September 2026: 

The MLO Minute: “Back-To-School and Special Education Issues” 

By Rachel Rosenberg, Esq., Attorney in the Special Education Department — 

With the start of a new school year either approaching or already here, it is a good time to review what your child may be entitled to under the law, pursuant to their special education needs. You can find a recording of a presentation on a comprehensive overview of your special education rights by CLICKING HERE, but please find a brief recap of that presentation below.

 

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) entitles children with special education needs to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), or a program that is \reasonably calculated to afford meaningful educational progress in all domains (academic, social, emotional, behavioral, physical), through a proper Individualized Education Program (IEP). A FAPE must be provided in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), meaning that special education students must be educated with typically-developing peers to the maximum extent appropriate.

 

Child Find: It is the responsibility of the State to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities, or suspected of having disabilities, residing within the State, including children experiencing homelessness, children attending private schools, and highly mobile children.

 

Evaluations: Once the State identifies a student as having a disability or suspected of having a disability, it must conduct an evaluation that is sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of the student’s special education and related services needs. If an evaluation, or a re-evaluation (which must be conducted every two to three years for students with special education needs), is not sufficiently comprehensive, you may be entitled to an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense.

 

Eligibility: If an evaluation finds that a student is eligible for an IEP, that means that they fit into one of the thirteen categories of disabilities, laid out by IDEA (including autism, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, and more), and that the disability has an adverse impact on the child’s education.

 

IEP: Once a child is identified as needing an IEP, the school district or charter school must prepare an IEP, or a written statement that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting with parents and relevant professionals, containing the following:

 

• A statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance;
• A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals;
• A description of how the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured and when periodic reports will be provided;
• A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable, and a statement of the program modifications and supports for school personnel;
• An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the student will not participate with non-disabled students;
• A statement of any appropriate accommodations for State and district-wide assessments;
• A transition plan (once a student is 14); and
• If needed, a positive behavior support plan (based on a comprehensive Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)).

 

Section 504 Plan: If a student is not eligible for an IEP but still has a disability that impacts their learning, they may be entitled to a Section 504 Service Plan, which includes any accommodations that student may need. One main difference between a 504 Plan and IEP is that a 504 Plan does not contain goals by which you can track the student’s progress.

 

Remedies under IDEA: If you feel your school district or charter school is not providing your child with what is legally required, there are a variety of remedies to which you may be entitled, including appropriate programming and compensatory education, among other things. If you have any concerns you’d like to talk through or any questions about your rights, please feel free to reach out to our office for a free consultation. Click here to contact us today!