Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorados free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.Every day, Ileana Sadin picks up her 5-year-old son Julian from kindergarten in Denver and drives him to a therapy clinic. Julian has autism, and his pediatrician has prescribed 35 hours of applied behavior analysis, or ABA therapy, per week to help Julian communicate.But Julian doesnt get nearly that many hours of therapy. At most, he gets 10 a week after school.Denver Public Schools has refused his parents request for a private ABA provider to work with Julian in his kindergarten classroom, even though the familys private insurance would pay for it.Without ABA therapy in school, Julians parents worry he is losing skills. Before he enrolled in public school, an ABA therapist helped Julian participate in lessons at his day care, his parents said. Julian learned the alphabet and could count to 20 in English and Spanish.When Julian transitioned to public school, his parents were told, Hes making progress. He can count to 10 now, Julians father, Joshua Kurdys, recalled. He could count to 20 a year and a half ago. That says something to me.A 2022 state law was intended to make it easier for students to get ABA therapy in schools. But ultimately it was watered down to require only that districts have a policy that addresses how a student with a prescription for medically necessary services receives those services in school.Parents and advocates say that has led to an uneven experience for families across school districts and less support for students, some of whom end up quietly lost in the shuffle while others end up in a loop of frustration, explosive behavior, and suspension from school.While Denver is following the letter of the law, parents and advocates allege, its not following the spirit. Advocate Meryl Duguay called Denvers policy and process a show to get to a no.Meredith Fatseas, the Denver districts director of mental health services, said the district looks at each students case individually and that its process is rooted in inclusive and equitable practices.When requests come in, we are taking them seriously, Fatseas said. Its not a rubber stamp.We are committed to the obligation of meeting students individual needs in the education setting, which is why weve taken a stance of owning this process, she said.Data shows Denver Public Schools says no more oftenABA uses rewards to reinforce behavior. If a child sits in circle time, works on a math problem, or takes turns with a peer, for example, they are given a reward like a high five or a favorite toy. Its often recommended for children with autism to help them communicate, interact with others, and manage frustration.Denver Public Schools policy says the decision of whether to allow an outside ABA therapist into the classroom is up to the team that develops a students individualized education program or IEP. An IEP lists academic and other goals for students with disabilities and the services the school district must provide. The IEP team includes district and school staff as well as the students parents, though the district ultimately writes the IEP.If parents disagree with anything in the IEP, their recourse is to file a due process complaint with the state, which many families see as daunting and potentially costly.Data obtained by Chalkbeat in an open records request shows that last school year, Denver Public Schools, the largest school district in the state with 88,000 students, received 28 requests for ABA therapy in school and granted only three, or about 11%.Other big Colorado districts said yes more often. Jeffco Public Schools, Douglas County School District, and Cherry Creek School District granted all of the requests for ABA therapy they received last school year. Aurora Public Schools granted half the requests it received in the last three years.Fatseas said Denvers rate doesnt take into account approvals made through a second, long-standing process that allows parents to request a private provider work with their child during non-instructional time only, such as art class or recess. The requests are meant to be for services that are not medically necessary.Those types of requests are made at the school level, and the district doesnt track how many are received or granted by individual school principals, Fatseas said.But advocates who work on behalf of students with disabilities said that in their experience, fewer requests are granted now than were before the 2022 law and the districts new policy.Its as if after we shed light on it, trying to give access to all students who might need this service, theyre more rigid, said Duguay, an education consultant who helped push for the 2022 law.Pam Bisceglia, executive director of the nonprofit Advocacy Denver, said that as of last school year, she had worked with at least 15 families who had requested ABA services for their child. The district only granted one request, and only after Bisceglia asked for an outside mediator to be brought in.Bill set out to find a path to yesFamilies frustration drove the 2022 Colorado state law. Originally the bill, known as HB 22-1260, would have required districts to allow ABA in school. The 2022 bill was the second attempt after a first attempt in 2020 got derailed by the pandemic.When parents approach schools with a prescription, they are often told no, state Rep. Meg Froelich, who sponsored the bill, said at the first hearing in April 2022.We are here to find a path to yes, said Froelich, a Democrat who represents Englewood, Sheridan, Cherry Hills Village, and part of Denver.But now, Froelich said, its clear that the law isnt always working as intended.Were a local control state, so the prevailing wisdom is you cant tell school boards what to do, Froelich said in an interview. We tried to write [the bill] that the path cant be, We dont do that here. But there are too many ways the school can essentially say no while appearing not to.The first hearing on the 2022 bill lasted seven hours. The testimony provides an in-depth look at the desperation and frustration of parents who believe ABA therapy benefits their children, and the qualms and concerns of school districts hesitant to let outside providers in.Elizabeth Schmidt told state lawmakers that because her third grade son didnt have the support he needed, hed been suspended from his suburban school district 12 times in a four-month span.He has had the cops called on him, he has been secluded, locked in rooms, and has had a school administrator who believes he has a right to put his hands on him to gain compliance, she said.Parent Laura Kornmueller testified that her sons school refused to allow his ABA therapist into the classroom but told her she was welcome to pull her son out of class to go to his ABA clinic.Right before her sons kindergarten graduation ceremony, she said the principal told her that her son would be held back in kindergarten because hed missed too much school.They said he can leave school to get the therapy he needs, said Kornmueller, who didnt name the district her son attends. Then he was punished for not attending school. So which is it?Other parents said they too felt forced to choose between ABA therapy and school. The few whod gotten ABA therapy in the classroom said it happened because of a lawsuit or a mistake.Sandy Mikesell said her sons principal didnt know she was violating an unwritten district edict when she allowed an ABA provider into