Service minutes
Last updated
Service minutes are the amount of time, written in the IEP, that a student will receive each special education or related service.
Topic: The IEP document
In plain terms
The IEP must state the projected start date, frequency, location and duration of services. Service minutes are how many schools express frequency and duration, such as "30 minutes, 2 times per week, speech therapy room." Once the IEP is in effect, the school must deliver those minutes as written, and missed sessions may need to be made up.
How it shows up in an IEP
Providers usually keep a service log with the date, minutes, setting and a short note for each session. The log shows the IEP was implemented, supports Medicaid billing where it applies, and helps explain progress when sessions were missed.
Example
An IEP lists 120 minutes per week of specialized reading instruction. The teacher logs four 30-minute sessions each week and notes a missed session during state testing, scheduling a makeup the following week.
The rule
Federal reference: 34 CFR §300.320(a)(7).
Related terms
- Specially designed instruction (SDI)Specially designed instruction is teaching adapted in content, method or delivery to meet a student's disability-related needs.
- Related servicesRelated services are supports, such as speech therapy, transportation or counseling, that a student needs to benefit from special education.
- Compensatory servicesCompensatory services are extra services provided to make up for special education or related services a student should have received but did not.
- Push-in servicesPush-in services are special education or related services delivered inside the student's regular classroom during ongoing lessons.
- Pull-out servicesPull-out services are special education or related services given outside the regular classroom, in a separate room, individually or in a small group.
On IEP Atlas
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