On November 22, 2021, the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from #### (complainant) against the #### (district). This is the department’s decision regarding that complaint. The issue is whether the district, during the 2021-22 school year, properly implemented the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability.
School districts must provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to each student with a disability by developing a program that meets the student’s unique needs, documenting that program in the student’s IEP, and implementing the program as articulated in the IEP. 34 CFR § 300.324.
The complainant alleges that the student’s IEP is not being implemented regarding specially designed instruction in math. The IEP in effect at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year was developed in May 2021 and reviewed and revised in November 2021. Both the May and November IEPs state that the district will provide the student specially designed instruction in math at a frequency of “1 time(s) Daily” in the amount of “30 minutes.” In interviews, district staff acknowledged that, due to staff absences and turnover, the student had not been consistently receiving specially designed instruction in math. District staff did not track the amount of specially designed instruction missed. The district did not appropriately implement the student’s IEP during the 2021-22 school year regarding specially designed instruction in math.
Within 30 days from the date of this decision, the IEP team must meet to determine the amount of compensatory services that will be offered as a result of the inconsistent implementation of the student’s IEP during the 2021-22 school year. Within five days of the IEP team meeting, the district must provide to the department a copy of the IEP, including documentation of the discussion of compensatory services to be provided.
Within 30 days of the date of this decision, the district shall submit to the department a corrective action plan outlining the steps it will take to ensure all students' IEPs are being fully implemented regarding specially designed instruction, including a process for tracking the amount of missed services.
All noncompliance identified above must be corrected as soon as possible but in no case more than one year from the date of this decision. This concludes our review of this complaint. This decision is final for the IDEA State Complaint process. These issues may be addressed through other dispute resolutions, including mediation and due process hearings. For more information, visit the department’s website at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/dispute-resolution or contact the special education team at (608) 266-1781.