Compensatory education, or comp ed, is designed to make up for a school’s failure to meet its obligations as outlined in a student’s IEP, and can be a useful tool to help fill gaps in a child’s learning. We reached out to special education advocate and owner of KnowIEPs, Dr. Sarah Pelangka (BCBA-D), and special education attorney Bryan Winn to help you determine whether your child could benefit from comp ed services and guide you through the process of requesting them.
It’s important to note that requesting comp ed doesn’t necessarily mean your child will get the exact number of service hours that are written into the IEP minute-for-minute. Rather, an estimation will be made of the number of hours needed for your child to make the progress they would have made had FAPE been implemented.
Attorney Bryan Winn explains that when a parent makes a claim against the district either through due process or a compliance complaint, they can ask for a number of compensatory learning hours.
“The calculation that’s often used allots for one hour per week of school,” Winn says. “There are thirty-eight weeks of school, so thirty-eight hours of services. Depending on need, that number can be doubled.”
When it comes to figuring out how much comp ed a student really needs, however, Dr. Pelangka acknowledges it can be complicated. “It’s really gray in my opinion. The law defines it as how much time would be needed for a student to have made as much progress as they would have had they received FAPE. And there’s no crystal ball, so nobody can really answer that question for sure.” Dr. Pelangka recommends that parents go high with their requests, with the expectation that the district will counter with a lower number than what is being requested.
Before you ask for comp ed, you’ll need to collect evidence to prove that your child was denied FAPE. Dr. Pelangka recommends starting by requesting data on your child’s progress from your school district. “Parents always have the right to request data on their child’s goals,” she says.
If service logs from the district don’t show that a student met with a provider or the school doesn’t provide data on how they’re working to meet a particular IEP goal, there’s no proof that a student has received FAPE. In that case, the student is entitled to compensatory services.
The process of requesting comp ed is going to look a little different depending on each school district and situation. Education advocate and Undivided Navigator Lisa Carey recommends starting by asking about it at your next IEP meeting. In some cases, it’s extremely clear that a student didn’t receive a service they’re entitled to, and schools will offer additional therapy hours or services to make up for their loss.
In other cases, you’ll want to submit a request for comp ed in writing. When you’re writing that request, keep your letter as direct and concise as possible. Lisa gives an example: "State what you want comp ed for (example: speech); why (example: missed sessions); and leave it at that."
Sometimes, districts and parents can agree upon a number of hours to make up for lost services and come up with a settlement agreement. If there’s a dispute about how much comp ed a student is owed, however, you’ll have to file a due process complaint to request services. Fortunately, Dr. Pelangka says, many comp ed requests don’t actually lead to due process. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a comp ed request go to mediation or due process,” she tells us.
Bryan Winn explains that if you suspect there are major deficits in your child’s learning, you can ask for an independent educational evaluation (IEE). “Anytime you suspect there are deficits, you can ask for an IEE,” he says. “That’s usually a good indicator of how far the deficits reach and how much you would need to make up those gaps.”
For example, Winn explains that if a parent suspects their child is behind a year in reading and the district assessment does not show that, the parent can ask for an IEE. If the IEE shows that there is in fact a deficit in reading, the parent can file for reading therapy or ed therapy to make up for the deficit.
Remember, however, that the district has the right to do their own assessments before agreeing to pay for an IEE.
Comp ed services are typically provided by educators working for the district or through Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) that the district already contracts with. If those LEAs are not available, districts typically give parents a short list of providers that students can visit for their compensatory services, and parents can choose the option that best fits their schedule and needs.
Dr. Pelangka reminds us that parents also have the option of requesting a contracted provider outside the district. Once the parent and the district reach an agreement about who provides the services, it will be written into a settlement agreement. In some cases, the parent may pay for the services and be reimbursed; in others, the comp ed agreement may include a sum of money that is placed by the district into a trust that parents can use to pay the provider they choose to work with. These details are also outlined in a settlement agreement.
Yes! Dr. Pelangka says, “In addition to the extra two hours a day provided by the extended school year (ESY), if a student’s IEP was out of compliance, parents still have the right to push for comp ed. That extra two hours a day isn’t necessarily going to serve that student in the way they need.”
