Caseload Calendar · comparison
Special education scheduling software, compared
Three ways to schedule IEP service minutes: a scheduler one provider can buy, a district product, and the spreadsheet most caseloads run on today. Competitor cells come from public listings; where a vendor publishes nothing, the cell says so.
Caseload Calendar is free for 5 students and $39 a year for an unlimited caseload. No school purchase needed.
| What matters | Caseload Calendar | DMSchedules | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who can buy it | One provider, personal card | Schools and districts | Anyone |
| Price | Free for 5 students; $39 a year unlimited | Listed from $2,000/year on software directories; quote-based | Free |
| Free tier | Yes, every feature, 5 students, no expiry | Free trial listed; no permanent free tier published | Yes |
| Proposes the week for you | One click, deterministic, explains anything it cannot place | Automatic individualized schedules listed | No |
| Respects do-not-pull times | Per student: core instruction, lunch, specials, recess | Not published | Only if you check every cell by hand |
| Groups compatible students | Same service, overlapping free time, grades within two levels, up to your size limit | Not published | By hand |
| Minutes tally vs mandate | Per student, live, red when short; log each session as delivered, missed, or a make-up | Student minutes report listed | A SUMIF, if you build it |
| Drag-and-drop calendar | Yes; lock sessions, re-run without scrambling the week | Yes, listed | Cut and paste |
| Printable schedules | Per-student one-pager and whole-caseload week grid, built in your browser | Not published | Print the sheet |
| CSV import | Mandates and do-not-pull blocks | Not published | Native |
| Student data required | Initials or first names only | Not published | Whatever you type in |
| Setup time | Minutes: paint availability, import mandates, propose | School implementation; not published | An evening, then another one in January |
Competitor facts read from dmschedules.com and software-directory listings (GetApp, Capterra) on September 13, 2026. Re-verify before budgeting. DMSchedules is a product of District Management Group; Evident is not affiliated with it.
Which one, honestly
Pick the spreadsheet if
Your caseload is under ten students, groups are rare, and nobody has ever asked you to prove the minutes. Start from a free template.
Pick Caseload Calendar if
You are one provider, the week has groups and protected blocks, and you would rather spend $39 than an evening in January. The proposal explains itself, and the tally is what an audit reads.
Pick a district product if
The school is buying for every provider at once, wants building-level reports, and has an implementation budget. That is a different purchase, and DMSchedules is built for it.
Common questions
What is the best special education scheduling software for one provider?
If you are one SLP, resource teacher, OT, or counselor buying for yourself, the field is small: most scheduling software is licensed to schools and districts. Caseload Calendar is built for the individual provider, free for 5 students and $39 a year for unlimited, with auto-scheduling, do-not-pull times, grouping, and a minutes tally.
How much does DMSchedules cost?
DMSchedules does not publish a price on its own site. Software directories list it from $2,000 per year, and it is sold to schools and districts rather than individual providers. Confirm current pricing with the vendor; we do not resell or quote it.
Is a spreadsheet good enough for a pull-out schedule?
For a small caseload with few constraints, yes, and many providers run one for years. It stops being enough when groups, do-not-pull times, and a shortfall you have to explain all land in the same week. The spreadsheet holds the answer; it does not find it.
Can I try Caseload Calendar before paying?
Yes. The free tier includes every feature for up to 5 scheduled students and does not expire. Import one of the free templates, paint your availability, and see the proposal before deciding. Without signing up, the free minutes calculator places your mandates on a printable week around do-not-pull times, and Caseload Calendar can import those rows when you sign up in the same browser.
Where do these comparison facts come from?
Caseload Calendar rows describe the product as shipped. Competitor rows come from their public websites and software-directory listings as of September 13, 2026. Where a vendor publishes nothing on a feature, the cell says so instead of guessing.