IDEA Complaint Decision 24-073

On May 30, 2024 (form dated May 28, 2024), the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from #### (parent) against the #### (district). This is the department’s decision regarding that complaint. The issue identified is whether the district, during the 2023-24 school year, properly implemented the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability regarding speech and language therapy services.

School districts must provide each student with a disability a free appropriate public education (FAPE). School districts meet their obligation to provide FAPE to each student with a disability, in part, by developing and implementing each student’s IEP. The IEP must include clear descriptions of the amount, frequency, location, and duration of services, so the school district’s commitment of resources is clear to the parent, and all involved in developing and implementing the IEP. Staff responsible for implementing the student’s IEP must be informed of their specific responsibilities. 34 CFR § 300.323; Wis. Stat. § 115.787.

The student who is the subject of this complaint attended 4-year-old kindergarten in the district during the 2023-24 school year. The district began implementing the student’s initial IEP on November 1, 2023. The IEP provided for 40-minute speech therapy sessions three times every four weeks to address speech sound production concerns. On March 1, 2024, the student’s speech language therapist notified the district of their need to take leave time away from the district beginning on March 20, 2024. The district’s special education director began to search for substitute providers in early March 2024 in an attempt to prevent any disruption in services. The director contacted multiple virtual service providers and neighboring school districts. No substitute providers were available. The district entered into a contract with the local Cooperative Educational Service Agency for additional speech therapist time but was not able to obtain enough time to cover all of the duties of the district’s speech language therapist’s duties.

On April 1, 2024, the district’s special education director sent an email with the subject “Informational Letter” to the student’s parent and families of other students impacted by the therapist’s absence. The letter informed the families that a district staff member would be out on leave for an undetermined amount of time and that this could result in interruption in some IEP services for some students. The letter indicated that district staff were tracking these services and collecting data to ensure all students would continue to progress toward their IEP goals.

The student began missing speech and language therapy sessions as of April 1, 2024. However, the parent did not realize that speech therapy had not occurred until a discussion with the student on April 19, 2024. The parent confirmed the lapse in services with the student’s teacher. The director reached out to the parent and left a voicemail. They exchanged emails on April 22, 2024. The director forwarded the previous email from April 1, 2024, to the parent later that day. The director and parent discussed the situation in a phone call on April 23, 2024.

On May 7, 2024, the parent emailed the director asking for an update. The director responded that the speech language therapist’s leave was continuing longer than originally anticipated. The director indicated the district planned to document missed minutes and assess whether the student had regressed, maintained, or made progress towards speech goals. The director emailed all impacted families on May 17, 2024, indicating they would talk soon. That same day, the speech language therapist sent a survey while still on leave to the student’s teacher to get an update on the student’s academic progress. The teacher provided the student’s score on an early literacy assessment, knowledge of letters and numbers, and information on writing, colors, and shapes.

The director contacted the student’s parent on May 24, 2024. They discussed the student’s minimal progress during the lapse in services. District staff had monitored the student’s progress and found that they did not regress due to the lapse but had made slower than expected progress. The parent described more difficulty understanding the student at home. The director offered a suggested amount of 14 compensatory sessions, each 20 minutes, to be provided in addition to the already scheduled speech services. The director told the parent they were not able to find a provider that would be able to deliver compensatory services during the summer but secured a contract to provide compensatory services to all affected students starting September 1, 2024. The director informed the parent the student’s IEP team would need to meet in August 2024 to discuss the student’s present levels and finalize compensatory services to be provided in the fall.

The district acknowledges it did not implement the student’s IEP regarding speech and language therapy beginning April 1, 2024. Within 10 days of the student’s IEP team meeting to finalize the compensatory services, the district shall submit to the department documentation of the IEP team’s discussion of the student’s need for compensatory services and the decision reached. The district has also agreed to hold an IEP team meeting for each student on the speech and language therapist’s caseload to determine compensatory services. Department staff will contact the district regarding dates of these meetings, and the determination reached for each student. No further corrective action is required.

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.