If your child missed special education services, was denied FAPE, or the school failed to follow the IEP, you may be able to request compensatory education. Get clear, personalized guidance on what steps may make sense next.
Tell us what happened so we can provide guidance tailored to compensatory education claims, service recovery, and how to request compensatory education services for your child.
Compensatory education is a remedy that may be available when a school district failed to provide the special education services, supports, or accommodations a child needed under an IEP or otherwise denied FAPE. The goal is not to punish the school, but to help make up for educational benefit your child may have lost because required services were missed, delayed, reduced, or not properly delivered.
Your child did not receive speech, OT, PT, counseling, specialized instruction, paraprofessional support, or other services listed in the IEP for a meaningful period of time.
The school failed to implement important parts of the IEP, did not provide required accommodations, or made decisions that prevented your child from accessing appropriate special education.
The district delayed evaluations, eligibility, placement, or service start dates, and your child regressed or missed needed support during that time.
Copies of the IEP, service grids, progress reports, meeting notes, and accommodation plans can help show what the school agreed to provide.
Attendance logs, provider notes, emails, schedule changes, missed session records, and communication with the school may help document services that were not delivered.
Regression, stalled progress, behavior changes, lost skills, unmet goals, or the need for extra support can all matter when asking for compensatory education after school failed the IEP.
Some families start by making a written special education compensatory services request to the district and asking the IEP team to discuss missed services or denied FAPE. In other cases, parents may pursue mediation, a state complaint, or due process depending on the facts. Outcomes can vary and may include additional services, tutoring, therapy, extended supports, or a compensatory education settlement designed to address the loss your child experienced.
We help you organize the facts around IEP violations, service gaps, and educational impact so your next steps are easier to understand.
You will get guidance on the records parents often review when considering how to file a compensatory education claim or request services from the district.
Based on your answers, we can point you toward options that may fit your situation, including how to raise concerns with the school and what to ask for.
Compensatory education is an educational remedy that may be used when a child was denied a free appropriate public education. It is intended to make up for services, supports, or educational benefit the child lost because the school did not meet its obligations.
Yes. If services in the IEP were missed, reduced, delayed, or not properly implemented, parents may ask the district to consider compensatory education. The strength of the request often depends on how long the problem lasted, what services were affected, and how the child was impacted.
Many parents begin with a written request to the school district or IEP team describing the missed services or IEP violations, the time period involved, and the effect on the child. Supporting records such as the IEP, progress data, provider logs, and emails can be helpful.
Failure to implement accommodations, behavior supports, assistive technology, or other required IEP provisions can be relevant to a compensatory education claim if it interfered with your child’s access to instruction or progress.
Not always. A remedy may or may not mirror the exact missed service minutes. Depending on the child’s needs, compensatory education can include different services or supports designed to address the educational loss and help the child catch up.
Answer a few questions to receive personalized guidance about missed IEP services, denied FAPE, and whether a compensatory education request may be appropriate for your child.
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