the school, which is located in a suburban district.Mikesell said her son went from spending 80% of his day in the mental health office, where he missed his academic lessons, to being able to stay in the classroom. Although the district caught wind of the situation and tried to cut off the ABA services, Mikesell said her family had the data to show the therapy worked.School districts raised concernsMeanwhile, school officials said allowing outside ABA providers into classrooms would be disruptive and distracting to both the student receiving the therapy and their classmates. ABA therapy could also interfere with other special education services, they said.Callan Ware, the executive director of student services for Englewood Schools, asked lawmakers to imagine a second grader whose IEP says they must receive speech therapy, occupational therapy, and mental health services.If the student misses their mental health services because theyre working with their ABA provider, Ware said, who needs to make that up?We arent allowed to give up our services so an outside provider can come in to give their services, said Lisa Humberd, then the executive director of special education for Widefield School District 3 and now head of the Consortium of Directors of Special Education.Providers testified thats not how ABA therapy works. Its not a separate therapy delivered in an office, they said, but supports the student to participate in classroom lessons.But districts also argued that allowing outside providers into schools could be a liability. Other parents might not want a strange adult in the classroom, they said. And while a childs pediatrician may decide ABA therapy is necessary, the childs special education teachers may not think so.Michelle Murphy, executive director of the Colorado Rural Schools Alliance, said the bill would raise very real legal concerns for schools if they were forced to allow in medically necessary services. She noted that she was putting medically necessary services in air quotes.ABA therapy is controversial. Nationwide, some parents have accused ABA providers of being overzealous or even abusive to their children, and some autistic adults have said the premise of ABA therapy forces people with autism to conform to societal norms in a harmful way.But the controversy didnt seem to play a role in Colorado lawmakers decision. The objections of the school districts did. To appease them, Froelich amended her bill. Instead of requiring districts to allow medically necessary services in school, the bill required districts to have a policy.As with all things, our original intent in the bill was to be very much more forceful and to say, You have to allow this and you cant say no, Froelich explained when introducing her amendments.I think we will probably revisit this if parents are finding they cant quite get what they need or the policy isnt addressing certain circumstances, she told fellow lawmakers in 2022.Two years later, Froelich is frustrated.You do this victory lap when you pass it, she said in an interview, referring to this bill and others, and then you realize the implementation is 20 times harder than it should be.In Froelichs mind, IEP teams should not be making the decision about whether to allow ABA therapy providers into the classroom. She has asked the Colorado Attorney Generals Office to issue an opinion to that effect. A spokesperson said theyd received the request and are looking into it.Froelich has also asked the Colorado Department of Education to issue new guidance. A spokesperson said the department is working with districts and other stakeholders to review how the current guidance might need to be clarified or updated.In kindergarten and still without therapy servicesChalkbeat spoke with three families whose children have a prescription for ABA therapy. All three requested an outside ABA provider be allowed to serve their child in the classroom, at the expense of their private insurance. All three were denied by Denver Public Schools.Two of the families did not want their names used in this story for fear of retaliation by the district.All three families said they went through DPS process. As described by Fatseas, the districts director of mental health services, the process involves an evaluation by a board certified behavior analyst, or BCBA, who works for Denver Public Schools. A BCBA is one type of professional who can provide ABA therapy.The districts BCBA interviews the students pediatrician and their outside ABA therapist. The BCBA also observes the child at school, reviews their records, and collaborates with other special education teachers and school-based providers to write a recommendation for the IEP team.Julians parents said DPS didnt follow that process in their sons case. District officials said the process has evolved over time. But even when DPS did adhere to its current process, as happened with the other two families, the district still said no.Fatseas said ABA theory is baked into the interventions that all Denver school-based mental health staff use with students, even if theyre not providing one-on-one ABA therapy. With requests for outside ABA providers to come into the classroom, Fatseas said the question the district tries to answer is whether the service is necessary for the student to make progress toward their IEP goals.In Julians case, DPS said it wasnt.Julian is a sweet 5-year-old whose mother describes him as agreeable. He struggles with communication, social skills, and learning, but he doesnt lash out in frustration.Unlike some children with autism, Julian can speak. But his speech is mostly phrases hes memorized. On a recent drive to his after-school therapy, Julian sat in his car seat with a banana and a chocolate milk, marveling at the trucks on the highway.UPS truck! he said. Thats a big one! Orange semi truck! Thats a big one!According to IEP documents provided to Chalkbeat by Julians parents, DPS rejected the familys request for an outside ABA provider because Julian was making progress without one. But his parents wonder if Julian could be making more progress with help from an ABA therapist.Julians most recent IEP, from June, noted that he had increased the frequency with which he took turns with a peer and shared toys from zero out of five attempts to one out of five attempts.Theyre like, Learning happened! See? Kurdys, Julians father, said in an interview.Julians parents said they believe DPS set Julians baseline so low at zero that it would be impossible for him not to make progress. DPS said it could not comment on individual students.Advocates said low baselines are a common problem.The bar is so low, theyre not considering what a student is actually capable of and should be achieving, said Duguay, who does not work with Julians family but has worked with several other families whose requests for ABA have been denied.In IEP meetings, Julians parents pushed back. But so far, DPS has stuck to its denial.I dont know how we can say with a straight face he doesnt need ABA therapy, Sadin, Julians mother, said in one IEP meeting, according to a recording provided to Chalkbeat. She was reacting to test scores that showed Julian was in the bottom first percentile for academic skills.He has such problems with communication, its not easy to elicit what he usually knows, she said in the meeting. Not to harp on the ABA, but this is what ABA is about.Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at [email protected] .