Disability Rights Puerto Rico Project #50111

At great risk of being left behind

by Servicios Legales de Puerto Rico, Inc.

Project Report | Jul 9, 2026
Ensuring Access to Education for Ismael

By Rebeca Dorna | Communications

Ismael (a pseudonym to protect his identity) is a 15-year-old student with Level 3 autism enrolled in the Department of Education’s Special Education Program. For several months during the 2025–2026 school year, Ismael remained at home without receiving educational or related services, placing him at high risk of academic and social regression.

Faced with this situation, his family turned to the Special Education Project of Puerto Rico Legal Services (PRLS), who had previously provided them with legal representation. Through this intervention, on December 10, 2025, a Final Resolution was issued ordering the Department of Education to place Ismael in a specialized school through the purchase of educational services, as well as to provide compensatory services for those not delivered.

Despite the order, the agency failed to comply in a timely manner. Ismael remained out of school due to administrative delays, including the failure to issue the authorization letter, errors in the official system, and the lack of coordination of transportation services with a required aide—services clearly established in his Individualized Education Program (IEP).

In response to this noncompliance, the PRLS legal team not only advised the family regarding their rights but also took affirmative legal action to enforce the resolution. A formal demand letter was submitted to the Department of Education, emphasizing its legal obligation to comply with administrative orders and urging immediate action.

At the same time, PRLS supported the family throughout the educational process by participating in IEP Committee meetings. During these meetings, the IEP was amended to properly include transportation services with an aide, removing additional barriers to the student’s school access.

After months of persistent advocacy, agency coordination, and strategic legal intervention, the expected outcome was finally achieved: on April 29, 2026, Isaac began attending the specialized school, receiving the educational and support services he needed. Ismael transitioned from being out of the school system for months to being fully integrated into an educational setting appropriate to his needs. Compliance with an administrative order was secured.

This case demonstrates how timely legal representation can make the difference between exclusion and meaningful access to education. Without PRLS’ intervention, Ismael would have remained out of school for a longer period, deepening developmental gaps.

Thanks to your support it is possible to continue providing these essential legal services to families who would otherwise face complex administrative and legal systems alone.

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Mar 16, 2026
Ensuring Appropriate Education for a Child in Need

By Rebeca Dorna | Communications

We would like to keep you updated on some of the progress of our initiatives in the Special Education Project with another success story.

Our client was a 13-year-old student in the Special Education Program who presents specific learning disabilities. Although his Individualized Education Program (IEP) established essential accommodations for his progress, these were not being implemented. His mother filed a complaint with the Department of Education to defend her son’s rights. It was then that she came to our Special Education Project, which assumed legal representation.

After providing guidance to the family, it was agreed to withdraw the complaint because the allegations, as presented, were not yet ripe for litigation and to exhaust processes in COMPU (IEP team) meetings.

For months, our staff participated actively in multiple meetings, reviewing progress reports, advocating for the corresponding accommodations, and ensuring that the family’s voice was heard.

To ensure an appropriate educational recommendation, we arranged for a school psychologist to visit the school and conduct an independent evaluation. Her findings were crucial: the child needed a regular education setting in small groups and a traditional structure that would better support his needs.

Thanks to the project’s intervention, an IEP aligned with his needs was established: the COMPU accepted all expert recommendations, and a new IEP for the 2025–2026 school year was approved with the appropriate services and accommodations without the need for an administrative complaint.

During the process, an appropriate school was identified and eventually enroll the student there, where the staff committed to implementing the IEP as established. Subsequent meetings confirmed that the student was receiving all educational services in accordance with his IEP.

With the controversies resolved and his rights successfully protected, the student gained full access to the services that allow him to learn, grow, and develop his potential.

Thank you for your continued support of our project. Your contribution makes it possible to carry out independent expert evaluations and to provide ongoing advocacy for the right of all children to a free and appropriate public education.

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Nov 19, 2025
Protecting Rights, Changing Lives: Legal Support for Inclusive Ed

By Rebeca Dorna | Communications

Driven by our mission, we’ve secured another success for students with special needs.

Y.Y.R.M. is a student registered in the Special Education Program due to a diagnosis of attention deficit with hyperactivity, specific learning problems in reading, writing, mathematics, and oppositional defiance.

His mother filed a complaint against the Department of Education, invoking the Federal IDEA Law to request reimbursement for the cost of meals (lunches) provided by the private school where the student was placed by the Department of Education to receive a free and appropriate public education.

The agency’s position was that the student was not entitled to this service and that the provision of meals was not mandatory; therefore, it requested that the complaint be dismissed. As a result, the mother had to cover those expenses.

The Special Education Project of Legal Services of Puerto Rico assumed legal representation and defended the student’s right to receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), including meal services, as provided to students in the public system.
During the administrative process, the parties agreed that there were no factual disputes and that the discussion was strictly a matter of law. The Administrative Forum ordered the parties to submit legal memoranda supporting their positions.

Thanks to legal intervention, the Administrative Forum ruled in favor of the complaint. It determined that the student, placed in a private school due to lack of alternatives in the public system, should enjoy the same rights as public school students, including free access to meal services. The Department of Education was ordered to reimburse the mother for lunch payments in the amount of $1,212.20 for the school year, and it was established that these services must be among those authorized for students placed in private schools under the special education program.

This case exemplifies how specialized legal advocacy can remove economic barriers and ensure equal access for vulnerable students, generating a direct and positive impact on their lives and those of their families.

As we continue to defend the rights of Special Education, we thank you for helping us continue meet our students’ challenges.

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