What do I do if the school wants to reduce my child's service minutes?

If the school wants to reduce the frequency or amount of time your child receives services such as speech therapy or occupational therapy, remember that the minutes in an IEP are related to your child's IEP goals. For example, if a child has only one goal related to speech (e.g. Articulate /r/ better), the school might only give 15 minutes a week for speech to address this.

You could go back to the IEP to look at goals and areas of need in Present Levels and come up with goal suggestions. You can also ask your child's teacher or specialist, “My child needs help in . Can you help me write a goal on it?”

If your child's IEP doesn't reflect their needs, you can request an assessment and then an IEP meeting to discuss their goals.