Back-to-School Check-Up · School Year 2026–27
By the time the spring report card confirms your child fell behind, the year is spent. A check-up now — of the IEP, the progress reports, the service logs, and the academic assessment score data — puts the supports in place while there is still a whole year left to use them.
Free call 30 minutes, no records needed | 5 papers, maximum All we need to complete the review | What we deliver A second consultation to identify the issues, followed by a written summary |
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Why the first weeks matter
Most families come to a special education lawyer in April or May, after the damage is done. By then the evaluation was not conducted, the services were never delivered, the appropriate goals were not written, the academic progress stalled, and the only remedy left is trying to make up a year that has already gone by.
Autumn is different. In September and October, a problem in the IEP is still a problem you can solve — with a meeting request, an evaluation request, or a corrected service schedule. The same problem in May is a claim. Claims take longer, cost more, and never fully give the year back.
What to gather
Email them. Or we'll send you a link to upload them to our secure file. If you don't have them, we'll show you how to request your child's full education record from the school — they are required to give it to you.
Paper 01 The current IEP Plus any amendments or meeting notes from last year. What we look for
| Paper 02 Last year's progress reports Every quarterly report the school sent home on IEP goals. What we look for
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Paper 03 The related service logs Speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, behavioral support. What we look for
| Paper 04 The scores and the report card i-Ready, MAP, DC CAPE, report cards, attendance, discipline records. What we look for
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Paper 05 Evaluation reports Every evaluation the school has completed, plus any from an outside provider. What we look for
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How the check-up works
Send the records
Email or upload the records to us. No account to make, nothing to print. Nothing is charged and no work begins until we've spoken and you've signed a written agreement.
About 10 minutes
We read them line by line
We compare what the IEP promised against what the logs and progress reports show was actually delivered, and we check the data for signs the school should have evaluated your child and didn't. We compare goals to the needs in the evaluation reports. We compare IEPs year over year. We compare IEP progress reporting to standardized academic assessment score reporting.
Usually within five to seven business days
A consultation, and a written summary
You get a consultation and a concise written summary of potential issues: did the school fail to provide services, is there evidence that your child is not progressing, should your child have been evaluated, and whether what happened last year is worth pursuing formally. If it is, we'll explain how fees would work before you decide anything.
Yours to keep either way
Where to start
Talk to an attorney for thirty minutes before you decide anything. Bring nothing — no records, no forms, no money. If a records review makes sense after that, we'll walk through which one fits and what it involves.
Free 30 minutes · Everyone | The first call You tell us what's happening with your child. By the end of it you'll know whether a records review would help. No records needed, no obligation to go further, and no charge whether you do or not. |
Three levels of review, depending on what you need answered. We'll figure out together on the call which one your situation calls for.
Review 01 Full FAPE review The complete picture. IEPs, evaluations, progress reports, related service logs, test scores, and report cards, read against what the law required the school to do — and a written summary of potential issues. RIGHT FOR YOU IF Your child has had an IEP for a year or more and you have the sense that a whole year went by and your child did not make progress. | Review 02 Should my child be evaluated? The same records, read for one question: does the data show the school should have suspected a disability and tested — and didn't? Comes back with the specific evidence supporting an evaluation request. RIGHT FOR YOU IF Your child has no IEP, or has one that may be missing a disability, and the scores or the behavior say something is being overlooked. | Review 03 Service log check Service logs only, counted against the minutes the IEP promised. The fastest way to find out whether your child actually received the speech, OT, PT, counseling, or behavioral support they were owed. RIGHT FOR YOU IF The IEP looks reasonable on paper and your question is simply whether the services in it were ever delivered. |
Nothing starts until you've seen it in writing. A records review is a limited legal service, and if you decide you want one, we'll put the scope and the terms in a short written agreement first. You read it, you sign it, and only then does any work begin. Nothing on this page obligates you to anything. |
If your child has no IEP yet
Schools have an affirmative duty to identify and evaluate children who may have a disability. That duty does not switch on only when a parent files a written request — and it is not satisfied by another year of interventions while a child falls further behind.
