Out-of-District Placements

In rare situations when in-district options are not sufficient to meet a student’s unique, disability-related needs, IDEA allows individualized education program (IEP) teams to consider out-of-district private placements. These placements are quite restrictive since students attending offsite locations are removed from their school community and peers, and IEP teams must plan to actively review such placements to ensure they continue to be appropriate for each student. Such placements can present challenges to the LEAs who must ensure students continue to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) while attending out-of-district private placement. The placement must provide all of the instruction and services that the student requires, including instruction to enable the student to continue to make progress in the general education curriculum. Local education agencies must make sure that staff at the placement have training and expertise, set up regular communication protocols, confirm IEP implementation through on-site visits, monitor student progress, and ensure seclusion and restraint requirements are met. Please see Information Update Bulletin 22.01 for more information and suggestions about steps to consider when using these placements.