What can I do if the school isn’t following my child’s IEP?

Write down what the IEP promises and what is actually happening, then raise the gap in writing with the teacher or case manager — many gaps close there. The school must provide the IEP’s services, and every teacher responsible for it must know their part. If the gap continues, a state complaint can order a fix, including make-up services.

What to do

Compare the services section of the IEP — how often, how long, and where each service happens — with what your child is actually getting. Note dates and specifics.
34 CFR § 300.320(a)(7)
Email the teacher or case manager describing the gap and asking how it will be fixed. A short, dated email is a record; a hallway conversation is not.
Ask whether every teacher and provider has the IEP and knows their part. A missed accommodation is often a teacher who was never told.
34 CFR § 300.323(d)
A school can’t simply stop providing a service the IEP lists. If it wants to change one, it must give you prior written notice first.
34 CFR § 300.503(a)(1)
If the gap continues, you can file a state complaint. The letter tool also has a Compensatory Services Request for asking the school to make up missed time.
34 CFR §§ 300.151(b), 300.153

What the law says

As soon as possible after the IEP is developed, the school must make the special education and related services in it available to your child.
34 CFR § 300.323(c)(2)
Each teacher and provider responsible for the IEP must be able to access it and be told their specific responsibilities, including the accommodations and supports they must provide.
34 CFR § 300.323(d)
The IEP must state when services begin and how often, where, and for how long they are provided.
34 CFR § 300.320(a)(7)
A state complaint must concern a violation that happened no more than one year before the state receives it.
34 CFR § 300.153(c)
When the state finds a failure to provide appropriate services, it must address that failure with corrective action suited to your child’s needs, such as compensatory services or monetary reimbursement.
34 CFR § 300.151(b)(1)

Ready to put it in writing? The letter tool's “Prior Written Notice Request” template is written for this.

Write This Letter

Common questions

How do I know exactly which services my child should be getting?

Look for the section listing special education, related services, and supplementary aids. It should give each service a frequency, a length, and a setting — for example, speech therapy twice a week for 30 minutes in a small group. That schedule is what you compare a real school week against.

Should I talk to the teacher first or go straight to the principal?

Usually the teacher or case manager first — they can often fix a scheduling or communication gap within days. If a written request gets no answer, or the same gap keeps coming back, copying the special education director is a reasonable next step. Keeping every step in writing makes each one easier.

What are compensatory services?

Services a school provides to make up for ones your child should have received and did not — extra tutoring or therapy sessions, for example. A state complaint that finds a failure can order them, and some teams agree to them without a complaint when the missed time is clearly documented.

Will raising this make things harder for my child at school?

Most schools treat an implementation gap as a logistics problem to solve rather than a conflict. Keeping your notes factual — dates, minutes, what was missed — keeps the conversation about the plan and not about any one person.