IEP Service Delivery in Maryland
How are IEP services delivered in Maryland?
Maryland regulates special education service delivery through COMAR 13A.05.01.10 (least restrictive environment) and COMAR 13A.05.02 (specific special education program standards). All services must be delivered in the least restrictive environment (LRE) appropriate to each child's needs (COMAR 13A.05.01.10(A)). The IEP must document the frequency (how often per week/month), duration (length of each session), location (general education classroom, resource room, separate class, separate school, etc.), and projected start date of all services (COMAR 13A.05.01.09(A)(7)). Maryland defines service delivery options along a continuum from general education with supplementary aids and services, to resource room services, to separate special education classes, to separate day schools, to residential placement, to home/hospital instruction. Maryland provides Extended School Year (ESY) services to students who would experience significant regression during extended breaks and would require an inordinate amount of recoupment time to regain skills, as determined by the IEP team using regression/recoupment data and other relevant factors (COMAR 13A.05.01.08(B)(2)). ESY eligibility must be discussed at every annual IEP meeting as a standing agenda item. Maryland's home and hospital teaching program (COMAR 13A.03.05) provides instruction for students with medical conditions preventing school attendance for an extended period; students must receive a minimum number of instructional hours per week as specified in COMAR 13A.03.05. Related services may be delivered in integrated settings (co-teaching, push-in, or in-class support) rather than exclusively as pull-out services, based on IEP team determination and LRE considerations. Large Maryland LEAs such as Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS), and Baltimore City Public Schools have their own supplemental service delivery frameworks that must be consistent with COMAR but may include additional requirements for service logs, co-teaching models, inclusion support, and paraprofessional deployment. Maryland MSDE monitors service delivery compliance through the Results Driven Accountability system and publishes annual SPP/APR (State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report) data on LRE placement rates.
What Maryland Requires
All services must be delivered in the least restrictive environment appropriate to each child's individual needs, with documented justification for any removal from the general education setting (COMAR 13A.05.01.10(A); 34 CFR 300.114).
The IEP must specify the frequency, duration, location, and projected start date for each service (COMAR 13A.05.01.09(A)(7)).
Extended School Year (ESY) eligibility must be considered at every annual IEP meeting using regression/recoupment data; ESY is provided when a child would experience significant regression and inordinate recoupment time (COMAR 13A.05.01.08(B)(2)).
Specially designed physical education must be available to all students with disabilities when needed (34 CFR 300.108; COMAR 13A.05.01.09(A)(4)).
Home and hospital instruction is available for students with medical conditions preventing school attendance, with minimum weekly instructional hours (COMAR 13A.03.05).
Services may be delivered in integrated or co-taught settings based on IEP team determination, provided FAPE and LRE are maintained (COMAR 13A.05.01.10(A); 34 CFR 300.114).
Maryland's continuum of alternative placements includes general education with supplementary aids, resource room, separate class, separate school, residential, and home/hospital (COMAR 13A.05.01.10; 34 CFR 300.115).
MSDE monitors LRE placement rates through the SPP/APR and Results Driven Accountability system (Md. Code Ann., Ed. § 8-403(b)).
Key Timelines
Services must begin on the projected start date documented in the IEP (COMAR 13A.05.01.09(A)(7)).
ESY eligibility must be addressed at the annual IEP review meeting as a standing agenda item (COMAR 13A.05.01.08(B)(2)).
Service delivery models must be reviewed at least annually at the IEP meeting (COMAR 13A.05.01.08(B)).
For transfer students, comparable services must begin immediately upon enrollment (COMAR 13A.05.01.09(E); 34 CFR 300.323(e)).
Sources
Related IEP Guides
IEP Services Explained: What Your Child Should Be Getting
Understand IEP related services — speech, OT, PT, counseling, and more. Learn direct vs. consultative models and what to do if services aren't delivered.
The IEP Says 30 Minutes of Speech. My Child Gets 15.
What to do when your child's IEP services aren't delivered as written — how to discover the gap, document it, and hold the school accountable.
Compensatory Services: What Your Child Is Owed When the School Falls Short
What compensatory services are, when your child is entitled to them, how to request them, and what to do when IEP services are missed.