What If Educators Are Not Following My Child’s IEP?
If your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), your child’s school or learning institution must follow it. Unfortunately, some parents find that teachers or staff are not implementing the agreed-upon supports. When that happens, you have the right to take action.
We are attorneys Danielle Augustin and Edwin Egelsee, and our law firm, Augustin Egelsee, LLP, assists parents with submitting compliance complaints designed to get results. With more than 50 years of combined experience in the law, we are solely focused on educational law and helping children secure the education that the law says they deserve. Our firm was born of the passion to help parents obtain appropriate special education support and services for their children.
When Should Parents File A Compliance Complaint?
Educators generally have an obligation to fulfill the terms established in an IEP. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that applies to public school districts. Parents who have concerns about their child’s support at school may need to report IDEA compliance violations.
To effectively take action, you first need to understand what scenarios could justify compliance complaints. The failure to provide appropriate services is a common compliance issue.
Generally speaking, IEPs outline the number of minutes of support that children should receive each week in certain areas. If an IEP includes provisions requiring speech, occupational or physical therapy, the school should make every reasonable effort to consistently provide adequate therapeutic services.
Other times, IEP violations and IDEA compliance issues may relate to a one-on-one aide providing daily support to a student with special needs. Some school districts or individual teachers treat those aides as classroom support for the teacher or other students instead of a critical and legally mandatory form of support for a student with special needs. Occasionally, the school may outright refuse to furnish an aide, possibly while referencing budgetary restraints or hiring complications.
If the IEP includes a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), educators must follow that plan to address problematic behaviors that interfere with the child’s learning or the classroom environment. BIP plans generally require that educators track problem behaviors for frequency and severity.
They may need to offer replacement behaviors and adhere to preventative strategies. They may also require the removal of the student from the classroom temporarily or de-escalation protocols when a student becomes emotionally dysregulated. The failure to conform to a BIP is a common IEP compliance issue.
Some schools fail to conduct necessary assessments gauging the progress of a student or do not schedule annual IEP meetings to review the success of the existing IEP and make any necessary adjustments for the support of the student. Finally, there may be issues related to state testing accommodations, such as one-on-one support, increased time for tests and a private space in which to complete the test.
How Do Schools Resolve Compliance Complaints?
When you report IDEA compliance violations to the California Department of Education (CDE), the district may need to take steps to address its noncompliance. Some solutions for compliance complaints help address the services the student did not receive. Other solutions focus on improving the school’s performance in the future.
Compliance complaints may result in mandatory staff training throughout the district. Anyone working with special needs students may need to complete training that can help them better conform to IEP requirements in the future.
The CDE can also offer student-specific remedies. Frequently, these remedies involve compensatory education. Perhaps a student did not receive 20 hours of support for literacy development in grade school.
They may then be left struggling to catch up to their peers. The CDE may require that the school district pay for a comparable amount of private tutoring to make up for the loss of critical services and close the gap between where the student currently is and where they could be if they had received the services outlined in their IEP.
The CDE can also order a revision of district policies and practices. They can even order the school to perform IEP meetings or to revise existing IEPs. It may be necessary for the school to submit plans outlining how they intend to address the violations that occurred and to prevent similar issues from affecting other students with special needs in the future.
In the most extreme cases, the CDE can take steps to recover state funding granted to the district previously or reduce the funding provided due to the noncompliance. Litigation to force compliance with IDEA and student IEPs could also occur.
The Purpose And Power Of A Compliance Complaint
It can be frustrating to realize that your child is not receiving the accommodations they need. But you have a way forward. Compliance complaints are a way for parents to ensure that their child’s IEP is being appropriately implemented and their child is receiving the right support. Our team can help.
Start by meeting with your child’s teacher and bring a copy of the IEP to discuss specific concerns. If the issue continues, escalate the matter to school administrators. You may also request an IEP team meeting to revise the implementation plan and schedule a follow-up to ensure accountability.
In some cases, switching teachers may help. If problems persist, you have legal options — including mediation, pursuing a due process hearing or filing a complaint. Many school districts prefer to resolve disputes outside of court, but involving a special education attorney can make a critical difference.
As your child’s advocate, staying informed and assertive is key to ensuring they receive the support and services they are legally entitled to.
How To File A Complaint
Parents have the option to submit compliance complaints against their local school district if the district does not follow through with their child’s established IEP, mediation agreement or court decision. An experienced lawyer’s help can maximize your chances of success and get the best results, but there are some important pieces of information you should have upfront:
- You should file complaints with the California Department of Education, Special Education Division, at 515 L Street, Room 270, Sacramento, CA 95814. Telephone: 800-926-0648. Fax: 916-327-3704.
- The complaint should include the child’s name and address, the name of their current school and school district, and a thorough explanation of the issue.
- For example, a complaint could show that the district is not following the agreed IEP if they promised to provide speech and language services three times a week but are only doing it once a week.
- The complaint should specify a proposed resolution.
- For example, a suggested solution could be for the district to arrange speech and language services three times a week and also provide additional sessions to compensate for any missed ones.
As special education lawyers, we can take on these challenges for you completely. We will meet every deadline and produce the work and insights for our clients.
How An Attorney Can Help You Make An Effective Compliance Complaint
As special education lawyers, we can take on these challenges for you completely and competently. We will meet every deadline necessary during a compliance complaint.
You can rely on our team to produce the work and insight you need to help your child secure the services they need to thrive in public school.
You are your child’s first and most passionate advocate, but you should not need to make IEP enforcement your full-time job. You have a career, a home and a family to manage. Trying to juggle complicated paperwork, communication with state agencies and preparation for meetings with school district representatives as well could prove overwhelming.
We are here to help you understand the laws protecting you and your child with special needs. We can assist with reviewing the IEP and the compliance issue, documenting how the school has failed to fulfill its obligations and communicating with the CDE. We can also help you determine what resolutions might be appropriate, given the needs of your student and the prior conduct of school employees.
We Are Here For You
Contact our special education law firm by phone at 714-602-1498 or toll free at 866-781-7723, or complete our simple intake form to request more information about our services.