Related Services in a New Hampshire IEP: What They Are and How to Advocate for Them

The IEP's related services section is where many of the most important supports live — and where some of the most common district denials happen. Speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, orientation and mobility, transportation, and several others are all "related services" under IDEA. Your child is entitled to these when they are necessary for the child to benefit from their special education program. Not when they're convenient. Not when the district has staff available. When the child needs them.

Understanding exactly what qualifies, how to request it, and what the district's legal obligations are when they say no is the foundation of effective advocacy in this area.

What Counts as a Related Service

Under IDEA and New Hampshire's Ed 1109, related services are developmental, corrective, and other supportive services required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education. The federal definition lists specific services including:

• Speech-language pathology and audiology services — articulation, language processing, fluency, pragmatics
• Psychological services — counseling, behavioral assessment, school psychology
• Physical therapy — gross motor, mobility
• Occupational therapy — fine motor, sensory processing, adaptive skills, handwriting
• Recreation therapy — therapeutic recreation and leisure education when educationally necessary
• Counseling services — individual, group, or family counseling when educationally necessary
• Social work services — when a child's social or family circumstances affect their ability to benefit from education
• Transportation — including specialized transportation when a child's disability affects their ability to use standard school transportation
• Orientation and mobility instruction — for students with visual impairments
• Medical services for diagnostic or evaluative purposes

The phrase "required to assist a child to benefit from special education" is the legal test. A service does not need to be required for the child to survive or to function outside of school — it needs to be required for the child to access and benefit from their educational program. This is a lower bar than many districts apply in practice.

The Most Commonly Contested Related Services

Speech-language pathology is the most frequently provided related service in New Hampshire — and among the most frequently reduced or denied by districts facing staffing shortages. When a district cuts speech therapy minutes, it is required to provide a Written Prior Notice explaining why. A statement that "she has made sufficient progress" must be backed by data. A statement that "we don't have enough SLP hours" is not a legal justification.

Occupational therapy is another flashpoint, particularly for students with sensory processing differences or fine motor challenges. Districts sometimes offer OT consultation (where a therapist advises the teacher) rather than direct OT services. Consultation is not equivalent to direct therapy and is appropriate only when the child's goals can be met through that model — which is a determination that must be made based on the individual child's needs, not the district's staffing situation.

Counseling services are frequently omitted even when children with anxiety disorders, trauma histories, or emotional and behavioral challenges are receiving special education. If a child's mental health needs are interfering with their ability to access their educational program, counseling as a related service should be on the IEP. This is distinct from school counseling offered to all students.

Transportation is often overlooked. If a child's disability affects their ability to safely ride a standard school bus — due to behavioral needs, medical needs, or the nature of the disability — specialized transportation is a related service the district must provide. It cannot simply tell a family to arrange their own transportation to a distant program.

How to Request a Related Service

Requesting a related service starts at the IEP table. Before or at an IEP meeting, submit a Parent Concerns Document in writing stating that you believe your child needs a specific related service and why. Include any private evaluations, medical documentation, or teacher observations that support the need.

At the meeting, the IEP team must consider your request. If the team declines to include the service, the district must provide a Written Prior Notice explaining what they are refusing, what data they relied on, what alternatives they considered, and why they believe the service is not necessary.

A WPN that says "the team does not believe OT is educationally necessary at this time" without citing any specific data is inadequate. Push back in writing, requesting the specific assessment data used to reach that conclusion.

When the District Says "We Don't Have Staff"

New Hampshire's staffing shortages in speech-language pathology and occupational therapy are real and documented. But under RSA 186-C:9 and 186-C:10, the district's inability to hire a qualified professional is not a legal basis for denying a related service.

If the district does not have a qualified SLP on staff, it must contract with one. If it cannot find a contractor locally, it must look further. If a service cannot be provided in-person due to a genuine staffing crisis, the district may propose a temporary alternative — but it must be educationally adequate, and any gap in service delivery creates a compensatory education obligation.

When a district says "we're short on SLPs right now, so we can only offer 20 minutes twice a month instead of 30 minutes three times a week," document that statement in writing. If the IEP calls for the higher level of service, the district must deliver it or face a finding of non-compliance.

Independent Evaluations for Related Services

If the district's evaluation did not assess for a related service you believe your child needs — or if you disagree with the conclusions of the district's OT or speech evaluation — you have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense under Ed 1107.03.

An IEE conducted by a private SLP or OT can provide an independent clinical opinion about the level and frequency of service your child needs. When the IEP team reviews a private IEE, it must consider its findings. The district does not have to implement the private evaluator's specific recommendations, but it must explain in writing why it disagrees — which again requires a Written Prior Notice.

The New Hampshire IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook includes an IEE request template and WPN demand letter specifically for related service disputes, along with the RSA 186-C citations that establish the district's obligation to provide these services regardless of local staffing constraints.

Tracking Related Service Delivery

Once a related service is in the IEP, you have a right to know it is actually being delivered. Service providers should be keeping session logs. Request these logs regularly under FERPA — you are entitled to your child's educational records. If the IEP calls for 45 minutes of speech three times per week and the logs show that only 60% of sessions were delivered, that is a service gap with compensatory implications.

Keep your own log as well. Dates when your child came home saying speech was cancelled. Emails from teachers noting the SLP was out. Each documented gap adds to the picture of whether the IEP is being implemented as written.

Related services are not perks — they are legally required supports. Treat any denial or reduction with the same seriousness you would apply to a dispute about special education placement.

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