On this page: Services | Who's entitled | How to get services | Your rights | Important concepts

What kind of services are available?

According to federal law, a child must receive the type of special education and related services that meet his needs. In theory, each child's program could be unique. In New York City most students receive services from the city's list - known as the "Continuum." The Continuum services include but are not limited to:

• Special Education Teacher Support Services (SETSS): a teacher works with students for short periods during the day either in their classrooms or in "pull-out" sessions in another room. Children generally receive these services to augment their general education classes.
• Collaborative team-teaching (CTT): a class with a general education teacher and a special education teacher and a mix of general and special education students.
• Special classroom settings, in a community school or special school.:These are classes or schools enrolling only children with disabilities.
• Placement in a private school or residential school.
• Related services, including physical, occupational, speech and language therapy, and counseling.
• Transition services: services designed to help a student over the age of 14 move toward post-secondary outcomes, like college, employment, and independent living.

See the full list of the Department of Education's continuum of services on their website, including the 2000 update which requires schools to provide students' education in the least restrictive environment.

Practical tip: Remember, the Department's list of services is not all inclusive; if a child needs a service that is not on that list, she may be entitled to it, although a parent may have to use her "due process" rights to get them.

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Who is entitled to special education services?

Special education services are for students who are classified as having one of 13 different disabling conditions: autism, deaf-blindness, emotionally disturbed, hard of hearing, learning disabled, mentally retarded, multiply disabled, orthopedically impaired, speech-impaired, traumatic brain injury, visually impaired, and other health impairment.

Practical tip: Not all children with disabilities are necessarily entitled to special education services, but they may need accommodations or services in order to participate in school or after-school activities. Students with severe asthma, cerebral palsy, physical impairment, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), or even depression, for example, may need special modifications in their general education classroom or access to medication for them to be able to attend and fully participate in school. These students may be entitled to those accommodations under a law called Section 504, which has a different process from special education.

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How do you get special education services?

The basic steps to getting special education services are:

• Referral: referring a child for evaluation
• Consent: parental consent for evaluation
• Evaluation: evaluating the child
• IEP review meeting: meeting with the parent and professionals to make decisions about eligibility and create an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for the child
• Recommendation: recommending and offering services, which could include a classroom setting, for the child
• Consent: to initiate services

Timeline: Generally New York State regulations mandate that the Department of Education complete the special education process within 60 school days from the time a parent consents to an evaluation or referral for re-evaluation.

If there are problems along the way: Parents with concerns or problems with any of the steps listed above have "due process" rights that they can use to make sure their child is receiving appropriate evaluations and services. See your rights below.

Referral: A child may be referred for evaluations by the child's parent, by the school or by an outside agency that works with the child. If a person other than the parent refers the student to special education, they must include information as to why a referral is appropriate.

Practical tip: If you are referring your child for an evaluation, be sure to do it in writing and mail your referral "certified mail, return receipt requested." That way you will have an official record of when you made the referral and can hold the school to the required timeline to offer appropriate services. To cover your bases, it is a good idea to write directly to the principal, the school IEP team, the chairperson of your Committee on Special Education, and the Integrated Service Center.

"Child find" and non-special education extra-help services: Schools have a responsibility to identify students, who based on their behavior and/or school work, they reasonably suspect have a disability. They are obligated to refer these students for an evaluation - rather than let them struggle for years without help. This idea is called "child find." At the same time, your child doesn't have to have a disability to get extra-help services in school. If your child is struggling to keep up in class or he needs other support services, you can request and receive help - such as tutoring, counseling or a behavior intervention plan. See our informational page on tutoring for more information on the type of academic services your child may receive.

Consent: If you want your child to be evaluated, you must first give your consent. A school district may file an impartial hearing to force your child to be evaluated. However, the DOE cannot place your child in special education for the first time without your consent.

