Let’s talk compensatory education aka “comp ed” First, COMPENSATORY EDUCATION IS NOT DEFINED IN IDEA.
Compensatory education was created and developed by case law. The IDEA does not explicitly authorize the award of compensatory education. However, the IDEA “…authorizes the court to grant such relief as the court determines appropriate.”
Compensatory Education is a term that is generally used to describe the equitable remedy for the denial of a student’s right to a FAPE. Compensatory education provides a student with a disability the educational services needed to make up for skills or learning that have been lost when services described in an IEP were not provided. Compensatory education services are required to remedy any educational or other deficits that result from the student with a disability not receiving the evaluations or services to which they were entitled.
The following factors may be relevant for the group of knowledgeable persons to consider in determining the appropriate type and amount of compensatory education services:
• the frequency and duration of missed instruction and related services
• a student’s present level of performance
• previous rates of progress
• the results of updated evaluations
• whether evaluations were delayed
• any other relevant information
What could compensatory education “look like”? In cases where the decision is made for a district to provide compensatory education, examples of compensatory education have included:
• Compensatory Hours-session-for-session of a special education service
• Training for school district personnel
• Reimbursement for past services
WHAT COMPENSATORY EDUCATION IS NOT
Compensatory education is:
Not ESY
Not a summer program
Not a replacement for required services
If you believe your child needs compensatory services then you should request an IEP meeting to discuss.
See links below for more info on compensatory services: