Reviewed by Dr. Elizabeth Long, Ph.D. — Director of Special Education, 32 years in public schools.
Yes — and it's a bigger deal than many parents realize. Bullying of a student with an IEP isn't just a school-climate or discipline issue; it can become a denial of FAPE, which puts it under IDEA's legal requirements, not just the school's general bullying policy. Federal guidance is clear: bullying of a student receiving IEP services — on any basis, whether or not it's related to the disability — can result in a denial of FAPE that the school must remedy.
Once the school knows or should know that bullying may be happening, it has a duty to determine whether it's affecting the student's ability to receive FAPE. This isn't limited to formal written complaints. Once on notice, the school should: investigate promptly; determine whether FAPE has been affected (decline in performance, behavior changes, increased absences, withdrawal, or otherwise interfering with meaningful benefit); convene the IEP or 504 team if the bullying may have affected FAPE, and make appropriate changes (added counseling, a schedule or setting change, revised goals); and address the bullying itself, separate from any IEP changes. If the bullying is disability-based, it can additionally raise a disability-harassment claim under Section 504 and Title II of the ADA.
What you can do: report it in writing (even if you already reported verbally); document the effects on your child; request an IEP meeting explicitly tied to the bullying; ask whether an FBA is appropriate if it's led to new behavioral responses; and, if the school doesn't respond appropriately, file a complaint with your state's department of education or the Office for Civil Rights.
*Bottom line:* for a student with an IEP, bullying can become a legal FAPE issue the moment it starts interfering with your child's ability to benefit from their education — which gives you a specific, formal lever (an IEP team review) beyond simply asking the school to "handle it."
Dr. Long's Assistant answers your specific questions in plain language — built from Dr. Long's expertise, plus state and federal law read at the source — never the open internet.
Get started →This is educational information, not legal advice. IDEA, Section 504, FERPA, and state rules may differ by situation.
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