What is an IESP — and Why NYC Private School Families Need to File By June 1

Most parents of children with disabilities in New York City know about IEPs. Far fewer know about IESPs. I didn't know what they were until a couple months ago when I spoke to Lloyd Donders, a special education lawyer — and my son is 12.

If your child attends a private or religious school — and you are not fighting the DOE for a public school placement — your child may still be entitled to free special education services paid for by the city. Speech therapy. Occupational therapy. Special education teacher support services.

That entitlement is called an IESP: Individualized Education Services Program.

And to receive those services next school year, you must file a written notice with your child's Committee on Special Education by June 1.

Too many families don't know this deadline exists.

An IESP is a legal document created by the DOE that spells out the special education services your child is entitled to while attending a private or religious school.

It is not the same as an IEP. It does not include a school placement. You are not asking the DOE to find your child a school. You are asking them to provide services — speech, OT, SETSS — at whatever private school your child already attends.

"If the parent of a private school child still wants services — for example, speech — they can request an IESP from the DOE," says Lloyd Donders, a New York City special education attorney. "The DOE would do an IESP and, assuming the child qualifies, provide those related services even though the child is in private school."

If your child is found eligible, the DOE is legally required to provide those services. It is a right under New York State law.

One important timing note: services under an IESP begin the following school year, not immediately. That's why the June 1 deadline matters — it is the mechanism for securing services for the year ahead. The DOE has been strictly enforcing this deadline for the past several years and shows no sign of relaxing it.

This is the question that trips up a lot of families.

IEP (Individualized Education Program) — Your child attends a public school, or you are asking the DOE to fund a private school placement because the public school can't meet your child's needs. The IEP covers both the program and the services.

IESP (Individualized Education Services Program) — You have chosen a private or religious school for your own reasons and are not asking the DOE for a placement. But your child is still entitled to related services — speech, OT, SETSS — paid for by the DOE. The IESP covers those services only.

One important distinction, said Lloyd Donders: "If you are in a due process case against the DOE — fighting over placement, seeking tuition reimbursement — you are not in IESP territory. That's a Carter case, and different rules apply." For help finding an attorney, see our Special Education Lawyers in NYC guide.

IESP due process is a narrower situation. As Donders explains, it applies when you have an IESP but disagree with what's in it, or the services listed were never actually delivered and you are seeking compensatory services.

The legal foundation is New York State Education Law 3602-C.

Federal law used to require school districts to provide special education services to children in private schools. Congress eventually eliminated that individual entitlement. New York State never changed its law.

That means every child with a disability in a New York City private or religious school has an individual right to services — a right that exists in New York but not in most other states.

At a City Council budget hearing this year, DOE Chief Counsel Liz Vladimir put the cost plainly: the city spent almost $400 million on IESP cases in fiscal year 2024.

Under New York State law, to receive IESP services, families must submit a Parental Notice of Intent (PNI) to their child's Committee on Special Education by June 1 of the prior school year.

The DOE has taken the position that if you miss this deadline — even if your child is currently receiving services, even if the DOE never held the annual review it was legally required to hold — you forfeit services for the following year.

The DOE is required to hold an annual review with every IESP family. That review is the natural occasion where a parent would request continued services for the following year. But according to a NYC hearing officer who spoke to Lighthouse on background, those reviews are rarely held. "Of the tens of thousands of IESP cases brought during the time I was conducting hearings, and the thousands that I heard over more than 25 years," he said, "the district routinely failed to conduct timely triennials and seldom even conducted timely annual reviews."

The DOE's own testimony at a City Council budget hearing in the spring of 2026 points in the same direction. DOE Chief Counsel Liz Vladimir described making "thousands of calls and emails directly to families" in the current school year to arrange IESP services — an acknowledgment that in prior years, that direct outreach wasn't happening, and that the annual review process was not doing the job it was designed to do.

The result: the DOE fails to hold the review. Then it argues that because the family didn't file a PNI by June 1, they've missed the deadline.

"The so-called June 1 defense is a grotesquely vivid example of the department arguing that a child should be denied services that its own CSE had determined the child needs," the hearing officer said, "rather than taking the position they always used to take: we're here to serve all the children in New York City."

The deadline is June 1, 2026. It will be strictly enforced.

A note on charter schools: This deadline does not apply to charter school families. In New York City, charter school students with disabilities are entitled to IEPs — the DOE remains responsible for their education and they are treated the same as students in public schools. If your child attends a charter school, contact your DOE Committee on Special Education about the IEP process instead.

