Articles
One question at a time
Each article answers a single question about the special education process, from the same primary sources as the guides, and names the guide that goes deeper.
Published September 8, 2026
Who has to be at an IEP meeting
Federal law names seven categories of required IEP Team member and sets two different rules for excusing one of them. Here is what the meeting notice has to tell you, and how to check it before you reply.
Companion guide: The IEP Meeting Playbook
Published September 8, 2026
What to do when the school says no to an evaluation
A school is allowed to turn down a request for a special education evaluation, but it is not allowed to do it quietly. Here is what a refusal has to contain in writing, and what the routes are once you have it.
Companion guide: MTSS and RTI, Explained
Published September 8, 2026
What to do when the school is not following the IEP
Federal law requires the plan to be in effect and accessible to every teacher and provider who works with your child, each one told what they are responsible for. Here is what the rules require, and the order to work through when the classroom looks different from the paper.
Companion guide: From Paper to Practice
Published September 8, 2026
When the school pays for a second evaluation
A parent who disagrees with a school district's evaluation can request an independent one at public expense. Here is what the federal regulation promises, and what it does not.
Companion guide: When You Disagree With the School’s Evaluation
Published September 8, 2026
How to read the scores on your child's evaluation report
An evaluation report prints several kinds of score on the same page. Here is what each scale means, why every score arrives with a range, and what the regulations required of the evaluation behind it.
Companion guide: Your Child’s Evaluation Report, Decoded
Published September 8, 2026
How to get your child's complete school file
FERPA and IDEA both open a child's education records to a parent, on two different clocks. Here is what counts as a record, when the file is due, and why neither law guarantees copies.
Companion guide: Your Child’s Complete School File
Published September 8, 2026
How to get a 504 plan for your child
A 504 plan comes out of a process federal law lays out: a written request, an evaluation at no cost, and a decision by a group of people who know your child. Here is the route, with the rule behind each step.
Companion guide: The 504 Plan Playbook
Published September 8, 2026
How many days a school can suspend a child with an IEP
Federal law puts two ten-day lines and one 45-school-day exception around a suspension, and each one changes what the school owes your child. Here is how the count works and what it sets off.
Companion guide: The Behavior Intervention Plan Playbook
Published September 8, 2026
How long the school has to evaluate your child
The federal deadline is 60 calendar days, counted from the day the school receives your signed consent rather than the day you asked. Where a state has set its own timeframe, the state rule replaces the 60 days.
Companion guide: The Evaluation Request Letter Kit
Published September 8, 2026
How a child with dyslexia qualifies for an IEP
Dyslexia is named inside the federal definition of a specific learning disability. Here is the test a school eligibility group actually applies, what the rules require, and what they only permit.
Companion guide: Dyslexia and the IEP
Published September 8, 2026
Can a child with anxiety get an IEP or a 504 plan
Anxiety is not one of IDEA's disability categories by name, and it still reaches both doors. Here is what each law asks, and what a school may not require before it looks.
Companion guide: When Anxiety Keeps a Child Out of Class
Published September 8, 2026
Can a child with ADHD get a 504 plan or an IEP when grades are fine
Grades are not the test under either law. Here is what IDEA asks about a child with ADHD, the different question Section 504 asks, and where a good report card actually belongs in each decision.
Companion guide: ADHD at School