IEP Service Delivery in New Hampshire
How are IEP services delivered in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire IEPs must specify the projected start date, frequency, duration, and location of each special education and related service, consistent with 34 CFR 300.320(a)(7) and Ed 1109.03. In practice, NH IEP forms document sessions per week, time per session, and service setting (general education vs. separate setting), with service provider titles identified. Related services including OT and PT must be educationally necessary—focused on improving the student's ability to benefit from special education—not on maximizing developmental potential. All services must be provided by qualified personnel meeting NH licensure or certification requirements. Extended school year (ESY) services must be provided when the IEP team determines they are necessary to provide FAPE; NH applies an individualized regression-recoupment analysis consistent with federal standards—reviewing whether the student will experience significant skill regression during school breaks that cannot be recouped in a reasonable time. An initial IEP must be in effect within 30 calendar days of the eligibility determination meeting (Ed 1109.03), and services must be implemented without undue delay after any IEP modification.
What New Hampshire Requires
Each IEP must include the projected date for the beginning of services and the anticipated frequency, duration, and location of each special education service, related service, supplementary aid, and modification (34 CFR 300.320(a)(7); Ed 1109.03).
NH IEP documentation identifies service provider titles, session frequency, duration, and setting (general education or separate); Ed 1109.03 implements the federal frequency/duration/location requirement and NH IEP practice documents push-in and pull-out service settings separately.
Occupational therapy and physical therapy are related services available when educationally necessary under 34 CFR 300.34(c)(6) and (c)(9); the standard is whether services are required to help the student benefit from special education, not to maximize developmental potential.
All special education and related services must be provided by qualified personnel; school psychologists must be certified under Ed 507.08, and other related service providers must meet NH licensure requirements for their discipline (Ed 1109.03).
The LEA must ensure each child's IEP is implemented as written; transition services provided outside an approved special education program must be monitored by LEA personnel on no less than a weekly basis (Ed 1109.03).
Extended school year (ESY) services must be provided when the IEP team determines they are necessary to provide FAPE; NH applies an individualized regression-recoupment analysis—assessing whether the student will experience significant skill regression during breaks that cannot be recouped in a reasonable time (34 CFR 300.106; Ed 1109).
Key Timelines
Initial IEP (including all service delivery specifications) must be in effect within 30 calendar days of the eligibility determination meeting (Ed 1109.03).
IEP services must be in effect at the beginning of each school year and implemented without undue delay following any IEP team meeting that modifies services (34 CFR 300.323(a) and (c); Ed 1109.03).
The IEP must be reviewed and, if necessary, revised at least once per year; the IEP period shall not exceed 12 months without review and approval by the IEP team (Ed 1109.03; 34 CFR 300.324).
Progress on IEP goals—including goals supported by related services—must be reported to parents at least as frequently as report cards are issued to nondisabled peers, typically quarterly (34 CFR 300.320(a)(3)).