Compensatory Education 101

For example, if a child’s school completes a triennial assessment, but parents find that the triennial failed to assess the student in all areas of need, they can request additional assessments. If the district agrees to the additional assessments, and those assessments find that the student qualifies for additional services, the district would then owe compensatory services to make up for the time lost. (In this case, the date at which the loss began would correspond with the initial due date of the triennial assessment.)

The California State Council on Developmental Disabilities says, “Compensatory education is the way that districts can provide extra services and supports when they have not provided them as they should have in the IEP. These are in addition to what they provide currently in the IEP and should be tailored to your child’s needs to get them to where they should have been if they received the services all along. Comp ed is often awarded through due process, mediation, or state compliance complaints. The school or district is found to have failed to provide some or all the services needed and, therefore, must make up for them.”

If your child did not receive the service that they should have received — for example, the speech therapist left and the school did not provide a sub — then your child should receive extra services on top of what’s identified in the current IEP to make up the difference. The extra hours will depend on your child’s needs and may or may not be the same number of hours that were lost.

Note that makeup services differ from comp ed. Makeup services are provided by the school provider for the missing minutes. Comp ed services are often provided by the school provider (but the school therapist is not paid additionally for these extra services). Alternatively, they might be provided by an outside provider on a non-public agency (NPA) contract. The parent does not always get to choose their provider.

If you're not sure whether your child is eligible, here are some common situations and questions to ask that could lead to comp ed:

Missed related services

• For any services in the IEP, were services not provided? (This could include provider absences, shortened sessions, or missed sessions.)
• If services were provided, were they provided in the wrong setting?
• If services were provided, were they provided as individual if they were indicated, or in group setting despite the fact they were supposed to be 1:1?
• If services were provided, were they provided by unqualified providers?
• Were there long-term substitutes or provider vacancies?

Exclusion from educational opportunities

• Was FAPE not provided because agreed mainstreaming opportunities did not happen?
• Was the child excluded from field trips, assemblies, electives, lunch, PE, recess, clubs, or other school activities?
• Was instruction repeatedly replaced with coloring, videos, computer time, or "busy work"?

Loss of instructional time while waiting for supports

• Was the child regularly sitting without work while others were learning?
• Did the child miss instruction because no aide or support person was available?
• Were health needs preventing attendance because the district wouldn't provide necessary supports?

Accessibility barriers

• Did the child receive inaccessible worksheets, tests, or homework?
• Was accessible work provided late or not at all?
• Did the child receive their accommodations on a daily, consistent basis?
• Was assistive technology and/or AAC unavailable or broken?

Missed behavior supports

• Did behaviors increase because supports weren't in place?
• Was the child disciplined for behaviors caused by unmet disability needs?
• Was the child repeatedly sent home, removed from class, or isolated?

Assessments

• Did the IEP team deny or end a service based on an assessment?
• Did the district refuse an evaluation?
• Were evaluations delayed?
• If an IEE was performed, did the IEP team agree to recommendations from the IEE?

Lack of progress

• Was FAPE not provided because the child did not make progress or regressed on goals compared to the baseline in the IEP?
• Did the school district provide progress reports on IEP goals?
• Did progress reports show little progress without changing services?
• Did the school fail to provide progress reports on the agreed schedule?
• Did the district acknowledge problems but fail to fix 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. Undivided Non-Attorney Education Advocate 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. Carey gives an example: "State what you want comp ed for (example: speech); why (example: missed sessions); and leave it at that."

Here's a sample letter written by a non-attorney education advocate for Undivided members to request comp ed.

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 not shown by the school's assessment, you can ask for an independent educational evaluation (IEE). “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. In cases where the contracted provider is far from the family's home, they may be able to request mileage reimbursement to drive to services.

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.

Comp ed is sometimes stated in monetary terms, but it’s never cash. Often, schools require parents to submit receipts from licensed providers and might take more than 60 days to issue the reimbursement.