Delaware’s special education regulations sit in Title 14 of the state Administrative Code, Sections 922 through 929, and they operate alongside the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Together they decide which students qualify for services, how schools must evaluate and serve them, and what parents can do when a district gets it wrong. The rules are specific, the deadlines are short, and the rights only work if you use them.
Who Qualifies for Services
A student qualifies for special education in Delaware when two things are true: the child has a recognized disability, and that disability has a significant, consistent negative effect on educational performance in areas like literacy, math, communication, behavior, or daily living skills.1Delaware Regulations. Delaware Code 14-922 – Children with Disabilities Subpart A Purposes and Definitions A medical diagnosis by itself is not enough. The condition must actually interfere with the child’s ability to access the curriculum.
Delaware recognizes twelve disability classifications: autism, developmental delay, deaf-blindness, emotional disability, hearing impairment, specific learning disability, intellectual disability, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment including blindness.1Delaware Regulations. Delaware Code 14-922 – Children with Disabilities Subpart A Purposes and Definitions A multidisciplinary team of educators, specialists, and the child’s parents reviews the evidence and decides whether the criteria for a classification are met.
If a child does not qualify under IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a separate pathway. Section 504 covers any student with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, including learning.2U.S. Department of Labor. 29 U.S.C. 794 – Nondiscrimination Under Federal Grants and Programs It does not provide specialized instruction, but it does require accommodations and modifications so the student can participate in regular programs. If you are unsure which applies, ask the school to consider both.
How the Evaluation Works
Before any services can start, the district must complete a full evaluation at no cost to the family. Delaware law requires the initial evaluation to be finished within 45 school days or 90 calendar days of written parental consent, whichever comes first. Track that date. A district that misses the deadline is out of compliance, and that is something you can raise with the Delaware Department of Education.
No single test can be used to decide eligibility or services. The evaluation must pull from a range of academic, developmental, and functional tools, be delivered in the child’s native language, be selected so it is not racially or culturally discriminatory, and be administered by trained professionals.3Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Sec. 300.304 Evaluation Procedures If behavior is a core concern, the team can run a functional behavioral assessment to identify what is driving it. Any additional testing beyond the original plan needs further parental consent.
If you disagree with what the district’s evaluation found, you have the right to request an independent educational evaluation at public expense. The district must either pay for a qualified outside evaluator or ensure the evaluation is provided to you at no cost.4Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Sec. 300.502 Independent Educational Evaluation The district can challenge the request by filing for a due process hearing, but it cannot simply refuse.
What Must Be in the IEP
A child found eligible gets an Individualized Education Program. The IEP is a legally binding document listing the child’s needs, measurable academic and functional goals, and the services the school will deliver. The team must review and update it at least once a year.5eCFR. 34 CFR 300.324 – Development, Review, and Revision of IEP
Federal rules set the required team: the child’s parents, at least one regular education teacher if the child spends any time in regular classes, at least one special education teacher, a district representative with authority to commit resources, and someone who can interpret evaluation results.6eCFR. 34 CFR 300.321 – IEP Team You can bring advocates, attorneys, or other experts. Older students should attend when transition planning is on the agenda.
The IEP has to detail every service the child will receive. That means speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, assistive technology, behavioral supports, and any classroom accommodations like extended test time or modified assignments. If the team wants a more restrictive setting, such as a resource room or separate program, the IEP must say why. Delaware follows the least restrictive environment principle: students with disabilities are educated with non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate.7eCFR. 34 CFR 300.114 – LRE Requirements Convenience is not a reason to default to a separate classroom.
Transition Planning Starts Early in Delaware
Delaware requires transition planning to begin when a student turns 14 or enters eighth grade, whichever comes first.8Delaware Department of Education. Transition Planning That is two years earlier than the federal minimum of age 16. The transition portion of the IEP covers post-secondary education, vocational training, employment, and independent living skills, with coordination from agencies like the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
Extended School Year Services
Some students need services during school breaks to hold on to progress. Extended school year (ESY) services are provided at no cost when the IEP team determines they are necessary for a free appropriate public education. Schools cannot cap ESY based on disability category alone.9Delaware Department of Education. Extended School Year Services
The team weighs several factors when deciding on ESY:
- Regression and recoupment: would the student lose significant skills over the break and take an unreasonable time to regain them?
- Breakthrough opportunities: would a newly acquired critical skill be jeopardized without continued instruction?
- Degree of impairment: can the student make meaningful progress on IEP goals without summer services?
- Vocational needs: for students ages 16 to 20 with employment goals, would paid work opportunities be lost without continued coaching?
- Other circumstances that justify services to meet the student’s needs.
Delaware state law separately requires 12-month programs for students with certain disabilities, including autism, traumatic brain injury, deaf-blindness, orthopedic impairment, and severe or moderate intellectual disability.9Delaware Department of Education. Extended School Year Services Students in a 12-month program may still qualify for additional ESY on top. The IEP team must document the ESY decision and its reasoning in the IEP and in the prior written notice to parents. A bare statement that a student is not eligible, with no analysis, does not meet that standard.
