IEP non-compliance complaints are a great tool for parents. They are most useful when your school district provides most, but not all the supports and/or services listed on the IEP. You may get excuses for the services that are delayed, but you may need to get some extra help to ensure compliance. If your student’s speech services, behavioral services, occupational therapy (OT), or adapted physical education (APE) services have not started and it’s 6 or more weeks into the school year, it is time to file an IEP non-compliance complaint.
When it is time to file any IEP non-compliance complaints, we recommend you first send the school district a written request to commence the services immediately. Ask the school district to acknowledge receipt of your email and ask for a response within three (3) to five (5) days. If the district is unresponsive or does not start providing the service(s) or support(s) in that time, file a compliance complaint. It is a two-paged form that you can send to the State of California by fax or regular mail. You must include a copy of your child’s IEP! The state will call you to get more information about your complaint; that same individual will call the school district to get information from them as well. In most instances, this step is enough to encourage the district to resume compliance—unresolved IEP compliance complaints can have a negative impact on the district’s state funding.
It can feel adversarial to file IEP non-compliance complaints. Most school districts will do the right thing and provide all the agreed-upon supports and services to your child. For those that don’t, IEP non-compliance complaints help give them a nudge in the right direction.
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