At great risk of being left behind

The mother of V. I. C. P., a 13-year-old student registered in the Special Education Program due to health conditions (severe anxiety and selective mutism) and Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), requested our legal services to secure an appropriate educational placement for her daughter. At the time of requesting services, the student was out of school, receiving assignments remotely due to the controversy over the appropriate placement for her. Additionally, she had not received therapies for the 2023-2024 school year. 

During the discussion process of the COMPU aboutthe right placement alternatives, three options were considered: regular classroom with team teaching support, reduced schedule with home-based work, and small group subject to availability. However, these options were rejected by the mother due to their previous ineffectiveness andbeingcontrary to the recommendations of her specialists. 

Through the services provided by our Special Education Project, after multiple efforts including complaints, conciliation meetings, and several COMPU meetings, a significant breakthrough was achieved. In the May 2025 meeting, the psychoeducational, socioemotional, and psychometric evaluations conducted by the psychologist were fully accepted. Based on the psychologist’s recommendations, the COMPU offered and accepted placement in the Ruta 1 One to One Classroom, ensuring a more proper and personalized educational environment for the student according to her individual needs. Additionally, the transition form was completed, and the 2025-2026 IEP was signed without controversy by all COMPU participants 3. 

This outcome representsa major step towards the educational and emotional stability of the minor, ensuring she receives the public, free, and appropriate education to which she is entitled, along with the necessary educational, supplementary, and support services for her academic and personal development. 

As we continue to defend the rights of Special Education students, we thank you for helping us meet these challenges and achieve success stories like this one.

Our mission to remove barriers for Special Education students has led to another inspiring success story. KC, an 11-year-old student facing significant speech and language challenges, has overcome numerous obstacles with the support of dedicated advocates and specialists.

KC has severe delays in her receptive and expressive language skills, along with needs in perceptual motor and emotional areas. She struggles significantly with reading, writing, and mathematics, requiring full-time individualized instruction and recommended sign language. Despite her chronological age placing her in fourth grade, KC was functioning at a kindergarten academic level and was not making academic progress.

Her father sought help from Puerto Rico Legal Services, concerned that an evaluation for Apraxia of Speech (AOS) had not been considered in her Individualized Education Program (IEP). AOS is a neurological disorder affecting the brain pathways involved in planning the sequence of movements required for speech. He was also interested in exploring public placement options for the 2024-2025 school year.

Our Special Education Specialist and Humacao’s Direct Service Center staff attorney joined the IEP team meeting with KC's father, where the evaluation for apraxia was discussed and accepted. Since the school could not provide apraxia therapy, a provisional remedy was offered. However, weeks passed without services being provided, and the IEP was not amended, delaying access to necessary support. It was determined that KC required sign language services to benefit from the learning process and achieve academic progress.

After several meetings and persistent follow-ups, the IEP team agreed on the appropriate placement and location for KC, including the assignment of a T2 service assistant to be her sign language interpreter. However, when her father visited the new school to complete her enrollment, he discovered that KC was not enrolled at the designated school.

T2 service assistants address the specific needs of students, providing sign language assistance and interpreter services, among other supports. Due to the lack of appointments by the Department of Education, a complaint was filed to ensure the provision of the T2 services assistant as agreed upon by the IEP team.

Following additional meetings and visits to public schools, a suitable school was identified with a group of eight students, a special education teacher with a modified curriculum, and group assistants. The IEP was amended to provide KC with a sign language teacher rather than a service assistant (T2). KC now receives sign language instruction five times a week and works more independently with the support of a group assistant.

As we continue to defend the rights of Special Education students, we thank you for helping us meet these challenges and achieve success stories like KC's.