These are the patterns that most often mean an evaluation was owed and never done:
Your child's scores have dropped or flatlined for two years while the school kept saying to give it more time.
You raised a concern — attention, reading, math, speech, behavior, social difficulty — and the school responded with a plan instead of an evaluation.
Your child is passing classes but reading or doing math far below grade level.
Your child is being disciplined repeatedly for behavior that looks like it has a cause nobody has assessed.
You asked for testing and the school said no — and never gave you that refusal in writing.
Your child has a diagnosis from a doctor or outside evaluator and the school has not acted on it.
If a school refuses to evaluate, that refusal is a decision — and decisions can be challenged. The school also has to give you the refusal in writing, with its reasons. If you never got that document, that itself is worth a conversation.
Clocks that are already running
The look-back window There is a limited period during which you can raise past violations. Services your child missed several years ago may already be beyond reach. Every month you wait, the oldest part of the claim falls off the back end. | Evaluation timelines Once you consent to testing, the school is on a clock — and so is the eligibility decision that follows. Those deadlines only start when the request is made properly and in writing. |
Summer services Extended school year is decided by the IEP team, and the argument for it is built on this year's data. Parents who start raising it in April are usually arguing without the record they needed. | Transition planning For older students, the IEP has to address life after high school — training, employment, independent living. This is the requirement most often reduced to a single sentence and ignored. |
Questions parents ask first
Do I have to send records just to talk to you?
No. The first thirty minutes are free for every family, with nothing to send and nothing to sign. Records only come into it if you decide you want a review after that conversation.
What does it cost?
The first call is free, always. If you decide you want a records review after that, we discuss the fee on that same call and set it to your circumstances. This office works with families across a wide range of situations, and cost is a conversation, not a wall. Whatever we agree, you will have it in writing before any work begins
How do I know which review I need?
You don't have to. That's what the free call is for — by the end of it you'll know which review fits your situation, and whether you need one at all.
What if the review turns into a case?
Then anything you have already paid is credited against your account, so you are not charged twice for the same records. In special education cases, attorney's fees are often recoverable from the school system rather than paid by the family. That depends on the outcome, and we will never tell you a result is guaranteed. We will explain exactly how fees would work in your case before you sign anything.
Will this make things worse with my child's school?
Most check-ups end with a well-drafted letter or meeting request, not a lawsuit. Schools generally respond to a parent who arrives with organized documents and specific requests. Retaliating against a family for asserting these rights is itself prohibited.
My child doesn't have an IEP. Is this for us?
Yes — and possibly more urgently. Send the report cards, the test scores, the attendance record, and anything you have written to the school. The question we are answering is whether the school should have suspected a disability and tested, and didn't.
I don't have any of these papers.
That is common and it is fixable. Start the form anyway and tell us what you have. You are entitled to your child's education record, and we will send you the exact language to request it.
Does my child have to be in a DCPS school?
No. These rights apply to public charter schools in the District as well. Send us what you have regardless of where your child is enrolled.
Am I agreeing to sue anyone?
No. You are asking a lawyer to read your child's paperwork and tell you what it says. What you do afterward is entirely your decision.
Thirty minutes with an attorney. No records to gather first, nothing to sign, and no charge. Pick a time below, or call the office directly.
BOOK THE FREE 30-MINUTE CALLThe Law Office of Nigel M. Atwell, PLLC
600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003
202.430.6819 · nigel@lawofficeofnigelmatwell.com
This page provides general information about special education law in the District of Columbia. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for advice about your child's specific circumstances. Submitting this form, calling, or emailing does not by itself create an attorney–client relationship. A record review is a limited-scope legal service, and the relationship begins only when a written agreement setting out the scope of the review and the fee has been signed by both of us — whether or not a fee is charged. Fees shown are for the limited review described and do not include representation in any meeting, complaint, or hearing. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other matter. Please do not send confidential or time-sensitive information through this form until that written agreement is in place.