I Can’t Believe it is Already October!

Wow! Time certainly does seem to fly by in an instant! Seems like just yesterday the 2026-2027 school year began, but here we are; already 9 weeks into the school year for most of you! In other words, 25% of the school year has already gone by! You want to be proactive before too much of the school year is gone and winter break comes, and STAAR preparation begins all over again in the spring! So, here are some things I’d like to remind you of!

(1) If you have not already received them automatically, request your child’s first 6 week or first 9 week IEP progress report! This will help you catch early if your child is not making adequate progress toward mastering their IEP goals! Here is a TEA tip sheet!

(2) Wondering whether or not your child’s school is actually doing what the IEP says should be happening? Request service logs for each of the services that appear on your child’s “schedule of services” - this is found in your child’s IEP! These service logs will help you verify if your child is receiving all of their required supports and services and whether they are occurring with the correct frequency and duration!

(3) Are you noticing your child seems to be experiencing some challenges this year, academically or behaviorally, that they did not seem to experience in the past? Request a parent-teacher conference and speak with your child’s teachers about what they may see is contributing to this and work with them to plan for potential solutions. And, if needed, make a request for new evaluations to help address these challenges, if appropriate! Having these discussions with your child’s teacher may help yu gain insight into what may be contributing to these challenges, whether there is a need to proactively address through MTSS or evaluations, or may simply be an error that needs to be corrected! Don’t be afraid to partner with your child’s teachers! Take a look beginnnign at the bottom of page 30 in the TEA Parental Rights Handbook updated just this August 2026!

(4) BREATHE and enjoy creating memories with your child! Self-care and allowing time for our kiddos to just be a kid will go a long way in your advocacy efforts! You’ll see that you both will benefit from the much-needed break!

For these and other tips and tricks, continue visiting the 3 in 1 Advocacy Blog!