A related service is missing from my child’s IEP
A related service — speech therapy, OT, counseling, or transportation — could help your child at school, and the IEP names none of them. Not on a guess: the data review has to ask whether additions to related services are needed, and a needed one goes in the IEP’s statement of services (34 CFR 300.305(a)(2)(iv), 300.320(a)(4)). Start by pulling the IEP page or the letter the dispute turns on and writing down today’s date; every move below adds to that record.
What the rule says
“On the basis of that review, and input from the child’s parents, identify what additional data, if any, are needed to determine … whether any additions or modifications to the special education and related services are needed.”
34 CFR 300.305(a)(2)(iv)
Every review of your child’s data asks whether a service the IEP lacks is needed, and your input is part of that review.
What to do this week, in order
Match each daily struggle — handwriting, meals, hallways, being understood — to the related service that would address it, with today’s date.
A dated struggle-to-service list
Put a written reevaluation request into the case manager’s hands, naming the related service and the struggles behind it.
Your evaluation request, with the date sent34 CFR 300.303(a)(2)
Ask for an IEP meeting where the team weighs the missing service against your child’s academic, developmental, and functional needs.
Your dated meeting request, plus the decision it draws34 CFR 300.324(a)(1)(iv)
Forward the paragraph below by email, the case manager first and the related-service supervisor copied, naming the service and the date the gap began.
Your email, timestamped when you sent it
What to put in writing
Replace what sits in brackets and send it by email, so the date is fixed.
- To
- The IEP case manager, plus the OT or speech supervisor
Dear [Case manager’s name], [Child’s full name]’s present levels, on page [page], describe [struggle: trouble with handwriting, meals, hallways, or being understood], and no related service on the IEP addresses it. This gap has lasted from [first date] until [last date], with nothing in place. Please send the data the team is relying on for that gap, and tell me when the team will look at whether [related service, such as occupational therapy or speech therapy] belongs on the IEP. Where the team decides none is needed, please put that decision on paper — 34 CFR 300.503 spells out what such a notice includes. Sincerely, [Your name]
If the answer is no, it arrives as prior written notice: what was refused, why, and the records the district relied on (34 CFR 300.503(b)).
When to escalate, and to whom
Escalate when the written answer is a no, or when the record you built this week draws no answer at all.
| The path | The count | How it runs |
|---|---|---|
| A state complaint | 60 days to a decision | A signed letter to your state education agency about a violation inside the past year; the state decides in writing within 60 days.34 CFR 300.152(a), 300.153(c) |
| Mediation | Voluntary, at no cost to you | You and the district sit with an impartial mediator the state pays for; it can start before any complaint and may not delay a hearing.34 CFR 300.506(b) |
| A due process complaint | 2 years to file | A hearing before an impartial officer; the district holds a resolution meeting within 15 days, and the decision is due 45 days after the 30-day resolution period.34 CFR 300.507(a)(2), 300.510(a)(1), 300.515(a) |
Those counts are IDEA’s; your state may set its own window for due process, and publishes its own complaint form.
This page explains the federal rule, and it does not replace your state’s procedures, or advice from someone qualified to read your file.
Have the pages this dispute is about read back to you, free.
The review reads every page you upload, names the service, goal or wording that is vague or missing, and gives you its page number.
Review my IEP — freeFree, no card. It reads your pages and contacts no one.
Where this comes from
- Reviewing data before a decision (34 CFR 300.305)The quotation above, verbatim.
- What the IEP lists, and when (34 CFR 300.320)Where a needed service goes.
- Asking for a reevaluation (34 CFR 300.303)The request move two sends.
- Prior written notice (34 CFR 300.503)What every no owes you.
When the paragraph needs to become a full letter, the letter templates carry one for each request.