SpEd Menu

Division of Special Education



  • Frequently Asked Questions


    These are Frequently Asked Questions from parents to the
    Parentally Placed Private School Office (PPPSO).

    Most questions can be answered by reviewing the PPPSO website pages.

Consult with the staff at the private school to discuss universal or targeted interventions for supporting your child’s learning. Working with the teachers and other instructional personnel at your school to address the issues is usually an effective technique and should be utilized before more intensive interventions are considered.

If you reside within LAUSD boundaries and your child attends a private school, contact your public school of residence to submit your request in writing. To determine your child's school of residence, visit the Resident School Finder webpage.

For detailed information regarding a request for assessment, refer to the Child Find-Child Serve section on the PPPSO homepage.

Parents maintain the right to request an evaluation for the purposes of special education eligibility from LAUSD. Requests should be emailed to > pppso@lausd.net.

In order to complete a valid, reliable, non-discriminatory evaluation, the assessment process requires access to records and direct observation in the child's current educational program. With written consent from the parent, the child's current and previous schools of attendance, whether public or private, will be contacted for the following purposes, including, but not limited to:

 • Obtain student record
 • Request student work samples 

 • Interview and/or receive reports from the classroom teachers and other educational providers
 • Observe the child participating in his/her current educational environment

Public school districts reserve the right to conduct their own evaluations before making a determination of special education eligibility. Parents may present an outside evaluation to the IEP team and the IEP team must consider the evaluation as part of the IEP process. If you have obtained outside reports or assessments, please include that information with your request for evaluation.

Contact the Early Childhood Special Education Department at 213-241-4713 for children birth to age three with a visual impairment or deafness and for children age three through four who are not enrolled in a District preschool program.

No. An IEP provides assessment and eligibility information and/or an offer of a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Parents have the right to accept or decline any offer of FAPE.

If the parent accepts the offer of FAPE, the student may enroll in a public school to receive special education services.

If the parent agrees that FAPE has been offered but declines the offer of FAPE and continues enrollment in the private school, an Individualized Services Plan (ISP) meeting will be held to offer an ISP.

No. The District where the private school is located is responsible for providing an Individual Services Plan for students with disabilities. Contact the school district where your private school is located. Each School District has a Special Education department or administrator who oversees their private school policy.

  •  Los Angeles Unified School District ♦ Division of Special Education 

    333 South Beaudry Avenue, 17th Floor, Los Angeles, CA  90017