How 1-on-1 tutoring can support your child's IEP goals

Last reviewed: October 12, 2026

Your child finishes a reading assignment with help, but the next evening the same words are difficult again. If their Individualized Education Program (IEP) includes a reading goal, a tutor can use that goal to plan focused instruction and check what your child can do independently.

One-on-one tutoring can give a child extra practice on the skills identified in their IEP, with time to work at a manageable pace. Its usefulness depends on the tutor's teaching methods and how closely the lessons connect to the child's needs. Optional private tutoring supplements the services a public-school IEP requires, and the school remains responsible for those services. For Florida families, scholarship funds may help pay for eligible tutoring, although the program and the child's school enrollment determine the rules.

Start with the skill your child is working toward

An IEP includes measurable annual goals for academic and functional skills, along with an explanation of how progress will be measured and reported. The federal IDEA requirements for annual goals and progress reporting give parents a useful starting point for conversations with a tutor.

Bring the relevant goal, recent progress reports and a sample of schoolwork to the first conversation, then ask the tutor to explain the skill they would teach and how they would check it. "Help with reading" could mean decoding unfamiliar words, reading fluently or understanding a passage. A lesson needs a clearer focus.

For example, if your child's goal involves decoding words, having an adult read the passage aloud may help them access its meaning. The tutor still needs a separate way to teach and assess decoding, so ask which part of the session will focus on that skill.

If you need help finding the goals and accommodations in your child's paperwork, our IEP guide for parents explains the parts of the plan.

What useful one-on-one instruction looks like

A tutor can pause when a child gets stuck, demonstrate a step and provide another opportunity to try it. The Institute of Education Sciences describes explicit instruction as a sequence of teacher modeling, guided practice and independent practice, with feedback along the way. Its guidance on teaching students with disabilities remotely also stresses planning for access needs, including communication and physical or sensory barriers.

In a writing lesson, that might mean showing how to turn notes into a sentence, writing one together and then asking the child to write another. A math lesson could begin with counters before moving to a written problem, depending on the skill being taught and the child's needs.

Ask how the tutor will use the accommodations your child already relies on, including any visual schedule or planned breaks that help them participate. An online platform needs to work with the child's assistive technology. Try the setup before committing to a regular schedule.

One-on-one time alone does not establish that a program is effective. The California Department of Education's tutoring guidance for students with disabilities emphasizes coordination with IEP services and appropriate supports. The tutor's preparation for your child's particular learning needs deserves as much attention as the format.

Turn an IEP goal into a tutoring plan

Suppose a child's IEP goal involves identifying a passage's main idea and supporting details, so the tutor begins with a short passage at an appropriate reading level. What needs work? Perhaps the child can recall individual facts but has difficulty deciding which idea connects them.

The following hypothetical tutoring plan addresses that difficulty, with details that a parent and tutor could discuss before deciding how to approach the goal.

The tutor and school can discuss suitable materials and how the tutoring work relates to classroom instruction. Stanford's National Student Support Accelerator includes teacher-tutor communication and IEP coordination in its program implementation guidance, and parents can help arrange that contact while clarifying what information they authorize the school and tutor to share.

Track independence as well as correct answers

"We finished the worksheet" leaves a parent guessing, so ask for notes that identify the skill practiced and describe what the child completed independently, alongside any support the tutor provided.

A correct answer after several hints tells you something different from a correct answer without those hints, which is why the notes need to record additional help separately from accommodations specified in the goal. If the task changes substantially between sessions, ask how the tutor is comparing the results.

You can also ask whether the child can use the skill with unfamiliar material or during schoolwork, because success on a repeatedly practiced passage may not tell you how they will handle a new one. Tutoring notes can inform an IEP discussion, while the school continues its own required progress monitoring.

If progress stalls, bring the concern to the school team as well as the tutor. IDEA guidance on reviewing and revising IEPs explains that the team must address a lack of expected progress as appropriate. Parents should not have to rely on additional private lessons to resolve questions about the school plan.

Choose a tutor who can explain their approach

Before enrolling, ask about the person who will teach your child and how they teach the specific skill in the goal. Ask about their training. Experience supporting children with similar needs can help you judge whether their approach might fit your child.

Questions worth asking include:

• What training do you have in teaching this reading, writing or math skill?

• How would you use my child's IEP goals and accommodations in a lesson?

• Can you show me a sample progress note without another student's personal information?

• How will you communicate with the school, with my permission?

• What happens if the lessons are tiring, frustrating or a poor fit?

Families comparing online options can review Tutero's special needs tutoring offering and ask these same questions about the proposed tutor. Request a concrete lesson plan before making a longer commitment. Tutero pairs each child with the same certified teacher every week, plans lessons from the child's own schoolwork, and sends a written report after every lesson.

An academic tutor's role also has limits, so discuss any overlap with the child's existing providers, particularly when a goal involves speech-language therapy or occupational therapy. Those services require the appropriate professionals.

Using Step Up For Students funds for tutoring in Florida

Step Up For Students administers several scholarships with different eligibility and spending rules, and an IEP does not automatically make every tutoring purchase eligible.

For the 2026-27 school year, the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) permits qualifying part-time tutoring, including live online tutoring that meets its requirements. The FES-UA purchasing guidelines set out tutor credential pathways, including a valid Florida educator certificate, an eligible out-of-state teaching certificate or a qualifying degree in the subject taught. Confirm the assigned tutor's eligibility for the service you intend to purchase.

Check school enrollment before considering FES-UA

FES-UA cannot be funded at the same time as full-time public-school enrollment. The 2026-27 FES-UA Family Handbook also explains that recipients are treated as parentally placed students under IDEA. The district is not required to provide those students with a free appropriate public education (FAPE), although some district services may remain available.

If your child attends public school full time, ask the district how a placement change would affect their services, and confirm eligibility with Step Up before changing enrollment. Contracted public-school classes and certain IDEA services have separate rules.

Our Florida FES-UA scholarship guide provides more context for comparing the options.

Confirm the payment route and paperwork

Check the scholarship shown in your child's EMA account, then use the corresponding Step Up purchasing guide. PEP and private-school FTC/FES-EO accounts also permit qualifying tutoring under their own rules.

Before booking, confirm the service category, provider credentials and available balance, then ask whether the provider offers direct payment through EMA or whether you would pay first and request reimbursement. For FES-UA reimbursement, the handbook requires an invoice or receipt with details including the student and tutor names, service dates, hourly rate, total and payment method.

Tutero is an approved Step Up For Students tutoring provider. Families select Tutero as their provider in EMA and Tutero invoices Step Up directly, so there is nothing to pay upfront and claim back. Lessons are live, 1-on-1 and online with certified Florida teachers. As with any provider, check your available balance in EMA before booking.

For a broader spending checklist, see our FES-UA approved expenses guide.

Prepare for the first tutoring conversation

Choose one goal that connects to a difficulty your child is experiencing now. Bring a recent work sample and ask the tutor to walk you through a lesson, including how they will check independent performance. Agree on what the progress notes will contain and when you will review them together.

If you plan to use Florida scholarship funds, confirm eligibility and payment arrangements before that first lesson. Then you can discuss your child's learning needs knowing how the tutoring fits into both their educational plan and your family's budget.