IDEA defines related services as "transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services (including speech-language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, social work services, school nurse services designed to enable a child with a disability to receive a free appropriate public education as described in the IEP of the child, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services, except that such medical services shall be for diagnostic and evaluation purposes only) as may be required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes the early identification and assessment of disabling conditions in children.

Related services are included in the transition services needed for the coordination of activities for students to promote movement from school to post-school activities. For example, a student may need transportation to and from the workplace for supported employment.  

Note that IDEA specifically indicates that all possible related services may not be required for each individual child and that the list is not exhaustive and may include other developmental, corrective, or supportive services. Often these services are incorporated in the curriculum for students with disabilities and would not then be listed as related services on the IEP. The IEP team must carefully consider those related services that are needed for the child to benefit from special education services; therefore, participants in the IEP process should be aware of the range of related services that could be provided. This listing is not intended as a "shopping list" of services that might be useful, but rather as a list of services that are necessary to carry out the intent of the IEP.

The IEP team should consider the need for related services in all of the settings in which education is provided to the student ages 3 through 21. The priority educational needs and annual goals/transition goals will guide the team in making decisions about the needed related services. Related services are only required if they are needed to assist the child with a disability in benefiting from special education in order for the child to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE). The IEP team determines which related services should be provided, and that decision is based on the components of the IEP including present level of educational performance, annual goals and short term objectives or benchmarks, and special education services needed to meet the goals and objectives (or benchmarks).

The related services areas specifically identified and defined in IDEA of 1997 (the regulations for IDEA 2004 have not yet been developed) include: