Mother alleges IDEA violations by Education Dept. after months without autism services for child.

A mother of a minor diagnosed with Level 2 autism, attention deficit disorder and other related conditions says her daughter has been without adequate educational services for some seven months due to inaction on the part of the island Education Department, despite repeated efforts to seek resolution through official channels.

By THE STAR STAFF

A mother in Puerto Rico is calling on the media and government officials to intervene after what she describes as months of inaction by the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE), leaving her daughter without appropriate special education services guaranteed under federal law.

Neysha Díaz, the mother of Anna Sophia Cordero, a minor diagnosed with Level 2 autism, attention deficit disorder, and other related conditions, says her daughter has been without adequate educational services for some seven months, despite repeated efforts to seek resolution through official channels.

Díaz said Anna Sophia requires a highly structured and individualized educational program based on clinical evaluations and professional recommendations -- not parental preference. Those needs, she emphasized, are fully documented by specialists and fall under the protections of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which guarantees students with disabilities a free and appropriate public education.

However, Díaz claims the PRDA has failed to provide even the most basic requirements mandated by law, including appropriate educational placement, necessary therapies, comprehensive evaluations, and timely updates to her daughter’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).

“After months of meetings, emails, and formal requests -- including outreach to the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, La Fortaleza, and various government officials -- I have yet to receive concrete responses or effective solutions,” Díaz said in a statement Thursday. 

She also alleges multiple procedural violations of IDEA during the process, including the failure to provide prior written notice before making key educational decisions, improperly conducted or incomplete IEP team meetings, and the lack of meaningful review or modification of her daughter’s educational plan. Díaz further claims that recommendations made by clinical specialists have not been adequately considered or implemented, and that unjustified delays continue to affect decisions regarding Anna Sophia’s appropriate educational placement.

“These are not simply administrative oversights,” Díaz said. “They have a direct and lasting impact on my daughter’s development, learning, and emotional well-being.”

Advocates for children with disabilities note that IDEA establishes strict timelines and procedural safeguards to ensure students receive appropriate services without delay. Extended lapses in service, they warn, can have long-term consequences, particularly for children with autism and other developmental disabilities.

For Díaz, the situation has taken a heavy emotional toll.

“Every day without the right services is a day my daughter cannot recover,” she said. “This is valuable time in her development that is being lost.”

Díaz says she is speaking out publicly to bring visibility to what she believes is a systemic failure and to prompt an urgent response from the appropriate authorities. She has indicated that she is prepared to provide documentation, evaluations, and records supporting her claims.

As of press time, the PRDE had not issued a public response to the allegations. The STAR reported earlier this week that the PRDE is conducting a series of specialized training sessions in conflict mediation for 74 instructional facilitators in the Special Education Program, with the aim of improving case management and strengthening dialogue between families and school teams. Another media outlet has reported that the number of children with autism in Puerto Rico has gone up.