Because of the requirements of many school districts as well as various federal, state, and local laws, teachers with special education degrees who work with special education students are responsible for many administrative functions. Progress is not always easily defined for a special education student, but a special education teacher is required to maintain complete records about the progress of his or her students in whatever sense that means. Such records must be updated regularly. There is often more paperwork and administrative duties associated with special education students than general education students. For example, all special education students have an IEP. Not only does the IEP usually have to be written by a special education teacher as part of his or her administrative duties, but there is also related paperwork that must be filled out related to short-term objectives and benchmarks on the IEP. Creating these records also helps ensure that procedures are followed correctly and that there are records that can be referred to if there is litigation, or the threat of litigation, against a school district. There is the potential for a law suit if a special education student’s parents or guardians feel that appropriate procedures were not followed for their child or if they feel the education their child is receiving is inadequate.