• Annual Review: The IEP is reviewed annually, but you can request a review at any time if you feel changes are needed.
• Request for Evaluation: A parent, teacher or other school administrator may ask that a child be evaluated to determine whether the child is eligible for special education. 
• Decision to Evaluate: The school district is required to evaluate a child when it suspects the child requires special education to benefit from a public education. The school district is required to review any private evaluation reports that the parent submits, but isn’t bound by their conclusions or recommendations.
• Consent for Evaluation: Before a school district may evaluate a child, the parent must consent to the evaluation.
• Evaluation:  After the school district receives the parent’s consent, it has 60 days (this includes summer break, spring breaks, holidays, etc…) to complete the evaluation, which will assess the child in all areas related to the suspected disability, including, if appropriate, health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, and motor abilities.  
• Eligibility Determination: Based on the evaluation, a team (including you) and other qualified professionals, will decide if your child qualifies under one of the disability categories listed in IDEA.
• IEP Meeting: After the child has been determined to be eligible for special education, the IEP team must meet within 30 days to prepare the IEP. As soon as possible following development of the IEP, special education and related services are made available to the child.

Navigating Enrollment in ABA Therapy

Can I pursue a full-time ABA therapy program? What happens to my IEP if I do?

Yes! Our team will perform a clinical assessment to determine if full-time ABA therapy is clinically appropriate for your child. If it is, a full-time ABA therapy program is often the best option for children with autism to support their long-term success in a typical school setting. With simulated classroom environments, and one-on-one support 100% of the time, we see children enrolled between 12 and 18 months in full-time therapy models making significant progress in a short time, giving them the skills to be successful in school. If you do decide to pursue this option, here is what you will need to know:

• Notification and IEP: You will notify your child’s school you will be discontinuing their child’s enrollment in public school and inform the school the the parent has elected to provide the child with “independent private instruction” (IPI). When you elect IPI, the parent revokes consent for the child to receive special education through the school. This means if your child has an IEP they will no longer have access to these services (not to worry! Upon your child’s transition back-to-school the school is required to put an IEP place within 60 days of your consent for an evaluation for an IEP).
  • Independent Private Instruction Requirements
    • Notify the school of your decision to pursue IPI
    • There are no reporting requirements and no number of instructional days required by law
    • Instruction in 5 school subjects including reading, language arts, math, science and social studies are to be provided
    • School officials may request details about your IPI program, but, this request must be submitted in written from. If you do receive a request, let us know and we can help you respond or use Homeschool Iowa’s IPI Response Form here Microsoft Word – IPI Response Form.docx (homeschooliowa.org)
• Reenrollment: Lighthouse will work with you to communicate your child’s transition date 6 months prior to their transition out of services at Lighthouse. Lighthouse typically times your child’s transition to coincide with the beginning of a school semester (January and August). This will allow you 120 days to request your child’s IEP, go through the evaluation and determination process, and ensure your child’s IEP is in place well before they transition back to school. Your child will also be able to miss therapy in order to go to school to participate in the IEP evaluation needed to assess and build your child’s IEP ahead of their transition back to school.
• Lighthouse Support: Your child’s BCBA is able to participate in support of your child’s evaluation and development of the IEP to ensure that the proper services are in place to support your child in a school setting.

I was told my child must be enrolled in school to request an IEP? Is this true?

• No. Due to the Federal and State Child Find requirements, the AEA is required to identify and find children who are eligible for special education support in their school regardless of their current enrollment status.

Still have questions? Lighthouse Autism Center can connect with you experts in the special education space who can assist. Please contact us and we will assist with connecting you with these resources.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available in this document are for general informational purposes only.