For school-based therapists
Write the note. Move on.
Session Notes for Schools gives speech-language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, and school psychologists clear structures for session notes, service logs, and goal data, with the rules behind them stated plainly.
Start with the problem on your desk
Pick the line that sounds like your afternoon.
Browse by topic
Six topics cover the paperwork of a school-based caseload. Each topic page lists its guides in reading order.
Session notes
Structures for writing one session note that is short, specific, and useful to the next reader.
2 guidesService logs
Tracking minutes, make-ups, and missed sessions so the record matches the IEP.
1 guideGoals and data
Baselines, data sheets, and progress reporting tied to measurable goals.
1 guideSchool Medicaid documentation
The general principles of documentation for school-based Medicaid, and where to find your state rules.
1 guideGroup and consult notes
Documenting group sessions and consultation without exposing other students.
0 guidesTemplates
Copyable note blocks you can adapt to your own district format.
Recently updated
Each guide is re-read against its sources on a schedule. The date on a guide is the last time we did.
Documenting Group Therapy Without Naming Other Students
One group, several students, one set of privacy rules. How to write group session notes so each family sees only their own child's data, plus a template.
Session notesFERPA and Session Notes: What to Put on Paper
Are your session notes education records? What FERPA and IDEA say about who can read them, how families get access, and how to write notes that hold up.
Goals and dataProgress Data Sheets for IEP Goals: Layouts That Work
Build a data sheet that matches the goal it measures: layouts for accuracy, frequency, duration, latency, prompt level, and ratings, with a worked example.
School Medicaid documentationSchool Medicaid Documentation Basics for Therapists
What CMS lists as the minimum documentation behind a school Medicaid claim, how it lines up with the IEP, and where your state's own rules take over.
Session notesSOAP Notes for School-Based SLPs: Structure and Examples
A four-part session note structure for school SLPs, with do and avoid lists, two invented examples with numbers, and what ASHA says notes should show.
Service logsTracking IEP Service Minutes: Methods Compared
Four ways to track IEP service minutes compared on setup, strengths, and risks, plus how to define a session, record missed time, and check each week.
How we work
Principles, not a template you must copy
Your district sets the format, and your state sets the rules. We explain the principles that hold across them, cite the federal rule or agency page behind every claim, and say plainly where the answer depends on where you work.
- Structures first, with short worked examples labeled as illustrations.
- No student names, ever. Examples use invented details.
- State and district differences are flagged, not guessed.
- Nothing here is legal, billing, or clinical advice.
Terms you will see
A few of the words that come up most. The full glossary has the rest.
- Direct service
- Services delivered by the clinician to the student, individually or in a group.
- Education record
- A record directly related to a student and maintained by the school or someone acting for it.
- IEP
- Individualized Education Program: the written plan for a student's special education and related services.
- Related services
- Supports a student needs to benefit from special education, such as speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.
- Service log
- A record of the services actually delivered, by date and length.
- SOAP note
- A common four-part note format: Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan.