Summary. A working kit: the letters that start and shape a case, review instruments for goals, services, IEPs, and evaluations, enforcement instruments including the service log audit and the state complaint, the dispute filings, Section 504 and OCR instruments, a transition worksheet, and the authorities.

SECTION A — THE LETTERS

A-1. Evaluation request

Subject: Written request for a special education evaluation — [Child], [grade], [school]

To: [Principal] and [Director of Special Education]

I am the parent of [name], DOB [__], a [grade] student at [school]. I am requesting a full and individual evaluation to determine whether my child is a child with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and, if so, what special education and related services are needed.

Specific concerns, with data: · [He is reading at a mid-first-grade level in third grade, per the district's fall benchmark of [date].] · [She has had 14 office referrals since September.] · [He cannot complete written work he can answer aloud.]

I request assessment in all areas of suspected disability, including: academic achievement · cognitive ability · speech and language (receptive, expressive, pragmatic) · occupational therapy and fine motor · functional behavior · social-emotional · assistive technology · hearing and vision.

Please send the consent form and the procedural safeguards notice. I understand the evaluation must be completed within [60 days / state timeline] of my written consent.

If the district declines to evaluate in any area, please provide prior written notice describing the refusal, the data relied upon, and the other options considered and rejected.

[Name · address · phone · email · date]

A-2. Prior written notice demand — the most useful sentence in special education

Re: [Child], [school] — Request for prior written notice

At the meeting on [date] [or: In your message of [date]], the district [refused to evaluate in the area of ___ / declined to provide ___ / declined to change ___].

Pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(3) and (c)(1) and 34 C.F.R. § 300.503, I request prior written notice, including:

  1. A description of the action refused;
  2. An explanation of why the district refuses to take the action;
  3. A description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or report the district used as a basis;
  4. A description of other options the IEP team considered and the reasons those options were rejected;
  5. A description of any other factors relevant to the refusal;
  6. A statement that the parents have protection under the procedural safeguards, and sources to contact for assistance.

Please provide this within [10] days.

A-3. Records request

Re: [Child], [DOB], [school] — Request for education records

Pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(1), 34 C.F.R. § 300.501(a), and FERPA, I request copies of the following, at least five school days before the meeting scheduled for [date]:

  1. All evaluation reports and the underlying protocols and raw data, for the past three years.
  2. All IEPs, amendments, and prior written notices.
  3. All progress monitoring, benchmark, and screening data, with the dates administered.
  4. Service logs for all IEP services from [date] to [date], showing date, duration, provider, and setting of each session.
  5. All behavior data, functional behavioral assessments, behavior intervention plans, incident reports, and discipline records including informal removals.
  6. Work samples in [subject] for the current year.
  7. All correspondence about my child among staff.
  8. Any draft IEP or other document the district intends to present at the meeting.
  9. The district's criteria for independent educational evaluations.

Please confirm the date the records will be available.

A-4. Parent concerns statement (attach to the IEP)

PARENT CONCERNS AND INPUT — [Child] — [Date]
Submitted in advance; I request this be attached to the IEP.

1. WHAT IS WORKING
   · [Specific, and name the staff who made it work.]

2. WHAT IS NOT WORKING  (with dates and specifics)
   · [Date] — [observation]
   · [Date] — [observation]

3. WHAT I OBSERVE AT HOME
   · Homework: takes ___ minutes for ___ minutes of assigned work
   · Avoidance / refusal: ______
   · Sleep, appetite, physical complaints: ______
   · What my child says about school: "______"

4. OUTSIDE INFORMATION  (attached)
   · [Evaluation / clinician letter / medical record]

5. WHAT I AM ASKING THE TEAM TO CONSIDER
   · [Specific: an evaluation in ___ · a goal addressing ___ ·
      ___ minutes of ___ delivered by ___ in a group of no more
      than ___ · assistive technology evaluation · FBA and BIP]

SECTION B — REVIEW INSTRUMENTS

B-1. Goal quality rubric — every goal must pass all four

# Goal (as written) 1. Baseline stated? 2. Target measurable and specific? 3. Condition + measurement method + frequency? 4. Appropriately ambitious in light of this child's circumstances? Verdict
1 ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
2 ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Weak: "Will improve reading skills." Adequate: "Will read 90 correct words per minute." Strong: "Given an unpracticed second-grade passage, [Child] will read 90 correct words per minute with 95% accuracy, measured by curriculum-based measurement, weekly, by [date]. Current baseline: 42 cwpm, 88% accuracy (measured [date])."

