Getting What Your Child Needs

How to Request More Services on Your Child’s IEP

If your child has an IEP and isn’t making adequate progress, or if you believe their current program doesn’t address all of their needs, you have the right to request more services, different services, or a change in service delivery. The key is knowing how to frame that request with data the school has to take seriously.

Start With the Data That Already Exists

The most effective requests for more services are grounded in the school’s own data. Before making a request, review:

• Progress reports on current IEP goals, is your child meeting goals? If goals are met consistently, the bar may be set too low. If goals are repeatedly missed, the services aren’t sufficient.
• Report cards and teacher feedback, what are general education teachers observing?
• Benchmark and standardized test scores, is your child’s gap with grade-level peers widening or narrowing?
• Previous evaluation reports, do the services offered match the severity indicated in the evaluation?

The question to ask at every level: is this program reasonably designed to help my child make meaningful progress? Under the Endrew F. standard, “some progress” is not enough. See what FAPE actually requires.

Document What You’re Seeing at Home

Parent observations are valid data. Document specific, observable examples:

• How long homework takes and the level of frustration involved
• What skills your child is consistently unable to perform despite services
• How your child compares to their classmates on skills described as “on track” in progress reports
• What private therapists, tutors, or doctors are observing

Write these observations down with dates. A log of observations over 4–6 weeks carries more weight than a verbal account in a meeting.

Request a Meeting, In Writing

Don’t raise the topic of more services casually in the hallway or over email without making a formal request. Send a written request for an IEP meeting specifically to review services in light of your observations and your child’s progress data.

Your written request should reference:

• Specific goals that aren’t being met
• The gap between current performance and grade-level expectations
• The specific change you’re requesting (more minutes of a service, a new service, a different delivery model)

Know What You’re Asking For

Vague requests get vague responses. Before the meeting, know specifically what you want and why it’s appropriate:

• ✓If requesting more speech therapy: Know how many minutes are currently provided, what the research recommends for your child’s profile, and what progress data shows. See: how to get speech therapy added to your child’s IEP.
• ✓If requesting a behavior support plan: Document specific behavioral incidents, their frequency, and the impact on learning.
• ✓If requesting a different placement: Have data about what the current placement isn’t providing and what a more specialized setting would offer.
• ✓If requesting reading instruction: Know whether current services include systematic, structured literacy instruction, and if not, why that matters for your child’s disability profile.

Use Private Evaluation Results

If you have private evaluation results from a speech therapist, neuropsychologist, developmental pediatrician, or other specialist, bring them to the meeting and submit them formally. The team is required to consider them. If a private evaluator recommends more intensive services than the school is providing, that is a meaningful data point the team must address in writing.

What If the School Says No?

If the team refuses your request, they must provide a Prior Written Notice explaining the decision and what data supports it. Review that notice carefully. If the reasoning is weak, or contradicted by data in the child’s own file, you have grounds to escalate. Options include:

• Requesting an IEE if you believe the evaluation doesn’t support the level of services being offered
• Filing a state complaint if the school is clearly not providing services required by the existing IEP
• Seeking mediation or due process if the denial appears to be a FAPE violation

An IEP advocate can help you determine whether the school’s denial is legally defensible and what your strongest path forward is.