annual review date passes?
The IEP doesn't expire — services continue under the existing document, because a student with a disability is always entitled to FAPE — but the district is out of compliance the day the review is overdue, and lapsed annual reviews are among the first things state file reviews flag. If a date is about to lapse, hold the meeting as soon as possible and document why it was late; don't backdate anything.