If building your special education schedule feels like a full-time job before your actual job starts, you’re not alone. Whether you’re an SLP, OT, PT, or special education teacher, scheduling therapy and IEP service times can feel like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded.
One simple strategy—collecting “preferred times” from teachers—can make your caseload planning faster, easier, and less stressful. While Kit for Teams doesn’t build your schedule automatically, it can store and manage your finished plan in a way that makes updates a breeze.
Here’s how to use the preferred times method for efficient special education scheduling.
Step 1: Organize Your Caseload Details
Before starting your IEP scheduling, gather all relevant information for each student on your caseload:
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Service minutes and frequency
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IEP or evaluation due dates
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Grade level and teacher
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Location (if you serve multiple sites)
When your caseload data is organized, you can quickly spot patterns—like students who share a teacher or grade—which makes grouping easier.
Kit Connection: If you already have this information is already in Kit, give yourself a high five—because all you have to do is sort your caseload by header to scan and group students in seconds.
Step 2: Request “Preferred Times” Instead of Full Schedules
Instead of asking teachers for their entire classroom schedule, request their three best time blocks for you to see the student. This small change speeds up responses and gives you the most actionable information.
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Teachers respond faster to a simple request.
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You get top-choice times without sifting through lunch, recess, and specials.
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If a teacher doesn’t respond, you can often use another teacher’s times from the same grade level as a guide.
Tip: Let staff know that scheduling is first come, first served—early replies have the best chance of getting their top picks.
Kit Connection: Once you have your list of preferred times, you can create a temporary “draft calendar” in Kit to visualize where each slot could go before finalizing your schedule.
Step 3: Place Students Into Their Preferred Times First
Once you’ve collected preferred times, begin placing students:
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Group by grade, teacher, or service type.
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Schedule non-negotiables first (compliance minutes, IEP timelines, planning blocks).
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Fill in remaining open spots for the rest of your caseload.
This approach keeps you in control of your schedule while reducing conflicts and back-and-forth with staff.
Kit Connection: Kit’s drag-and-drop calendar makes it easy to try different arrangements until you find the one that works best—without erasing and rewriting the whole thing.
Step 4: Use Kit’s Calendar to Keep It Flexible
Once your schedule is set, add it to Kit’s calendar for easy management:
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Drag and drop to move sessions when changes arise.
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Color-label groups for quick reference.
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Create multiple calendars for different service types, schools, or frequencies.
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Add one-off events (IEP meetings, make-up sessions) without disturbing the main schedule.
Kit Connection: Because Kit allows multiple calendars and easy edits, you can keep your “ideal plan” intact while adjusting for real-life curveballs—without losing your original setup.
Why the Preferred Times Method Works for Special Education Scheduling
By focusing on “preferred times” instead of full schedules, you reduce the complexity for both you and your colleagues. Teachers give you the most workable options without overthinking, and you get the flexibility to adjust as needed.
Bottom line: This method turns scheduling from a week-long headache into a manageable, repeatable process—especially when paired with Kit’s easy-to-edit calendar.
Ready to make your special education scheduling easier? Start your free 14-day trial of Kit for Teams and see how our calendar can keep your caseload plan flexible and organized.
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