B-2. Service specification table — all four elements, every service

Service Frequency Duration Location / setting Provider type Group size Start date Specified?
Speech-language ☐
Occupational therapy ☐
Specialized instruction — reading ☐
Specialized instruction — math ☐
Counseling ☐
Behavior support ☐
Assistive technology ☐
Transportation ☐
ESY ☐

Reject: "as needed" · "consultation" · "support" · "when available" · "as determined by the provider." None of these is enforceable.

B-3. IEP review worksheet

□ PRESENT LEVELS
  Describe current performance with DATA, not adjectives?
  State how the disability affects progress in the general curriculum?

□ GOALS — run rubric B-1 on every one
  Does every identified need have a corresponding goal?
  Are there goals with no service, or services with no goal?

□ SERVICES — run table B-2 on every one
  Are supplementary aids and services listed for the general ed setting?
  Are supports FOR SCHOOL PERSONNEL listed (training, consultation)?

□ LRE
  Is there an explanation of the extent, if any, of NON-participation
  with nondisabled peers — and is it justified by need rather than
  by program availability?
  Were supplementary aids in the regular class TRIED first?

□ PROGRESS REPORTING
  How measured, and how often reported? (Must be at least as often
  as report cards for nondisabled children.)

□ ACCOMMODATIONS
  Listed for instruction AND assessment? Specific enough to implement?

□ BEHAVIOR
  If behavior impedes learning: is an FBA done and a BIP in the IEP?

□ ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY  — considered? documented?

□ ESY — individualized determination, or a policy?

□ TRANSITION (age 16, earlier in many states)
  Measurable postsecondary goals for education, employment, and
  independent living? Coordinated activities? Course of study?
  Was the STUDENT invited?

□ SIGNATURES — attendance page lists a required district
  representative with authority over resources?

B-4. Evaluation report reading guide

1. STANDARD SCORES (mean 100, SD 15) — not "average range."
   Ask for the number and the percentile.
      70 = 2nd percentile · 85 = 16th · 100 = 50th · 115 = 84th

2. SUBTEST SCATTER — a composite hides the problem.
   Ask for subtest scores and what explains any large gap.

3. WHAT WAS NOT ASSESSED — compare instruments administered
   against the areas of suspected disability.

4. OBSERVATION — was the child observed in the learning
   environment? (Required for an SLD determination.)

5. RECOMMENDATIONS — are they IMPLEMENTABLE?
   "Would benefit from support" = worthless.
   "45 minutes daily of explicit, systematic phonics instruction
    in a group of no more than four" = becomes IEP services.

6. VALIDITY STATEMENT — did the evaluator address effort,
   attention, illness, or anything affecting the results?

SECTION C — ENFORCEMENT

C-1. Service log audit worksheet

Service IEP promises (min/week) Weeks in period Minutes owed Sessions logged Minutes delivered Shortfall
Speech-language 60 36 2,160
Occupational therapy 30 36 1,080
Specialized reading 225 36 8,100
Total ______

Also check: reasons given for missed sessions · whether they were made up · whether the parent was ever notified of a vacancy or interruption · whether group size matched the IEP.

This audit produces the most provable violation in special education, and districts frequently have not run it themselves.

C-2. Compensatory education demand

Re: [Child] — Failure to implement the IEP; request for compensatory education

The IEP dated [__] requires [60] minutes weekly of [speech-language therapy]. The service logs you provided on [date] show [9] sessions delivered between [date] and [date], a period of [18] weeks. The shortfall is [540] minutes.

[Where applicable: The district did not notify me that the position was vacant from [date] to [date].]

A district's failure to implement a material portion of an IEP is a denial of a free appropriate public education. I request compensatory education in the amount of [9] hours of [speech-language therapy], delivered [by a licensed SLP, in individual sessions, outside the school day or in addition to current services, on a written schedule to be completed by [date]].

Please respond in writing within [10] days with the district's position and, if it agrees, the proposed schedule. If the district declines, please provide prior written notice.