Practical tip: Some parents are wary of letting the school evaluate their child, either because they believe special education will not help their child or because they fear the school will not give a fair assessment. If a parent is being pressured to consent to an evaluation that he does not want, he may want either to write to the principal requesting that the school's Pupil Personnel Team meet to create a support plan for his child, request 504 accommodations or services (see also above) or to find an evaluator from outside the school system to get an independent opinion on whether special education services are needed. If parents are receiving a lot of pressure, it is advisable that they speak with an advocate or attorney, because schools sometimes inappropriately refer parents to the Administration for Children's Services. For a list of independent evaluators, call the Advocates for Children helpline, (866) 427-6033 Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Evaluation: All evaluations start out with some basics - a look at the child's social history, and an educational and psychological evaluation. They should also include all other areas where there is a suspected disability, such as speech and language, physical therapy, occupational therapy, auditory processing, a psychiatric, neurological, assistive technology, or any other evaluation that is needed to determine a child's learning needs. You have the right to give input into what evaluations and other information should be gathered for this purpose.

Practical tip: If you believe the evaluation your child received is not adequate or if it has not been provided to you within 60 school days of the consent, you may write and request a private evaluation at the Department of Education's expense. To cover your bases, it is a good idea to write your request to the principal, the school IEP team, and the Committee on Special Education (CSE). The Department of Education either must agree to pay for a private evaluation or, if not, file a hearing and prove to a hearing officer that the school's evaluation is adequate. (School officials often choose just to pay for the private evaluation.) Independent evaluations can be expensive but there are evaluators that accept insurance or have sliding scale fees. However, they may have long waiting lists. Nevertheless, many parents find they are worth the wait. For a list of evaluation sites, please call Advocates for Children helpline Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at (866) 427-6033.

IEP Review Meeting: Once all evaluations are complete, a parent is invited to meet with a team that reviews his or her child's evaluations and any other information—from the parent, the child, the child's teacher and any other person with knowledge of the child. The team determines whether the child is eligible for special education. If your child is eligible, the team will create an Individualized Education Plan for the child. Under the IDEA, the IEP team must include, at a minimum, the parent, a general education teacher if the student is participating or may participate in general education, a special education teacher, a representative of the district and a person who can interpret the evaluation results in order to design appropriate interventions and instruction. The team can also include the child and any other person with knowledge of the child and an interpreter, if needed. New York State law also requires a parent member, a psychologist and a physician for certain meetings. There may be other team members required under certain circumstances. (Judicial decrees may require additional team members.) Team members may appear by telephone if they are able to participate fully and the parent is able to ask questions. New changes in the law allow certain required members to be excused with proper notice and parental consent.

What goes in the IEP: The IEP is a large document that must include, according to federal law, the child's present levels of educational performance; a list of measurable annual goals for the child; the special education, related services, modifications and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child; an explanation of how much the child will participate with non-disabled children in the regular class; when the services and modifications will begin; the frequency, location, and duration of those services and modifications; the testing modifications the child needs to participate in city and state-wide tests; or if the child will not participate in those standardized tests, an explanation of why that assessment is not appropriate for the child and how the child will be assessed; and beginning at age 14, and updated annually, the transition service needs of the child.

Practical tips: Parents are supposed to be equal members of the IEP team. It's a good idea to consult with an advocacy agency or an attorney about how to prepare for the IEP meeting to get what you want for your child. If you have the meeting and are not happy with the IEP recommendations, you can challenge the recommendations by using your "due process" rights, a set of rights that include mediation, a hearing, or an appeal..

IEP Implementation and Placement: Under the IDEA, the parent must be a member of the group of people who make a determination about the child's educational placement unless the district has undertaken outreach to try to obtain the parents' participation and has not been able to do so.

According to state regulation, by the 60th school day from the time a parent consents to evaluations , the Department of Education must arrange for the child's IEP to be implemented. If a child has been referred to special education for the first time, the parent must first consent to the initial provision of special education and related services before they begin. If the IEP is not implemented within the required time, a parent may have the right to seek funding to place the child in a private school or private services at the school district's expense. Note: You must locate an approved vendor.

Practical tip: It is strongly suggested a parent consult an advocacy agency or an attorney if she has questions or concerns or her child does not begin receiving appropriate services by the 60th school day. Click here for a list of advocacy organizations.

Note: In addtion to the formal procedure, if your child with special needs is having difficulty, there are people at your school and district who you can go to for informal help. In addition to the parent coordinator at your child's school, the principal should provide informal help. If she is not responsive, contact either your Committee on Special Education (CSE), which oversees all the special education programs in your district, or the administrator for special education that oversees your child's school.

