Have you ever been in an IEP meeting where the team agrees that a student needs support, and then someone says, "We typically provide 30 minutes twice a week"?

I've always thought the more important question is, how did we arrive at 30 minutes?

(If you're a BCBA helping a family prepare for an IEP meeting where service minutes will come up, my free IEP Checklist walks through what to cover with them beforehand. And if you're a BCBA thinking about adding IEP advocacy to your work, Pivot Into IEP Advocacy is where I teach it.)

There's no IDEA formula for IEP service minutes

There isn't a formula in IDEA that tells us how many minutes of special education or related services a student should receive based on their disability, evaluation results, or IEP goals.

Instead, the IEP team is responsible for determining the services necessary for that individual student to make appropriate progress.

And that decision deserves more consideration than it sometimes gets.

The starting point should be the student's needs, not the school's schedule or existing programs.

"We already provide that to all students": does it belong in the IEP?

There's another version of this conversation that I hear frequently.

"We already provide that intervention to all students."

Sometimes this comes up when discussing small-group reading instruction, social skills instruction, or specific instructional strategies already available in general education.

But here's something important that I think more people should know.

Just because something is available to all students doesn't mean it shouldn't be included in an IEP.

In a September 2024 policy letter, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) reiterated that services considered "best teaching practices" or part of a district's regular education program can still qualify as special education or related services.

Two examples: reading instruction and visual schedules

Let's consider two examples.

"We already provide small-group reading instruction to students who are struggling."

That's great. But if a student requires specially designed reading instruction to address their disability-related needs, the fact that other students also receive small-group instruction doesn't eliminate the team's responsibility to identify and document the instruction the student needs.

The team still needs to determine the appropriate amount, frequency, and duration of that instruction.

"All of our teachers use visual schedules. We don't need to put that in the IEP."

Maybe visual schedules are a common classroom practice. But if a particular student requires one to access instruction, navigate transitions, or participate in the school day, it may need to be documented as an individualized accommodation or support.

The fact that a teacher currently provides something doesn't necessarily guarantee that the student will continue to receive it.

Of course, not every instructional strategy used in general education automatically becomes special education. The distinction is whether the student requires that instruction or support to receive an appropriate education.

What to ask about IEP service minutes

And this brings us back to determining service minutes.

The team should be considering the student's present levels, previous progress, the type and intensity of instruction needed, and how frequently that instruction needs to occur.

More minutes don't automatically mean better services. But the fact that a student receives support elsewhere in the school doesn't automatically mean fewer IEP service minutes are appropriate.

The IEP needs to clearly reflect what the school is committing to provide.

When someone tells me a student needs more hours, I want to understand what additional instruction those hours would provide and why that amount is necessary.

And when a team recommends fewer hours because a service is already available in general education, I want to understand whether that service is actually meeting the student's individualized needs and how the team has accounted for it.

The number of minutes matters. But the reasoning behind those minutes, and what the IEP actually guarantees, matters just as much.

Are you a BCBA who wants to add IEP advocacy to your work? Join the waitlist for Pivot Into IEP Advocacy, my program that teaches behavior analysts how to support families through the IEP process.

Want to read more?

If you're interested in learning more about how services are determined and documented on an IEP, here are a few resources worth reading:

1. OSEP Letter to McAndrews and Ramirez (September 2024): This letter addresses how specially designed instruction must be documented in an IEP, including the amount of services provided. It also reinforces that services already available through general education can still qualify as special education.
2. OSEP Letter to Chambers (May 2012): This letter specifically addresses whether instruction or services can qualify as special education when they are also considered best teaching practices or part of a school's general education program.
3. IDEA Regulations: 34 CFR § 300.320: This regulation identifies what must be included in an IEP, including special education, related services, supplementary aids and services, and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of services.