Can I decline placement but accept services on the IEP in preschool?

Yes, but it depends on the district. Non-Attorney Special Education Advocate Lisa Carey tells us, "Typically when a parent accepts the services and not placement, they take their child to the district school at a prearranged time for services at the frequency agreed upon in the IEP."

Dr. Sarah Pelangka, BCBA-D, special education advocate and owner of Know IEPs, adds, "Generally speaking, if you are in disagreement with their offer of say, a specialized academic instruction (SAI) class [also known as a mild/moderate special day class (SDC)] but you want the speech and language services, you can opt to bring your child to them only for those services. It is possible to get services in a private setting (general education setting when the district doesn’t offer general education preschool) but it’s hard and the family will likely need to enlist support of an attorney, advocate, etc. But in short, you can accept services without agreeing to an SAI class as school is not mandated at that age. I always encourage my families to tour the programs before making any decisions and ask if the district does offer a general education preschool option."

Also note that in California, parents can provide partial consent to IEPs. But many families refuse to sign completely, or they file for due process and continue with a stay put IEP for years. The problem with refusing to sign, or with remaining on stay put, is that a student’s goals do not progress. Therefore, it is better to sign partially. If you sign a partial agreement, agreeing with most of the IEP but not certain components, then the parts of the IEP you agree with will be implemented while the others will remain on stay put.

“This is a right unique to California,” Carey says. Partial signing allows you to indicate what you agree with (i.e., new goals and services) and what you disagree with (i.e., placement). In this case, stay put only applies to the parts of the IEP that you agreed to.

Read more in our articles on Choosing a Preschool and Preparing for Your Child's First IEP and Stay Put 101.