Related Services

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires states to provide related, or supportive, services through local school boards to students with disabilities to the extent that such children may need these services to benefit from their special education programs. In its definition of related services, the IDEA specifically lists developmental, supportive, and corrective services such as transportation, speech-language pathology, audiology, interpreting services, psychological services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreation (including therapeutic recreation), social work services, school nurse services, counseling services (including rehabilitation counseling), orientation and mobility services, and medical services (for diagnostic or evaluative purposes only) (20 U.S.C. § 1401(26)).

Since this list is not exhaustive, however, other unlisted services may be considered to be related services if they help students with disabilities to benefit ...