Parental Rights
Parents are full partners in the process. Delaware Administrative Code Title 14, Section 926 gives you the right to inspect and review all education records related to your child’s identification, evaluation, placement, and services, and makes you a member of the group that decides placement.10Delaware Administrative Code. Delaware Administrative Code 14-926 – Children with Disabilities Subpart E Procedural Safeguards for Parents and Children
Schools must give you a procedural safeguards notice at least once a school year. They also have to provide it on initial referral for evaluation, when you file your first state complaint or due process complaint of the year, and any time you ask.11Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Sec. 300.504 Procedural Safeguards Notice Read it when you get it. It is the map to every right discussed here.
No initial evaluation, special education placement, or major change in services can happen without your written consent. If you refuse, the school cannot override you without going through due process. Schools must give reasonable notice of meetings, schedule them at mutually agreeable times, and let you participate by phone or video when you cannot attend in person.
Record requests must be answered without unnecessary delay, and in no case more than 45 days after you ask. Records have to be available before any IEP meeting, hearing, or resolution session.12Legal Information Institute. 14 Del. Admin. Code 927-13.0 – Rights to Access Educational Records
You can withdraw consent for all special education services at any time in writing. If you do, your child loses services and loses the protections of IDEA, and the school does not have to try to change your mind. Think carefully before taking that step.
Discipline Protections
Students with disabilities can be disciplined, but with limits. School personnel can remove a student for a code of conduct violation for up to 10 consecutive school days, the same as any other student. More removals of up to 10 days each for separate incidents are allowed, as long as the total does not amount to a change in placement.13Legal Information Institute. 14 Del. Admin. Code 926-30.0 – Discipline Procedures Authority of School Personnel After a cumulative 10 school days of removal in the same year, the school must provide educational services during any further days out.
When a disciplinary action would change the student’s placement, the school must hold a manifestation determination review within 10 school days. Parents, school staff, and relevant IEP team members look at the file, the IEP, teacher observations, and any information you provide, and answer two questions: was the behavior caused by, or directly and substantially related to, the disability? And was the behavior a direct result of the school’s failure to implement the IEP?13Legal Information Institute. 14 Del. Admin. Code 926-30.0 – Discipline Procedures Authority of School Personnel
If the answer to either question is yes, the behavior is a manifestation of the disability. The child goes back to the original placement unless you and the school agree otherwise, and any IEP implementation failure must be fixed immediately. If the behavior is not a manifestation, the school can apply the same discipline it would to any student, but must keep providing educational services so the child can continue working toward IEP goals.
When You Disagree With the School
Disputes over special education are common, and Delaware offers more than one way to handle them. Knowing all your options before a conflict escalates matters.
Mediation Through SPARC
The Delaware Department of Education contracts with the University of Delaware’s Conflict Resolution Program to provide free mediation through SPARC, the Special Education Partnership for the Amicable Resolution of Conflict.14Delaware Department of Education. Rights and Dispute Resolution Information Mediation is voluntary and confidential. A neutral mediator helps both sides reach an agreement, and any deal you sign is legally binding. Mediation also tends to preserve the working relationship with the school, which matters when your child will be in the district for years.
Due Process Hearings
If mediation does not work, or if you want a formal proceeding from the start, you can file a due process complaint. Before a hearing begins, the school must hold a resolution meeting within 15 days of receiving the complaint. Both sides can agree in writing to skip it or substitute mediation.
If the dispute is not resolved within the 30-day resolution period, the hearing goes forward before an impartial hearing officer. Each side presents evidence, calls witnesses, and makes legal arguments. A decision must be issued within 45 days after the resolution period ends, unless the hearing officer grants an extension.15eCFR. 34 CFR 300.515 – Timelines and Convenience of Hearings and Reviews The decision binds both sides, though either party can appeal in state or federal court.
During any due process proceeding, your child stays in the current placement unless you and the school agree to a change.16Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Sec. 300.518 Child’s Status During Proceedings This “stay-put” rule prevents a district from moving your child unilaterally while a dispute is pending. It is one of the strongest tools you have. You do not have to agree to a temporary change the school proposes.
State Complaints
You can file a written complaint with the Delaware Department of Education alleging that a district violated IDEA or state regulations. The Department must investigate and issue a written decision within 60 calendar days.17Legal Information Institute. 14 Del. Admin. Code 923-52.0 – Time Limit and Extension for State Complaint, Final Decision, and Implementation Investigations can include document reviews, interviews, and on-site visits. State complaints work well for clear-cut problems like missed deadlines or systemic issues where a full hearing would be out of proportion to what you need.
If the District Still Will Not Comply
The Delaware Department of Education monitors districts for compliance. When violations are confirmed through complaint investigations or monitoring, the Department can require corrective actions: additional staff training, revised procedures, or compensatory education services to make up for what the student missed.
Parents are usually the first to notice noncompliance. If the IEP is not being followed, if evaluations are late, or if the services written into the plan are not being delivered, document the problem and file a state complaint. The 60-day investigation process gives you a way to enforce the rules without the cost of a hearing, and the Department has the authority to order a remedy.