Early School Speech Services: What Parents Should Know
Guest Blog written by Sarah Eis, School Psychologist, BCBA, Special Education Advocate
When parents think about school-based services, they often picture IEPs, speech therapy, or special education beginning once a child enters kindergarten. What many families don’t realize is that public school districts are legally required to identify and support children with speech and language delays well before kindergarten—sometimes as early as age three.
As someone who has spent years working in public schools and now supports parents directly, I’ve seen how often early speech concerns are overlooked or minimized. If you have a 3- or 4-year-old with speech sound delays, limited expressive language, difficulty understanding directions, or social communication concerns, addressing those concerns early can make a meaningful difference.
The Law That Protects Young Children: Child Find
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), school districts have an obligation known as Child Find. This law requires public school systems to identify, locate, and evaluate any child who may have a disability from birth through age 21, regardless of whether that child is enrolled in public school, private school, preschool, or stays at home. This means that even if your child is not yet in kindergarten, does not attend public school, or does not have a medical diagnosis, the school district is still required to respond to your request for an evaluation at no cost to you.
Ages 3–4: A Critical (and Often Missed) Window
Once a child turns three, responsibility for services typically shifts from Early Intervention (called ECI in many states) to the local school district. This 3–4-year-old window is often missed for several reasons. Pediatricians may recommend “waiting and seeing,” parents assume school services start later, families believe private therapy is their only option, and many children are not yet showing obvious academic struggles. However, speech and language skills are foundational. Early support can reduce frustration, improve social interaction, and lay important groundwork for later learning and literacy development.
Why “Waiting and Seeing” Can Mean Missing Valuable Time
One of the most common messages parents hear when they raise concerns about speech is, “Let’s wait and see.” While usually well-intentioned, this advice can unintentionally delay support during one of the most powerful periods of brain development. Research consistently shows that early childhood—especially before age five—is a time of rapid brain growth and neural flexibility. By age three, the brain has already formed many of the neural connections that support communication, language, and learning. Skills developed during this period often require less intensive intervention than those addressed later.
Early speech and language therapy can help children develop clearer speech patterns before errors become ingrained, build expressive and receptive language skills needed for learning and social interaction, reduce frustration and behavior challenges related to communication breakdowns, and enter preschool and kindergarten with greater confidence. Research also suggests that children who receive speech and language support earlier often make faster progress and may need less long-term intervention than children whose services are delayed until academic demands increase. In my role as a school psychologist, I have seen firsthand how early language weaknesses are frequently connected to broader challenges with learning, behavior, and social development as children get older.
How Parents Can Request an Evaluation
Parents do not need to wait for a referral from a doctor or teacher to request an evaluation. You can contact your local school district directly, either through the early childhood or Child Find department, or by calling the elementary school your child is zoned to and asking where to begin. A written request does not need to be formal or complicated. It simply needs to describe your concerns about speech and/or language development, request a comprehensive evaluation under Child Find, and include your child’s name and date of birth. Once the request is made, the district must follow legally mandated timelines to respond, which are often around 15 school days depending on the state.
How Eligibility Works for Preschool-Aged Children
Eligibility for school-based speech services is not the same as eligibility for private speech therapy, which can be confusing for families. School districts determine eligibility based on standardized assessment results, functional communication needs, and whether the speech or language difficulty impacts a child’s ability to access learning or participate in an educational setting. For preschool-aged children, learning includes play skills, social interaction, following routines, participating in group activities, and communicating wants and needs. A child may qualify even if they are bright or highly verbal in certain situations, their delays appear mild, or they compensate well at home.
Conversely, some children who receive private speech therapy may not meet school eligibility criteria. Eligibility standards also vary somewhat by state, which is why outcomes can look different from one district to another. Children are evaluated against developmental norms, and those norms become more demanding as children get older. A child whose speech errors fall within normal limits at age three may either catch up naturally or fall further behind, eventually meeting criteria for an impairment at a later age.
Another concern that sometimes holds parents back is the belief that requesting an evaluation will obligate them to accept services or label their child. This is not the case. An evaluation simply provides information. For many families, early evaluation brings peace of mind, clearer next steps, and guidance on whether school-based services, private therapy, or a combination of supports makes sense. Whether or not a child qualifies for services, early information allows parents to be proactive rather than reactive once learning expectations increase.
What School-Based Speech Therapy Does — and Does Not — Address
This is one of the most important distinctions for families to understand. School-based speech therapy is designed to support a child’s access to education, not to address every possible area of speech or language development. In the school setting, therapy focuses on skills that interfere with learning, limit participation in educational routines, or impact a child’s ability to communicate in a classroom or group environment. This may include significant articulation errors that affect intelligibility, language delays that interfere with understanding directions, social communication challenges that impact peer interaction, and functional communication needed for classroom participation.
Private speech therapy, on the other hand, has a much broader scope. Private clinicians can address subtle articulation or phonological patterns, feeding or oral-motor concerns, early literacy foundations, in-depth pragmatic language skills, and goals driven by family priorities rather than educational criteria. Because of this difference, school-based services are not a replacement for private therapy, and many children benefit from receiving both at the same time.
What School-Based Speech Services May Look Like for 3–4-Year-Olds
If a child qualifies, services can look different depending on the district and the child’s individual needs. Options may include speech-only services provided by a speech language pathologist one to two times per week, preschool special education programs that are typically small-group, half-day classrooms with integrated speech and language support, or consultative or parent coaching services where the SLP supports parents or preschool staff with strategies. Services may be delivered at a district preschool site, within a community preschool setting, or occasionally in the home depending on district resources. All school-based services are provided at no cost to families.
It is important to understand that not qualifying for school-based services does not mean your concerns are unfounded. A child may be found ineligible because scores do not meet district criteria, the district does not see sufficient educational impact, or progress is expected without services. Parents still have the right to ask questions about evaluation results, request clarification, pursue a re-evaluation at a later time, and seek private speech therapy independently. Eligibility can also change as children grow and expectations increase. What falls within normal developmental limits for a three-year-old may no longer be typical for a four-year-old who has not made expected progress.
Supporting Families Through Informed Choices
Navigating early childhood services can feel overwhelming, especially when parents receive mixed messages from pediatricians, private therapists, and school teams. Understanding the difference between school-based and private therapy, along with knowing your rights under Child Find, allows families to make informed decisions without feeling pressured to choose one path over another. Early awareness leads to early access, and the right combination of supports can make a meaningful difference for children and families.
About the Author
Sarah Eis is a nationally certified school psychologist, Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), and special education advocate. After nearly two decades in public education, she shifted her focus to helping parents support their children beyond the walls of the school system. Through her company, Exceptional Child 360, Sarah provides full-circle advocacy, training, and coaching to families navigating everything from everyday challenges to complex support needs.
School Psychologist • BCBA • Special Education Advocate
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