Requesting a Paraprofessional or One-on-One Aide in Connecticut: What Your IEP Can Include

Your child needs more support than the classroom teacher can provide alone. Maybe the behaviors are escalating. Maybe she is not accessing instruction without individual prompting. Maybe the sensory environment is too overwhelming without someone to help regulate it. You want the IEP to include a one-on-one aide or paraprofessional.

The district says it will "look into it" or tells you that one-on-one aides "are not typically provided" or that they "try to use the least restrictive supports first." You are not sure whether those responses are accurate or deflections.

Here is how Connecticut's IEP framework actually handles paraprofessional and aide supports — and what you can do when the district's response is not sufficient.

What "Supplementary Aids and Services" Means

Under IDEA and Connecticut law, IEPs must include a statement of the supplementary aids and services to be provided to enable the child to be educated in the regular education environment, to the maximum extent appropriate. Supplementary aids and services include a wide range of supports — curriculum modifications, assistive technology, preferential seating, visual schedules, and paraprofessional support.

A paraprofessional or aide assigned to support a specific student is a supplementary aid and service. It can be included in the IEP when the PPT determines it is necessary for the child to access their education or to be educated alongside peers without disabilities.

The key standard is whether the support is necessary for FAPE in the least restrictive environment. That is an individualized determination based on the specific student's needs — not a general preference, not a district cost concern, and not a policy of avoiding one-on-one support.

What a District Can and Cannot Say

Districts sometimes respond to aide requests with statements that sound authoritative but are not accurate legal positions. Here are some common ones:

"We do not provide one-on-one aides." A district cannot have a blanket policy against one-on-one aide support. IEP decisions must be individualized. If a specific student's needs require a dedicated paraprofessional, the district must provide one regardless of general practice.

"An aide would make the child dependent." The risk of prompt dependency is a legitimate consideration in how an aide is used — trained paraprofessionals are supposed to fade support over time. But this concern about implementation method does not override the need for the support in the first place. If the child needs support to access the curriculum or to remain safely in the school environment, the risk of dependency is managed through careful programming, not by denying the support.

"We need to try less intensive supports first." This can be valid in an SRBI context before an evaluation, or in the context of choosing among equally effective options. But if the evaluation is complete, the disability is identified, and the child's needs are documented, "trying less intensive supports" is not a reason to defer a needed support indefinitely. The PPT must determine what the child needs now — not what the child needs after an unspecified period of trying insufficient alternatives.

"We will assign a building-level para who floats between students." A shared or floating paraprofessional is different from a 1:1 aide. If the child's needs require dedicated support — because of the intensity of behavioral intervention needed, or the complexity of communication support, or the need for constant safety monitoring — a shared para who splits time among several students may not meet those needs. The IEP should specify the ratio and nature of paraprofessional support, not just whether support is provided.

What the Evaluation Should Show

The strongest basis for a paraprofessional or one-on-one aide request is documentation. Before the PPT, gather evidence of your child's need for adult support:

• Teacher observations describing how your child functions without support versus with support
• Behavioral data showing the frequency and intensity of behaviors that require adult intervention
• Evaluation reports (psychological, functional behavioral assessment, OT) that describe the need for support to access instruction or the school environment
• Prior incidents — in writing, with dates — where the absence of sufficient support led to a safety issue, a behavioral escalation, or your child being unable to participate in instruction

If the district has not conducted a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) and your child has behavioral needs, requesting one is often a productive first step. An FBA assesses the function of the behavior and the conditions under which it occurs. A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) flowing from the FBA often includes specific staffing and support requirements — which can form the basis for an aide request.

Getting the Aide Into the IEP

When you request a paraprofessional or aide at a PPT meeting, ask the team to document the specific supports being considered in the supplementary aids and services section of the IEP. If the team agrees that some form of paraprofessional support is needed, push for specificity: How many hours per day? What tasks will the para perform? What is the ratio (1:1, 1:2, 1:3)?

If the PPT agrees in principle but reduces your request — for example, agreeing to a shared para when you requested a dedicated 1:1 — ask for a Prior Written Notice (PWN) explaining why the dedicated option was rejected and what evidence or reasoning supports the shared model. That PWN, and the adequacy of its reasoning, will be important if you escalate.

If the PPT refuses the request entirely, you must receive a PWN. Review it carefully. Is the reasoning supported by evaluation data? Did the team consider the specific evidence you presented? A PWN with vague reasoning ("current supports are sufficient") is more vulnerable to challenge than one with specific data.

What Happens When a Promised Aide Is Not Provided

Connecticut's staffing shortage has created situations where a student's IEP includes a designated paraprofessional but the position is unfilled — for days, weeks, or months. This is an IEP compliance issue, and the same documentation and complaint process that applies to other missed services applies here.

If your child's IEP includes paraprofessional support and that support is not being provided, document the gap, request records showing what has been provided, request a PPT meeting to address the gap, and if the district does not resolve it, consider a state complaint with the CSDE.

An IEP that requires a 1:1 aide but is being implemented without one is not being implemented at all for that student.

For a complete approach to requesting paraprofessional and aide support in Connecticut, documenting the need, and challenging an inadequate PPT response, the Connecticut IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook provides the tools Connecticut parents need to advocate effectively without spending thousands on attorneys.

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