C-3. State complaint template

STATE COMPLAINT — [State Education Agency]
                  Free · no lawyer required · WRITTEN DECISION IN 60 DAYS

1. COMPLAINANT: name, address, phone, email, relationship to child.
2. CHILD: name, DOB, address, school, district.
3. VIOLATION ALLEGED (be specific and cite the requirement):
   "The district failed to implement the IEP dated [__] by providing
    only [9] of [36] required speech-language sessions between [date]
    and [date], in violation of 34 C.F.R. § 300.323."
4. FACTS, chronologically, with dates and documents.
   [date] IEP finalized requiring 60 min/week
   [date] Service logs requested
   [date] Logs received showing 9 sessions in 18 weeks
   [date] Compensatory education requested; district declined
5. PROPOSED RESOLUTION:
   · Compensatory education of ___ hours on a stated schedule
   · Corrective action: staffing plan, parent notification procedure
   · Reporting to the SEA for ___ months
6. SIGNATURE and DATE.
7. CERTIFICATE: a copy was sent to the district on the same date.

ATTACH: the IEP · the service logs · the correspondence.
⚠ Must generally allege a violation occurring within ONE YEAR.

SECTION D — DISPUTE FILINGS

D-1. Due process complaint — outline

DUE PROCESS COMPLAINT — 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(7)

REQUIRED CONTENTS (an incomplete notice can be challenged):
 1. Child's name, address, school (and, if homeless, contact info).
 2. A description of the nature of the problem, INCLUDING FACTS.
 3. A PROPOSED RESOLUTION to the extent known.

BODY
 I.   THE CHILD  — disability, current placement, history.
 II.  FACTS, chronologically, with dates and exhibit references.
 III. VIOLATIONS
        A. Failure to provide FAPE — the IEP was not reasonably
           calculated to enable progress appropriate in light of
           the child's circumstances. Endrew F., 580 U.S. 386.
        B. Procedural violations impeding the child's right to FAPE,
           significantly impeding parental participation, or causing
           deprivation of educational benefit
           (predetermination · failure to give PWN · failure to
            evaluate in all areas · records withheld).
        C. LRE — removal without first trying supplementary aids
           and services in the regular class.
        D. Failure to implement.
 IV.  RELIEF REQUESTED
        · Independent educational evaluation at public expense
        · Specific services, stated with frequency/duration/
          setting/provider
        · Compensatory education of ___ hours
        · [Reimbursement for the private placement at ___]
        · Attorney's fees

REMEMBER
 · Filing triggers STAY PUT — current placement continues.
 · A RESOLUTION SESSION must occur within 15 days.
 · Deadline: generally 2 YEARS from when you knew or should have
   known (or the state period).
 · Appeal to court: 90 days from the decision (or the state period).

D-2. Ten-business-day private placement notice — do not skip this

Re: [Child] — Rejection of the proposed IEP and notice of unilateral placement

I am writing at least ten business days before removing [Child] from [school], as required to preserve a claim for reimbursement.

I reject the IEP proposed on [date] because it does not offer a free appropriate public education, for the following reasons:

  1. [The IEP provides no direct reading instruction despite a documented decoding deficit at the 4th percentile.]
  2. [The goals contain no baselines and cannot be measured.]
  3. [The district declined to conduct an assistive technology evaluation; see prior written notice of [date].]

I intend to enroll [Child] at [private school], [address], beginning [date], and to seek reimbursement from the district for tuition, related services, and transportation.

I remain willing to meet to discuss a program that would provide FAPE in the public setting.

[Name · date · sent by email and certified mail]

Elements of the claim: (1) the district denied FAPE; (2) the private placement is appropriate — it need not be state-approved; (3) the equities favor the parent — meetings attended, evaluations permitted, notice given. See Forest Grove School District v. T.A., 557 U.S. 230 (2009).

D-3. Manifestation determination challenge

TWO QUESTIONS — a YES to EITHER means the conduct WAS a manifestation

Q1. Was the conduct CAUSED BY, or did it have a DIRECT AND
    SUBSTANTIAL RELATIONSHIP TO, the child's disability?
    Evidence: the disability's documented characteristics · the
    evaluations · the FBA · the pattern of similar incidents ·
    clinician letters tying the behavior to the condition.

