What to Do When the School Isn't Following the IEP

A signed IEP isn't a wish list — it's a commitment the school has to deliver exactly as written. So when the speech sessions don't happen, the small-group reading never materializes, or the accommodations are ignored, that's not a gray area. The plan is being broken, and you have a calm, orderly way to fix it that almost never requires a lawyer.

Start by getting specific. Vague frustration ("they're not doing what they said") is easy to brush off; a precise gap is not. Put the plan next to reality and write down exactly what's missing: "The IEP says 30 minutes of speech twice a week. In the last three weeks, my son has had two sessions total." Keep a short, dated log. Specifics are what move a school to act.

Then send a calm, written message to the case manager — email is ideal. Name the exact line from the IEP, describe what's actually happening, and ask a direct question: how will the missing service be provided? Don't accuse; just document. Putting it in writing turns a hallway complaint into a record the school has to respond to, and it usually gets a faster answer than a phone call.

If the first message doesn't fix it, request an IEP team meeting in writing. At that meeting, two things matter: getting the service back on track going forward, and addressing what your child already missed. Services owed for time the plan wasn't followed are sometimes made up through extra "compensatory" sessions — it's fair to ask whether your child is owed make-up support for the gap.

If the problem still isn't solved at the school level, you can escalate. That can mean writing to the district's special education director, and beyond that, formal options exist — like filing a complaint with your state education agency, which reviews whether the IEP was followed. You rarely need to go this far, but knowing the ladder exists changes how seriously the early, polite steps are taken.

Here's the reassuring part: most IEP-implementation problems get solved at step two — one specific, written message. Schools are busy and things fall through cracks; a clear, dated note often gets it handled without conflict. You're not being difficult by holding the school to its own plan. You're doing exactly what the plan was written for, and your paper trail is what makes it stick.