If your child attends a private or religious school in New York City and has been found eligible for special education services, here is what you need to do before June 1:

1. Download the Parental Notice of Intent (PNI) form from the NYC DOE Committees on Special Education page.

2. Find your CSE office and submit the form. Your CSE is the one in the district where your child's nonpublic school is located — not necessarily where you live. Find your office at the same CSE page cited above.

3. Keep a copy of everything. Date-stamped emails. Confirmation receipts. The DOE's use of the deadline as a procedural weapon means documentation is your protection.

One exception: If your child is newly identified as having a disability after June 1 and before April 1 of the following year, you have 30 days from the date of identification to submit the notice.

One clarification: Submitting a timely PNI does not guarantee you the right to choose your child's specific provider or the location where services are delivered. It preserves your right to receive services at all.

If you are working with an attorney: The PNI must come from you directly, or from a licensed attorney representing you — not from a non-attorney advocate. If submitted by an attorney, it must include a signed confidentiality release for the current school year.

If you are not sure whether you've already filed, contact your CSE office directly and confirm in writing.

Filing a PNI by June 1 is step one. If services are supposed to be in place but your child's provider doesn't accept the DOE's standard rate, or the DOE hasn't arranged services, there is a separate form for that.

The Equitable Services Request Form lets you request help finding a provider or request an enhanced rate — but only if you already submitted a timely PNI. Submit it to: [email protected], with your child's name and NYCID number in the subject line.

These are two separate steps. The PNI preserves your right to services. The Equitable Services Request Form is what you use when services aren't being delivered.

Talk to a special education attorney. The DOE's position on missed deadlines has been challenged in due process hearings, particularly in cases where the DOE itself failed to hold the required annual review.

You are not necessarily out of options. But you need legal guidance specific to your situation.

IESP cases — approximately 20,000 a year — represent the majority of New York City's special education due process filings. When public debate focuses on "wealthy families gaming the system" for private school tuition, it is largely describing a different category of case entirely.

The families most likely to miss the June 1 deadline are the ones who never knew the right existed — and who don't have attorneys to tell them.

That's who this piece is for.

What is an IESP? An IESP — Individualized Education Services Program — is a legal document created by the NYC DOE specifying the special education services a child is entitled to while attending a private or religious school at their family's expense. Services may include speech therapy, occupational therapy, and Special Education Teacher Support Services (SETSS).

What is the IESP deadline in NYC? To receive IESP services for the 2026-27 school year, families must submit a Parental Notice of Intent (PNI) to their Committee on Special Education by June 1, 2026. The DOE strictly enforces this deadline.

What is the difference between an IESP and an IEP? An IEP (Individualized Education Program) covers both a child's school placement and their services, and applies to children in public schools or children whose parents are seeking a DOE-funded private placement. An IESP covers services only — it applies to children whose families have chosen a private or religious school at their own expense and are not seeking a placement from the DOE.

What happens if I miss the June 1 IESP deadline? The DOE's position is that missing the deadline forfeits your child's right to services for the following school year — even if your child is currently receiving services, and even if the DOE itself failed to hold the annual review where you would normally have submitted the notice. If you missed the deadline, consult a special education attorney. The DOE's position has been successfully challenged in due process hearings.

Who is entitled to an IESP in New York City? Any child with a disability who attends a private or religious school in New York City at their family's expense may be entitled to an IESP under New York State Education Law 3602-C — provided the family submits a timely Parental Notice of Intent. This right exists in New York State because New York never changed its law when Congress eliminated the federal individual entitlement for privately placed students.

Does the June 1 deadline apply to charter school families? No. Charter school students with disabilities are entitled to IEPs, not IESPs. The DOE remains responsible for their education the same as public school students. Charter school families should contact their Committee on Special Education about the IEP process.

What is a PNI? A Parental Notice of Intent (PNI) is the written request a family must submit to their Committee on Special Education by June 1 each year to receive IESP services the following school year. The form is available on the NYC DOE Committees on Special Education page. It must be submitted by the parent directly, or by a licensed attorney on the family's behalf.

Lighthouse covers New York City's special education system for the parents trying to navigate it. If this piece helped you — or if you know a family with a child in private school who needs to see it before June 1 — please share it. The families most likely to miss this deadline are the ones nobody told.

If your family has lost IESP services because of a missed deadline or because the DOE failed to hold your annual review, we want to hear from you: [email protected]

The DOE's IESP Assistance page is available in multiple languages at schools.nyc.gov.

Sources: Lloyd Donders, special education attorney (on record); hearing officer, on background; New York City Council budget hearing, Liz Vladimir, DOE Chief Counsel at City Hall budget hearing; NYC DOE Equitable Services (IESP) Assistance page; New York State Education Law 3602-C.

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