Differentiate related services from direct instruction in an IEP.

• A. Related services support access to education; direct instruction is the actual specialized teaching provided to the student.
• B. Related services are the primary teaching; direct instruction is supplementary.
• C. They are the same thing; no difference.
• D. Direct instruction is only for general education; related services only for special education.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that related services are supports that help a student with a disability access and participate in education, while direct instruction is the actual specialized teaching the student receives to learn specific skills or content. In an IEP, related services can include speech-language therapy, occupational or physical therapy, counseling, transportation, and assistive technology. Direct instruction is the explicit teaching delivered to address the student’s individualized learning goals by a qualified educator.

This distinction explains why the correct option is best: related services are about enabling access to the curriculum, not substituting the teaching itself. The other statements aren’t accurate because they either treat related services as the primary teaching, claim they are the same, or assign them to general education only, which misrepresents how these services function within an IEP.