District 75 schools also have parent coordinators who will provide informal help. If they are unresponsive, you can contact your principal, or the District 75 at 400 First Avenue, or call (212) 802-1503 for the district family advocate. To look up schools in District 75, visit our find a school section.

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Some important parents' rights include

• Right to review your child's records including evaluations, IEP and other educational records
• Right to informed consent prior to an evaluation or re-evaluation of your child
• Right to written prior notice a reasonable time before the school district proposes to or refuses to start or change the identification, evaluation or educational placement or the provision of a free appropriate education to your child. It must be provided to you in the language you speak or other kind of communication that you understand unless it is clearly not possible to do so
• Notice of prior meetings
• Right to notice of procedural due process rights upon initial referral for evaluation of your child, with each notice of a CSE or Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) meeting, upon reevaluation of your child, when the district receives a letter from you requesting mediation or an impartial hearing, when a decision is made to suspend or remove your child for discipline reasons that would result in a disciplinary change in placement

When a parent has a complaint with respect to any matter relating to the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of his or her child, or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child, or of certain aspects of disciplinary proceedings, she has a right to contest the Department of Education's position in a number of ways:

Mediation: The parent can request a mediation meeting with a representative from the Department of Education and an independent mediator. The mediator will try to facilitate an agreement between the department and the parent. If either the parent or the department are not satisfied with any agreement, however, no result happens from the meeting. The department is not required to go to mediation.

Impartial hearing: An impartial hearing can also be requested by writing to the Office of Impartial Hearings, 131 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Requests should include, among other things, the name and address of the student, the school the student attends, the nature of the problem and a proposed resolution. Hearing decisions can also be appealed to the state. For additional information, you can download Advocates for Children's guide to impartial hearings.

Your child's right to "stay put": While a parent is asserting his due process rights, the student has the right to stay in his or her current educational placement. This is a concept called "pendency." Under these circumstances, a child's placement can be changed only by the mutual agreement of the parents and the district.

Attorneys and advocates: Although a parent does not have to have an attorney or advocate for any of the due process steps above, it is advisable that a parent consult with one, particularly if a parent is going to an impartial hearing. Click here for a list of advocacy organizations.

Right to file a complaint with the State Education Department
Parents or other organizations can also file a written complaint to the State Education Department if they believe a school district has violated procedures under state or federal special education laws and regulations.

Annual reviews, re-evaluations and triennial evaluations
After a child starts receiving special education services, each year, by the beginning of the school year, the IEP team has to have met and reviewed the child's IEP to determine, among other things, whether the child is making progress and whether changes need to be made. A parent may request a re-evaluation, but the school district must re-evaluate a child at least once every three years, unless the IEP team determines it is not necessary and the parent does not request the evaluation.

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Some important concepts in special education

The "Least Restrictive Environment"
A key concept in special education is that children with disabilities should, to the maximum extent appropriate, be educated with their non-disabled peers, or as the law puts it in the least restrictive environment. The only time a child should be placed in a setting away from the general education population is when he or she cannot be educated in a regular class even with supplementary aids and services. In other words, if your child can learn in general education with extra services, the IEP team should recommend that he be placed in a regular education setting with services rather than in a special education classroom.

Inclusion classes integrate children with disabilities with children who do not have special needs. In som classes, two-thirds of the pupils are in general education and one-third receive special education services. In these, two teachers, at least one of whom is certified in special education team-teach. (These classes are also called CTT for "collaborative team-teaching.") In other inclusion classes, one or two disabled children are integrated with a class of children in general education. The disabled students receive special services from a full-time teacher's aide, called a para-professional, or from a teacher certified in special education who spends an hour or two a day in the class. Inclusion classes are popular with parents because the ratio of students to teachers is lower than in a regular class.

Functional Behavior Assessments and behavior intervention plans
A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is a behavioral evaluation for children that must be done if a child's behavior interferes with his/her education or that of other students. Such a plan should include intervention strategies to address the child's behavior.

For another informative guide to the process and your rights, see New York State's parent guide.

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