Delaware Autism Program (DAP): Placement, Waitlists, and How to Appeal

Delaware runs one of the most specialized state-funded autism programs in the country, and for some families it represents the most appropriate placement their child will ever receive. For others, getting into it — or getting out of a placement they believe is wrong — becomes a months-long battle. Either way, understanding how DAP actually works gives you more leverage than most parents realize they have.

What the Delaware Autism Program Is

The Delaware Autism Program is a state-operated intensive educational program for students with autism, operated under the Alex Eldreth Autism Education Act of 2018. It is not a private school and not a separate system — it is a set of specialized classrooms and programs housed in Delaware public school buildings and funded through Delaware's Department of Education.

DAP operates at three geographic locations:

• Brennen School — New Castle County (NCC), serving northern Delaware
• Charlton School — Kent County, serving central Delaware including Dover
• Sussex Consortium — Sussex County, serving southern Delaware

Each site has a distinct program structure. Brennen School, located in NCC where 57% of Delaware's population lives, has the most developed infrastructure and the widest range of service intensity. Kent and Sussex have smaller programs and, consistent with the broader north-south specialist shortage in Delaware, more constrained staffing. Families in rural Sussex in particular have reported longer waits and fewer options within the DAP framework.

The growth in DAP demand tracks Delaware's overall autism classification numbers: Delaware has seen a 895% increase in students classified with autism over the past two decades. Currently 3,959 Delaware students (15.1% of all students with disabilities, or about 2.8% of total enrollment) carry an autism classification. Not all of these students are in DAP — many are served in district classrooms — but the growth creates real pressure on program capacity.

How DAP Placement Decisions Are Made

DAP is not a separate track you apply for independently. It operates within the IEP process. If your child's IEP team (including you) determines that a DAP placement is appropriate, the district initiates a referral to DAP. DAP staff then conduct their own evaluation and make a placement recommendation.

The key friction point: DAP determines whether it accepts the referral based on its own assessment of whether the student meets program criteria. A district IEP team may believe DAP is appropriate, but if DAP disagrees — or if program capacity is constrained — the student may not be admitted. Conversely, a district may not proactively refer a student who the parent believes would benefit from DAP.

Both scenarios put parents in a position of needing to advocate either for or against a DAP placement. Under IDEA, placement must be determined by the IEP team (which includes the parent) and must be in the least restrictive environment (LRE) appropriate for the individual child. DAP placements are generally more restrictive than general education settings, which means the IEP team must document why the student's needs cannot be met in a less restrictive environment. 14 Del. Admin. Code § 922 governs LRE requirements in Delaware.

The Peer Review Committee (PRC)

When a DAP placement dispute cannot be resolved through the IEP team process, Delaware provides a specific mechanism: the Peer Review Committee. The PRC is an advisory body that reviews DAP placement decisions — both admissions and exits.

Situations where a PRC review may be warranted:

• DAP has declined to accept a referral and you believe DAP is the appropriate placement
• DAP has recommended exiting your child from the program and you disagree
• Your child is in DAP and you believe the specific program assignment within DAP is inappropriate
• There is disagreement about whether DAP or a district-based program better meets LRE requirements

The PRC review process involves submission of records, sometimes observation, and a written recommendation. PRC recommendations are not IEP decisions — they are advisory, and final placement remains an IEP team function. However, a PRC recommendation in your favor substantially strengthens your position in subsequent IEP negotiations or formal proceedings.

One caution: PRC is DAP-specific. If your dispute is about IEP services generally, or about placement in a non-DAP setting, PRC is not the right channel. Use state complaint or due process procedures instead.

Getting a DAP Referral If the District Hasn't Made One

If your child has an autism classification and you believe DAP warrants consideration, you do not need to wait for the district to initiate the referral. Under 14 Del. Admin. Code § 925 and IDEA procedural protections, you can:

1. Request an IEP meeting specifically to discuss placement options, including DAP.
2. At the meeting, ask the team to document in the IEP why DAP has or has not been considered as part of the continuum of placement options (required under LRE documentation obligations).
3. If the team declines to refer, send written notice that you are requesting a DAP evaluation referral, and document their response.

If the district refuses to consider a DAP referral despite your request, and you believe DAP is the appropriate placement, that refusal is a procedural issue you can raise through a state complaint or due process filing. The burden shifts to the district to show that the current placement is appropriate.

Exiting DAP: When Transition Is Contested

DAP exits — when the program recommends a student transition back to a district classroom — can be equally contentious. Some families welcome the transition as evidence of progress. Others believe their child is being pushed out prematurely, sometimes as DAP manages program capacity.

If DAP has recommended exit and you disagree, the process is the same as any other placement change dispute:

• You are a member of the IEP team and the exit requires IEP team agreement, including your consent
• If you do not consent, the district must provide prior written notice and cannot change placement without either your agreement, a mediation agreement, or an order from a due process panel
• Stay put applies: your child remains in the DAP placement during any pending proceedings

Request all documentation supporting the exit recommendation — progress data, assessment results, the criteria DAP is using — and compare it against the original criteria used for admission. Inconsistencies in how criteria are applied can be the basis for a PRC review or a complaint.

Charter Schools and DAP

Delaware's 23 charter schools are independent LEAs with the same IDEA obligations as traditional districts — they cannot transfer students to traditional districts simply because the student has complex needs. However, charter schools do not operate their own DAP programs; DAP is a district/state infrastructure.

This creates a structural issue: if your child attends a charter school and has an autism classification that warrants DAP-level services, the charter school is responsible for ensuring FAPE — which may include facilitating a DAP referral or contracting for DAP-comparable services. Charter schools that fail to do this, or that informally discourage families from pursuing DAP placements because it disrupts enrollment, may be violating IDEA's FAPE and LRE requirements.

Families in this situation — particularly at charter schools in NCC — often benefit from involving an independent advocate early, before the informal pressure to stay in the charter setting becomes harder to resist.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of DAP referrals, PRC appeals, and building a paper trail for placement disputes in Delaware, the Delaware IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook covers the full sequence with checklists and document templates.

See more United States homeschool guides →