Free educational guidance for families on IEPs, IEP team meetings, evaluations, services, placement, records, and special education processes in Puerto Rico.
Educational content from the office of Francisco J. Vizcarrondo. Free to read, without registration.
Start with your child’s needs, IEP, and pending decisions. You do not need to memorize IDEA to participate: this reading path explains what to request, what to document, and where to find the governing rule.
Start with three IDEA sections, then read the provision that addresses your child’s issue.
The February 14, 2002 stipulated judgment in KPE1980-1738 is an essential Puerto Rico special-education reference.
FAPE means special education and related services that meet IDEA’s requirements, are provided at no cost to parents, and conform to the student’s IEP.
A diagnosis may be important evidence, but it does not by itself establish IDEA eligibility.
Law 51-1996 organizes comprehensive educational services and interagency coordination.
Law 238-2004 contains general protections extending beyond the IEP.
Yes, eligibility may exist under a different standard. Section 504 protects against disability discrimination in federally assisted programs.
Gather the evaluation request, delivery date, proof of receipt, consent forms, and communications about appointments or cancellations.
If you disagree with an agency-obtained evaluation, you may request an independent educational evaluation at public expense under IDEA's conditions.
Request access in writing and identify the records: current and earlier IEPs, minutes, evaluations, progress reports, and communications.
DEPR organizes forms by process: registration, meeting invitations, IEP meetings, records, service requests, transition, and placement.
Whenever possible, communicate by email or another written method that you can preserve.
The IEP should connect identified needs to measurable goals, specific services, and a way to measure progress.
Prepare a list of your child’s needs, the outcomes you request, and supporting records.
The minutes should make discussions, agreements, disagreements, and outstanding issues understandable.
Under 34 C.F.R. §300.503, the agency must give written notice a reasonable time before proposing or refusing to initiate or change identification, evaluation, educational placement, or FAPE.
IDEA requires periodic IEP review, at least annually, and appropriate revision for lack of expected progress, new information, and anticipated needs.
Parents are members of the IEP team, known as COMPU in Puerto Rico.
Do not simply refuse to sign. Whether you should sign will depend on the document and the particular circumstances.
You may request permission, but should not assume every meeting can freely be recorded.
Provide the report to responsible staff and request discussion of the educational needs identified and program changes needed.
Section 300.321(a)(6) allows parents to invite individuals with knowledge or special expertise regarding the child.
It may be possible if employment eligibility requirements are met and the meeting concerns care for a child with a serious health condition.
No. Written revocation under §300.300(b)(4) concerns ending special education and related services.
Related services help a student benefit from special education. Supplementary aids and services support education with nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate.
Assistive technology and human assistance are different supports that must address functional and educational needs.
Compare the IEP service with what your child receives. Identify start date, frequency, duration, and location, and describe the gap in writing.
These are three different matters that may coexist in a student’s program.
Read the approval letter and confirm the authorized service, conditions, and required documents.
Special education adapts instructional content, methods, or delivery to address disability-related needs and provide access to the general curriculum.
A therapy qualifies as a related service when needed for the student to benefit from special education.
Transportation can be a related service when needed to benefit from special education.
Extended school year (ESY) provides special education or related services beyond the regular school year when needed for FAPE.
Plan for continuity before moving: communicate the new address, anticipated date, and current services.
It is a mechanism for recognized services the DEPR cannot provide promptly.
Yes, when necessary for FAPE. Section 300.34(c)(13) distinguishes school nursing by a qualified nurse from other school health services that qualified individuals may provide within their roles.
Transition prepares a student for education, training, employment, and, when appropriate, independent living.
Law 263-2006 recognizes vocational and career evaluation for students with disabilities receiving special education.
The course-of-study pathway, educational placement, assessment program, and exit credential should be explained separately.
Transition from early intervention to preschool services should be planned before the birthday.
Age of majority, graduation, and eligibility age limits are distinct.
When behavior impedes the student’s learning or that of others, §300.324(a)(2)(i) requires considering positive behavioral interventions, supports, and other strategies.
IDEA permits disciplinary measures subject to limits and safeguards.
This review examines the relationship between behavior and disability or failure to implement the IEP when a disciplinary placement change is decided.
Compare the proposal with the IEP and evaluations. Section 300.116 requires parents and knowledgeable participants, at least annual review, and a decision based on the IEP and least-restrictive-environment rules.
Not automatically. Distinguish an agency-arranged private placement, a parental private-school choice under equitable services, and a unilateral placement seeking reimbursement for denial of FAPE.
As a general rule, §300.518 preserves the current educational placement during administrative or judicial proceedings concerning a due process complaint, unless parents and the agency agree otherwise or an exception applies.
Before deciding, identify the removal date and the public offer you dispute.
For parentally placed private-school students under the equitable-services framework, a services plan identifies services the agency will provide to a student selected to receive them.
These are different matters. Seeking FAPE or reimbursement from the DEPR differs from alleging discrimination, mistreatment, contractual breach, or damages against the school.
These are different mechanisms. A due-process complaint addresses identification, evaluation, placement, or FAPE.
Relief depends on the proven violation and the student’s needs. It may include services, program corrections, compensatory education, or reimbursement when requirements are met.
Initial consultations are free and strictly confidential, by videoconference.
Deadlines do not all start on the same event or use the same type of days.
Compensatory education addresses educational deprivation. It may require additional services tailored to the effects of a failure; it is not an automatic cash award and is not determined solely by counting sessions.
Identify what the document requires, who must act, and when. A favorable decision does not by itself show that services began or payment was processed.
A State complaint seeks investigation of an IDEA violation; due process seeks adjudication of an identification, evaluation, placement, or FAPE dispute.
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These explanations provide general information. Visit the practice page to learn which cases we handle and how the office evaluates them.
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