06.13.2020 | The River | “It is essentially the contract between the school district and the family that lays out all the support and services a student with a disability requires to make progress in school,” says Maggie Moroff, special education policy coordinator at Advocates for Children of New York. Moroff also helps coordinate the ARISE Coalition, a collection of parents, advocates, academics, educators, and other stakeholders who push for systemic changes to improve day-to-day experiences and long-term outcomes for students with disabilities in New York City public schools.

IEPs serve as blueprints for the services provided to students, dictating how often they receive additional sessions and what their optimal classroom setup looks like. “If a service is on the IEP, the Department of Education is required, by law, to then provide that service,” Moroff says. Read article