Quick Answer
Service minutes tell you how often your child gets a service (frequency), for how long (duration), and where (location). IDEA requires the IEP to state the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of services (34 CFR 300.320(a)(7)). Check whether minutes are per week or per month, whether the service is direct or consult, and whether it happens in the classroom (push-in) or outside it (pull-out).
The services section of an IEP is often a small table of numbers. Those numbers are the plan for how much help your child gets. This guide explains what each part means and what to check.
Reading One Service Line
Here is a sample service line. Your district's form will look different, but the parts are usually the same.
| Service | Type | Frequency and duration | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speech-language therapy | Direct | 2 times per week, 30 minutes each | Special education setting (therapy room) |
| Occupational therapy | Consult | 30 minutes per month | General education classroom |
Read it as a sentence: "My child gets speech therapy twice a week for 30 minutes, outside the classroom, with the therapist. The OT checks in with the teacher for 30 minutes a month."
For a wider look at the types of services an IEP can include, see IEP services explained.
Frequency, Duration, and Location
IDEA requires the IEP to include the projected date services begin and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those services (34 CFR 300.320(a)(7)).
- Frequency is how often. "2 times per week" or "1 time per month."
- Duration is how long each session lasts. "30 minutes."
- Location is where it happens. "General education classroom" or "resource room."
Each part should be specific enough that you and the school would read it the same way. "As needed" or "ongoing" does not tell you how much service your child will get. If you see vague wording, ask the team to state the amount.
Minutes per Week vs. per Month
Some IEPs list minutes per week. Others list minutes per month, per quarter, or per year.
Weekly minutes are easier to track. You know what should happen each week.
Monthly minutes give the school more scheduling room. That can help around holidays or testing weeks. It also means sessions can bunch up, or slip to the last days of the month. A child with "120 minutes per month" might get four 30-minute sessions, or two 60-minute sessions, or most of the minutes in the final week.
Questions to ask:
- "How will these minutes be spread across the month?"
- "What happens if a month has a week of no school?"
- "How will I know how many minutes were delivered?"
Direct vs. Consult
Direct service means the provider works with your child. That might be one-on-one or in a small group.
Consult (sometimes called consultative or indirect service) means the provider works with the adults. For example, the occupational therapist meets with the teacher to adjust seating or materials. IDEA lists supports for school personnel as part of what the IEP can provide (34 CFR 300.320(a)(4)).
Both can be useful. They are not interchangeable. Thirty minutes of consult is not thirty minutes with your child. If the evaluation describes a need for hands-on therapy and the IEP lists only consult, ask the team to explain the choice.
Push-In vs. Pull-Out
Push-in means the provider comes into your child's classroom. Your child gets support during regular lessons, alongside classmates.
Pull-out means your child leaves the classroom for the service. That is often a smaller room with fewer distractions.
Each has trade-offs. Push-in keeps your child with peers and in the lesson. Pull-out can allow more focused practice, but your child misses whatever happens in class during that time. Ask what your child will miss, and how they will catch up.
IDEA requires the IEP to explain the extent, if any, to which your child will not take part with nondisabled children in the regular class (34 CFR 300.320(a)(5)). It also requires that children be educated with nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate (34 CFR 300.114). Pull-out time is part of that picture.
Missed Sessions and Makeups
IDEA regulations do not set a single rule for making up missed sessions. States and districts set their own practices, and the answer often depends on why the session was missed:
- Provider absent or unavailable. Ask how and when those minutes will be made up.
- School closed or a schedule change. Ask how the minutes for that week or month will be handled.
- Your child was absent. Policies vary. Ask what the district does.
Ask for the district's makeup policy in writing. If many sessions were missed, you can ask the team about compensatory services. If the IEP says one amount and your child gets less, see what to do about a service delivery gap.
How to Check What Was Delivered
The IEP says what should happen. Service logs show what did happen. Many providers record the date, the minutes, and what they worked on for each session.
You have a right to inspect and review your child's education records (34 CFR 300.613). A short written request is enough to start:
Please send the service logs for [service] for [child's name] from [start date] to [end date], including the date and number of minutes for each session.
For a full walkthrough and a sample letter, see how to request service logs.
Check your child's services
If you want a second read of your child's services page, upload your child's IEP for a free first look at your child's roadmap. Bring what you find to the team.
Sources
- 34 CFR 300.320: Definition of individualized education program, Code of Federal Regulations
- 34 CFR 300.114: LRE requirements, Code of Federal Regulations
- 34 CFR 300.613: Access rights, Code of Federal Regulations
