Two days out at a training. Six students on the schedule. Three weeks later a teacher asks whether anyone made those sessions up, and the only thing that can answer is the log.
This guide covers how to record a missed session and its make-up so that the log can answer that question. It does not tell you whether a student is owed compensatory services. That decision belongs to the IEP team.
What the rules say, and what they do not
The IEP has to state the frequency, location, and duration of services, and every provider has to know their responsibilities under it. That is the promise your log is measured against.
What the law does not do is set a number for allowed misses. Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction says that neither IDEA nor state special education law specifically addresses missed IEP services. Wrightslaw says the same of the federal rules and points out that states and districts often have their own policies. So the first step in any state is to ask your supervisor whether a written make-up policy exists.
Wisconsin's guidance then gives a way to think about it. Whether an interruption denies a student a free appropriate public education is decided case by case, by looking at two things: how many sessions or minutes were missed compared with the IEP, and the effect on the student's progress.
Make-up session or compensatory services
The two terms get mixed up, and the difference matters for what you write.
| Make-up session | Compensatory services | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A missed session that is rescheduled | A remedy when missed services denied the student a free appropriate public education |
| Who decides | The provider with the supervisor, under district policy | The IEP team |
| Size | Usually the minutes that were missed | Based on what the team decides is needed, not necessarily minute for minute |
| What you document | The original date, the reason, and the new date and times | The log, the minutes missed, and progress data on the affected goals |
The clinician's job is the bottom row of that table. You supply the facts. The team makes the call.
What to record when a session is missed
Log it the same day, while the reason is clear. Each missed entry should have:
- Student code and service. For example "Student 14, individual speech-language."
- Date and scheduled time. The time the session was supposed to happen.
- Minutes owed. The scheduled length, so totals can be added later.
- The reason, in your district's standard words. For example "student absent," "provider out," "school event," "testing," "school closed."
- What happens next. Make-up scheduled, make-up not required under district policy, or referred to the supervisor.
A reason that can be checked against attendance records or the staff calendar is worth more than a long explanation.
How reasons are treated: one state's example
Wisconsin's guidance includes a chart of common causes and what it says about each. It is one state's view and the guidance itself warns against blanket rules, so treat it as an illustration of why the reason field matters, not as your state's law.
| Cause | General position in Wisconsin's guidance | What your log should show |
|---|---|---|
| Occasional student absence | No compensatory services required | The date, and that the student was absent |
| Chronic student absence | The IEP team should meet to discuss the reasons | A count of absences over time |
| School event | May matter if events combine into chronic interruptions | The event and the date |
| State-mandated testing the student takes | No make-up or compensatory services required | The date, and that the student was testing |
| School closed for everyone | Generally no compensatory services | The closure date |
| Occasional provider absence | The provider is generally expected to schedule a make-up | The reason, and the make-up date |
| Position vacancy | Compensatory services must be considered; parents are notified | The start of the gap and dates of progress data |
The pattern across the chart is that the reason, and whether the misses add up, drive what happens next. A log that uses the same words each time lets anyone count them.
Recording the make-up
A make-up entry is a separate entry with its own date and times. It should say:
- That it is a make-up, and for which original date.
- The actual start and end times.
- The type of session (individual or group) and the setting.
- The goal targeted.
| Entry | Weak | Stronger |
|---|---|---|
| Missed | "Missed Oct 8" | "Not delivered. Provider out for training. Scheduled Oct 8, 9:05 to 9:35, 30 minutes owed" |
| Made up | "Makeup" | "Make-up for Oct 8. Delivered Oct 15, 1:10 to 1:40, individual, therapy room, goal 2" |
Keep the regular session that happens on the same day as its own entry. If the make-up and the regular session are blended into one line, totals will count minutes twice or lose them.
Totals the team can use
Once a week, add up three numbers for each student: minutes the IEP calls for, minutes delivered, and minutes still open because a miss has not been made up. These are the same numbers described in tracking IEP service minutes. When a team or family asks, you can answer with figures and reasons, not memory.
When the pattern is bigger than make-ups
If misses keep adding up, tell your supervisor early. Wisconsin's guidance says the IEP team should meet when there are patterns of interruptions, and that the decision about compensatory services should be based on the extent of the missed services and their effect on progress, including a review of progress monitoring data on the affected goals. That is why your progress data sheets matter here. Without a baseline and regular data points, the team cannot say whether a gap in service changed anything.
Make-up entry slips
- Backdating. If you forgot to log a miss, add a late entry with today's date and say which session it records.
- Deleting a missed session once it is made up. Keep both entries.
- Writing "makeup done" with no original date. A reader cannot match it to anything.
- Promising a family a make-up you cannot schedule. Tell them what your district allows, and refer questions about compensatory services to the IEP team.
- Logging scheduled time instead of actual time. If a make-up ran 20 minutes, write 20.
For the wording of any single entry, read writing a service log entry that holds up. Terms are in the glossary.