Q2. Was the conduct the DIRECT RESULT OF THE DISTRICT'S FAILURE TO
    IMPLEMENT THE IEP?   ← UNDERUSED. Check:
    □ Was a required BIP ever written?
    □ Was the one-to-one aide present that day?
    □ Were the accommodations actually provided?
    □ Were the service minutes delivered? (Run C-1.)
    □ Had the parent reported the escalation in writing beforehand?

IF YES to either:
  · Return to the placement (absent special circumstances)
  · FBA conducted and a BIP implemented or revised

IF NO to both:
  · Discipline as any student — BUT SERVICES MUST CONTINUE
  · Appeal available on an expedited basis

DAY COUNT — attach it. Include EVERY partial day and every
informal "come pick him up" removal.

SECTION E — SECTION 504 AND OCR

E-1. Section 504 plan — contents to insist on

□ ELIGIBILITY: impairment · major life activity substantially
  limited · basis. (Mitigating measures are DISREGARDED; episodic
  or in-remission conditions qualify when active.)
□ ACCOMMODATIONS — specific, not aspirational:
   extended time (___%)  ·  reduced-distraction setting
   preferential seating  ·  copies of notes / note-taker
   permission to leave for medical care without a pass
   access to food, water, bathroom
   modified attendance policy for a chronic condition
   assistive technology  ·  modified PE
□ HEALTH CARE PLAN: who is trained, what they do, when, and the
  emergency protocol.
□ ACCESS to ALL programs: athletics · clubs · field trips ·
  before/after care · school-sponsored events.
□ WHO IS RESPONSIBLE for each item, and how implementation is
  monitored.
□ REVIEW DATE.
□ Distribution to EVERY teacher and to substitutes.

E-2. OCR complaint — outline

OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
  Free · no lawyer · generally 180 DAYS from the discriminatory act

1. Complainant and the person discriminated against.
2. The recipient of federal funds (district/school).
3. The DISCRIMINATION: what happened, when, and on what basis
   (disability).
   Examples that fit OCR better than IDEA:
     · excluded from a field trip, team, club, or after-care
     · denied an accommodation in a non-academic program
     · a building or event that was not accessible
     · RETALIATION after advocacy or a complaint
4. Dates, names, and documents.
5. Requested remedy.

Note: after Fry (580 U.S. 154) and Perez (598 U.S. 142), a claim
whose gist is DISCRIMINATION rather than denial of FAPE — and a
claim for compensatory DAMAGES under the ADA — need not be
exhausted through IDEA's process.

SECTION F — TRANSITION WORKSHEET

BEGIN AT AGE 16 (earlier in many states). Student MUST be invited.

MEASURABLE POSTSECONDARY GOALS
  Education/training after high school: ____________________
  Employment: ____________________
  Independent living (where appropriate): ____________________

PRESENT LEVELS — from AGE-APPROPRIATE TRANSITION ASSESSMENTS
  Assessment used: __________  Date: ______  Results: __________

COURSE OF STUDY that supports the goals: __________________

COORDINATED ACTIVITIES  (who does what, by when)
  □ Instruction: ______________________
  □ Related services: __________________
  □ Community experiences: ______________
  □ Employment / post-school adult living objectives: __________
  □ Daily living skills, if appropriate: ______________
  □ Functional vocational evaluation, if appropriate: __________

OUTSIDE AGENCIES — invited with parent/student consent
  □ Vocational Rehabilitation — APPLY EARLY
  □ Developmental disability agency — WAITING LISTS RUN YEARS
  □ Independent living center  □ Workforce agency  □ SSA (SSI at 18)

DIPLOMA DECISION
  ⚠ A REGULAR DIPLOMA ENDS IDEA ELIGIBILITY.
  Maximum age in this state: ______

AGE OF MAJORITY (rights transfer at 18 in most states)
  Notice given at 17? ______
  Option chosen: □ supported decision-making
                 □ voluntary POA / health care proxy
                 □ delegation of educational rights
                 □ guardianship  ← MOST RESTRICTIVE; not the default

DOCUMENTATION FOR COLLEGE — an IEP is NOT sufficient.
  Current evaluations obtained? ______ Date: ______

SECTION G — PRIMARY AUTHORITY

Related documents

This toolkit is educational and not legal advice. State regulations frequently provide more than federal law requires; adapt every letter and filing to your state's timelines and procedures. Your state's parent training and information center will review these with you at no cost.