Your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The school agreed to provide specific services — speech therapy, occupational therapy, a one-on-one aide, specialized instruction, behavioral supports. But those services are not being delivered. This is not a scheduling issue or a staffing problem. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), failure to implement an IEP is a denial of your child’s right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and a violation of federal law.
Document Everything
The first and most important step is to document the failures. Keep a written log of every missed service, every unfilled position, every time your child did not receive what was promised. Note the date, the service that was missed, and who you spoke with about it. Save every email, every note from the teacher, every communication with the school.
Documentation is the foundation of any successful due process case. Hearing officers and courts rely on contemporaneous records — notes made at or near the time the events occurred. If you have been keeping records, you are already ahead.
Put It in Writing
Send the school a written communication — email is fine — identifying the specific IEP services that are not being provided. Be factual and specific: “According to [child’s name]’s IEP dated [date], they are entitled to [specific service] [frequency]. This service has not been provided since [date].” Ask the school to confirm in writing when services will resume and how missed services will be made up.
This creates a paper trail and puts the district on notice. If they fail to respond or continue to not deliver services, this communication becomes evidence.
Request an IEP Meeting
You have the right to request an IEP meeting at any time. Put the request in writing. At the meeting, raise the implementation failures and ask the team to address them. If the school proposes reducing services instead of delivering them, do not agree. You have the right to disagree with any proposed change to the IEP.
When to File for Due Process
If the school continues to fail to implement your child’s IEP after you have documented the failures and put them on notice, it is time to consider filing a due process complaint. A due process complaint triggers a formal legal proceeding in which a hearing officer reviews the evidence and can order the district to provide compensatory services — additional services to make up for what your child missed.
IDEA has a two-year statute of limitations. Do not wait until two years of missed services have accumulated. The sooner you act, the sooner your child gets what they need.
Compensatory Services
When a school district fails to implement an IEP, the typical remedy is compensatory education — additional services designed to put your child back in the position they would have been in had the IEP been properly implemented. This is not simply hour-for-hour replacement. Hearing officers consider what your child needs to make meaningful educational progress going forward.
You Do Not Have to Fight Alone
An experienced special education attorney can evaluate your situation, identify the violations, and file on your behalf. Under IDEA’s fee-shifting provision, when parents prevail, the school district pays reasonable attorney fees. The consultation is free, and if we take your case, our fees come from the district — not from you.
