The IEP says speech therapy, thirty minutes, twice a week. Your daughter says she has not seen the speech teacher since September. It is now November. You wonder whether you misunderstood, whether the schedule changed, or whether the school has simply not been delivering the service.
Missed services are one of the most common concerns families raise. They are also one of the least clear in the law, because the federal rules do not say how many sessions can be missed. This guide explains what is known, what one state's guidance says, and what you can do. It is general information, not legal advice, and state rules differ.
What the IEP promises
Section 300.320 requires the IEP to state the projected start date, and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration, of the services it lists. That is the promise. If the IEP says thirty minutes twice a week in the therapy room, those are the numbers the school's records should match.
What the law does not say
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction put it plainly in a guidance document on interruptions in IEP service delivery: neither the federal IDEA nor Wisconsin's special education statute or rules specifically address missed IEP services. Wrightslaw makes the same point about the federal rules and notes that state and district policies exist.
So there is no federal number of missed sessions that counts as too many. The question is decided case by case.
How one state suggests thinking about it
Wisconsin's guidance defines an interruption as any time an IEP service is not provided according to the frequency, amount, or duration in the IEP. It says minor interruptions, such as occasional student absences or school events, do not necessarily deny a free appropriate public education. Whether an interruption does is decided case by case by looking at two things: the number of missed sessions or minutes compared with the IEP, and the effect on the student's progress.
When the missed sessions or minutes are substantial, are not made up, and the student fails to make adequate progress on the goals the missed services targeted, the guidance says the requirement to implement the IEP as written has not been met.
| Cause | General position in the guidance |
|---|---|
| Occasional student absence | No compensatory services required |
| Chronic student absence | The IEP team should meet to discuss the reasons |
| School event | May matter if events combine into chronic interruptions |
| State testing the student takes | No make-up or compensatory services required |
| School closed for everyone | Generally no compensatory services |
| Occasional provider absence | The provider is generally expected to schedule a make-up |
| Staff vacancy | Compensatory services must be considered, and parents must be notified |
Those are one state's positions, and the guidance itself warns against blanket policies. Your state may differ. Use the table to understand the reasoning, not to predict your result.
Make-up sessions and compensatory services
The two are different. A make-up session is a missed session that is rescheduled, usually when the school or the provider caused the miss. Compensatory services are a remedy when missed services denied a child a free appropriate public education. In Wisconsin's guidance, they are meant to make up for the violation, they are not necessarily provided minute for minute, and they are based on what the IEP team decides is needed for the student to make up for the missed learning.
The factors the guidance says may be relevant include the frequency, amount, and duration of the missed services, the student's current performance and progress, whether the student is on track to meet the goals, and the results of updated assessments.
Checking whether services were delivered
You do not have to guess. Take these steps.
- Reread the services page of the IEP. Write down the frequency, duration, and location for each service.
- Ask for the records in writing: service logs, schedules, or session notes showing the dates and minutes your child received.
- Compare. Count the sessions that should have happened and the ones that did.
- Note the reasons. The logs should say why any session was missed.
- Look at progress. Check the latest progress report against the goals those services support. See IEP progress reports: what to expect.
Wisconsin's guidance encourages districts to require staff to keep a log of when services are provided, and says any deviation from the IEP should include the date and reason. So records should exist. Wrightslaw suggests parents keep a record of missed sessions and the reasons, and note whether the school was told and asked when and how sessions would be made up.
Writing to the school
The IEP team's role
Wisconsin's guidance says the IEP team should meet when there are patterns of interruptions, when there are staff vacancies or extended absences and the student, who had been progressing, is no longer making enough progress, or when parents or other team members believe other changes are needed. Decisions about compensatory services are made by the IEP team, and the guidance says the team should look at progress data on the affected goals. The type, frequency, amount, location, and duration of any compensatory services should be clear, just like any IEP service.
If the school does not act
If the school does not respond or does not fix the problem, you have options. A state complaint is one. Section 300.153 lets any individual file a signed written complaint that a school violated a requirement of IDEA, as long as the violation happened no more than a year before the complaint was received. See mediation, due process, and state complaints compared and what to do if you disagree with the IEP.
Missed-service mix-ups
- Assuming one missed session is a violation. The question is how much and the effect on progress.
- Assuming nothing can be done. You can ask for records, a meeting, and, if needed, a complaint.
- Waiting for the annual review. The team can meet sooner.
- Not keeping your own notes. A short list of dates helps.
Terms are in the glossary.