Finalized IEP Records and PDF Archival
SIRAS is designed to preserve finalized IEP meetings as protected historical electronic records that can later be viewed, printed, or downloaded as PDFs.
SIRAS does not determine which copy an LEA must designate as its legal or official record. LEAs should follow their own records-retention policies and applicable legal requirements when deciding whether they also maintain a printed copy or a separate electronic archive.
Electronic Recordkeeping in SIRAS
The finalized meeting record includes the information needed to maintain and reproduce the document, including:
- text entered into the IEP forms;
- menu selections, checkboxes, and other form-field values;
- the applicable versioned form and PDF templates;
- electronic signatures and metadata;
- uploaded pages or supporting documents configured as part of the meeting packet
Controls That Protect Finalized Records
When an authorized user later views, prints, or downloads the finalized forms, SIRAS generates the PDF from that historical record.
- the finalized forms are no longer editable through normal SIRAS workflows;
- changes to the student's database records have no effect on the finalized forms;
- signatures cannot be added or removed;
- changes to the student's plan should be documented through the appropriate new meeting, amendment, addendum, or other process rather than by rewriting the finalized meeting.
When a correction to a finalized meeting is necessary, SIRAS uses a restricted Reactivation process rather than allowing ordinary editing of historical forms. Reactivation is highly audited with complete logging of each change. These controls help preserve a reliable record while still allowing documented corrections when appropriate.
Electronic Signatures and Local Policy
SIRAS supports electronic signature workflows, including signatures entered during an in-person meeting and signatures obtained through a secure SIRAS Link.
When using electronic signatures, districts should use reasonable procedures to confirm that the signature request is being sent to the intended parent, guardian, or adult student and should preserve the signature and related transaction information maintained by SIRAS as part of the meeting record.
SIRAS Systems does not provide legal advice or determine whether an LEA must retain a paper copy, maintain a separate electronic archive, or designate a particular copy as its legal or official record. LEAs should follow their adopted policies and obtain legal guidance when needed.
Complete PDF Attachments
Meeting attachments are intended for documents that add something to the generated meeting packet, such as single-page additions, individual page replacements when needed, and supporting documents that are not already generated by SIRAS.
Uploading the complete SIRAS-generated IEP PDF back into the same meeting creates a duplicate of information SIRAS already preserves. Duplicate complete PDFs can create confusion about which copy staff should reference, increase storage use, and complicate later records management.
Do not upload the complete SIRAS-generated IEP PDF back into SIRAS merely as a duplicate archival copy.
Independent District Archives
If an LEA's local policy requires an independent copy outside the operational IEP system, the finalized PDF can be downloaded from SIRAS and stored in the LEA's approved records-management or document-retention system.
This allows the LEA to meet its own archival requirements without creating a duplicate complete IEP attachment inside SIRAS.
