Bridgeport 26-0268

Complaint Summary

Date Findings Report Sent

January 16, 2026

Case number

26-0268

School District

Bridgeport Public Schools

Person filing the complaint

Parent

Grade Level

Elementary

Allegation(s)

  • 34 CFR § 300.324(b) provides that Districts must review Student’s IEPs periodically, but no less than annually. 34 CFR § 300.101 requires that a school district must provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to all children residing in their school district. In order to do so, a school district must offer an IEP that is appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.
  • The Parent alleges that since the start of the 2025-26 school year, the Student has regressed regarding her toileting skills and that the District has failed to appropriately address these regressions and provide an appropriate toileting plan.
  • 34 CFR § 300.324(1) requires the planning and placement team (PPT) to consider the strengths of the child, the concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child, the results of the most recent evaluation of the child, and the academic, developmental, and functional needs of the child, when developing the IEP.
  • 34 CFR §§ 300.323(c)(2) and 300.17, RCSA § 10-76d-1(a)(1) require each board of education to provide in a timely way special education and related services in accordance with the student’s individualized education program.
  • The Parent alleges that the Student’s IEP does not appropriately address the Student’s toileting needs. Additionally, the Parent alleges that the District has failed to implement the parts of the Student’s IEP that address toileting.
  • 34 CFR § 300.11(c)(2) provides that school day as the same meaning for all children in school, including children with and without disabilities.
  • The Parent alleges that the Student is dismissed 30 minutes early every day to take her bus home.

Conclusion(s)

Before the start of the 2025-26 school year, the Student was able to use the bathroom without assistance. Then, at the beginning of the school year, the Student started having accidents during the school day, as evidenced by coming home with soiled clothing. The District appropriately and timely convened a PPT meeting on September 3, 2025 to review and revise the IEP. The PPT revised the Student’s present levels regarding activities of daily living and added an annual goal for toileting. Despite revising the IEP, the Student did not show any progress in this area, and instead showed regression, as evidenced by the school staff sending her home in pull-ups. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the District created a toileting plan, protocol, or schedule for the Student after the PPT meeting on September 3, 2021, or that the staff gathered data on annual goal #9. Additionally, the lack of staffing calls into question whether the Student’s IEP was implemented with fidelity. Thus, it is found that the school violated 34 CFR § 300.324(1) and 34 CFR §§ 300.323(c)(2) and 300.17, RCSA § 10-76d-1(a)(1). Corrective action is required, see below.

34 CFR § 300.11(c)(2) provides that school day as the same meaning for all children in school, including children with and without disabilities. The statements by District staff and the Student’s arrival home times evidence that at one point in time during the relevant complaint time period, the District was dismissing students with disabilities at least 30 minutes before the end of the school day for bussing purposes, which violates 34 CFR § 300.11(c)(2). However, based upon the Student’s current arrival home times and the statements from the District and the bus company, it appears that this issue has been corrected for this Student and therefore no corrective action is required for this violation.

Corrective Action(s)

The District must create a written toileting protocol for the Student and provide a copy to the Parent and to this office by January 30, 2026.

The District must keep a toileting log and provide a copy of the log to the Parent and this office at the end of every week for the remainder of the 2025-26 school year.

The District shall provide all of the data collected on annual goal #9 since it was first implemented until the end of the 2025-26 school year, as well as Student’s progress reports. The data must be sent to this office at the end of every month.