Services

During what time period will compensatory education be provided? One year? Five weeks? Three months? Until all of it is provided?

When compensatory education is proposed, you might face a school district that wants to provide it within a set period of time. Consider, instead, asking that it be provided until each minute owed has been provided in full.

Why?

The United States Department of Education defines compensatory services as services that “are required to remedy any educational or other deficits that result from the student with a disability not receiving the evaluations or services to which they were entitled.” This could include a school’s failure to provide appropriate and/or timely initial evaluations, re-evaluations, and/or services.

In its fact sheet, titled “Providing Students with Disabilities Free Appropriate Public Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Addressing the Need for Compensatory Services Under Section 504,” USDOE Office for Civil Rights ( cited 34 C.F.R. § 104.6(a) and Barnes v. Gorman, 536 U.S. 181, 189 (2002) in support of the above definition.

Students who have disabilities are known to struggle with depression. By removing the joy from their lives because the school is required to provide compensatory education, one harm is traded for another. The student is provided instruction he is owed, but is denied happiness he needs.

When schools fail children, they end up having to provide compensatory education in return. In theory, it sounds great. The school district will make up for its errors, the student will receive help, all will be good. . . .

However, the reality is much different.

This is important.

Pay attention, because you might live in an area that doesn’t proactively propose related services in compliance with IDEA, Section 504, and/or implementing state regulations. Too often, my experience has been that if you don’t know to ask, they won’t be proposed.

Related services are supports required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education. This could be transportation to tutoring sessions, work with a speech therapist, assistive technology training for the parent and student, training parents to use sign language, providing special training to teachers working with students, and much more.