School Has Started, but My Child’s IEP Services Haven’t. What Should I Do?
The first few weeks of a new school year can be chaotic. Teachers are learning new students, schedules are changing, and schools are working out transportation, staffing, and service schedules.
But if your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), the start of a new school year does not mean the school gets to put the IEP on hold while it gets organized.
An IEP is a legally binding commitment to provide your child with the special education, related services, accommodations, supports, and placement described in the document. If school has started and important parts of your child's IEP have not, parents should pay attention — and start documenting what is happening.
Does the School Have a Grace Period to Start IEP Services?
Generally, no.
Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a school district must ensure that an IEP is in effect for an eligible student at the beginning of each school year. Federal regulations also require that the child's IEP be accessible to each teacher and service provider responsible for implementing it, and that those individuals know their specific responsibilities.
California law likewise requires special education and related services to be provided in accordance with a student's IEP.
That does not mean that every minor scheduling problem during the first few days of school necessarily amounts to a serious legal violation. A speech session being rescheduled may be very different from a student going weeks without a required one-to-one aide, behavioral support, transportation, or specialized instruction.
The important question is not simply whether something went wrong. It is what the IEP requires, what the school is actually providing, and what effect the difference is having on the student.
Start With the IEP
Pull out the most recent IEP and compare it with what is actually happening at school.
Look particularly at:
Specialized academic instruction;
Speech and language services;
Occupational therapy;
Counseling or mental-health services;
Behavioral services and supports;
One-to-one or other paraprofessional support;
Transportation;
Assistive technology;
Accommodations and modifications;
Extended school year services, if applicable;
The student's placement and amount of time inside and outside general education; and
Any other service for which the IEP specifies frequency, duration, location, or start date.
Don't rely solely on what you remember being discussed at the IEP meeting. The written IEP is critically important.
Ask What Is Actually Being Provided
Sometimes parents don't know that services are missing.
A child may not know whether the person who pulled them out of class was a speech-language pathologist, counselor, resource teacher, or someone else. A younger child may simply say, "I didn't have speech."
If you aren't sure, ask.
A short email to the case manager can often clarify the situation:
"I am reviewing Alex's IEP and want to make sure all of the services are in place for the new school year. Could you please confirm when each of Alex's IEP services began and the current schedule for those services?"
Putting the question in writing also creates a record.
"We're Still Hiring Someone"
One of the most common explanations parents hear is that the district has a staffing shortage.
Perhaps the speech-language pathologist position is vacant. The district hasn't hired the student's aide yet. There is no occupational therapist available. A behavioral-services provider hasn't been assigned.
Those may be genuine operational problems. But staffing difficulties do not simply erase the student's IEP obligations.
If the IEP requires a service, the district generally remains responsible for ensuring that the service is provided.
The practical significance of a short delay will depend heavily on the circumstances. But as missed services accumulate, parents should not simply assume that the district can indefinitely postpone them because it has been unable to hire someone.
Keep a Simple Record of Missed Services
If services are not being provided, start keeping track.
You don't need an elaborate system. A spreadsheet, calendar, notebook, or running email to yourself can work.
Record:
The date;
The service that should have occurred;
Whether it occurred;
What the school told you about the missed service;
Any early pickups, shortened days, or missed instructional time; and
Any noticeable effect on your child.
Save relevant emails and other communications from the school.
This information can become important if there is later a disagreement about how much service your child missed or what should be done to remedy it.
Don't Wait Months to Raise the Issue
Parents sometimes hesitate because they don't want to begin the school year by being perceived as difficult.
That is understandable, but waiting can make the problem harder to fix.
You can begin cooperatively. Ask the case manager what is happening and when the missing service will begin.
If the problem isn't resolved promptly — or if the missing service is particularly important — consider putting your concern in writing and requesting an IEP team meeting.
Parents of students with IEPs do not have to wait until the annual IEP meeting to discuss a problem. In California, when a parent requests an IEP meeting to review an existing IEP, the meeting generally must be held within 30 days of the written request, excluding certain school breaks.
Depending on the circumstances, waiting 30 days may itself be too long to resolve an immediate implementation problem. The meeting deadline should not be confused with permission for the district to leave required services unimplemented in the meantime.
What About the Services My Child Already Missed?
Starting the service eventually does not necessarily answer the question of what happens to services the student already lost.
In appropriate cases, a student may be entitled to compensatory education — additional services intended to remedy educational harm resulting from a failure to provide services the student should have received.
Compensatory education isn't necessarily calculated minute-for-minute. The appropriate remedy depends on the circumstances, including the nature of the violation and what is necessary to place the student in the position they likely would have occupied if appropriate services had been provided.
That is another reason documentation matters.
Watch for Problems That Are Bigger Than Missed Minutes
Sometimes a missing service causes other problems.
For example, suppose a student's IEP requires behavioral support, but the support isn't in place when school begins. The student begins having behavioral incidents. The school repeatedly calls the parent to pick the student up. Eventually the student is suspended.
At that point, what initially looked like a staffing problem may have developed into both a special-education and a student-discipline issue.
Similarly, the absence of an aide, transportation, counseling, or another required support may effectively prevent a student from accessing the placement or educational program promised by the IEP.
Parents should therefore look beyond the number of missed service minutes and pay attention to what is happening to their child because the IEP isn't being implemented.
What Can Parents Do If the Problem Isn't Fixed?
The appropriate response depends on the seriousness of the problem.
Possible steps can include:
Raising the issue with the student's case manager or service provider;
Putting the concern in writing;
Requesting records showing what services have actually been provided;
Requesting an IEP team meeting;
Asking the district how it intends to address missed services;
Filing a state compliance complaint with the California Department of Education;
Pursuing mediation or a special-education due process proceeding; or
Consulting a special-education attorney or qualified advocate about the particular circumstances.
Not every missed service requires litigation. Many implementation problems can — and should — be resolved quickly once someone identifies them.
But repeated or substantial failures to implement an IEP should not simply become the new normal.
The Bottom Line
The beginning of the school year can involve logistical complications. An IEP, however, doesn't disappear during the back-to-school transition.
If your child's services haven't started, determine exactly what the IEP requires, find out what the school is actually providing, document missing services, and raise the issue promptly.
Most importantly, pay attention to the effect on your child.
A few missed minutes and a student going without a critical support for weeks are very different situations. When missing services begin affecting your child's ability to attend school, access instruction, regulate behavior, or make educational progress, the problem may require more immediate action.
Questions About Your Child's Services?
If your child's IEP services still haven't started — or you're not sure what the school is actually required to provide — I'm happy to talk it through. I offer every family a free 45-minute consultation, and I serve families throughout the Sacramento region and across California. You can also find plain-language answers to common questions in my special education FAQ.
Schedule a Free Consultation — or call (916) 407-4246.
This article provides general information about California special education law and is not legal advice. Every student's circumstances are different. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.
