Terms of Sale & Use

Effective date: August 15, 2026 · Applies to the Field Manual, Hearing Room, and D.C. Hearing Room memberships

1. Who we are

The IEP Field Manual is published and sold by Earlville Media LLC, New York, USA ("we," "us"). Contact: hello@iepfieldmanual.com, 200 West Main Street, Earlville, NY 13332.

2. Acceptance and eligibility

By subscribing to or using any membership we offer you agree to these Terms. Only adults age 18 or older may create or use an account. The subscriber may permit another adult caregiver in the same household to use the account for the family's own educational needs. Do not provide account access to a minor.

3. The product

The Field Manual membership is an online subscription that provides reading access to The IEP Field Manual and the 50-State Companion in your browser, kept current, together with search, the visual maps, and a weekly allotment of editable letter downloads (Section 8). It is educational content about the special-education process under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and related law. The Manual is not sold as a downloadable book or printed copy: reading access is online only, which is how the work is kept current.

The Hearing Room membership is a separate online subscription that provides reading access to The School Discipline and IDEA Hearing Field Manual (Manual No. II), Volume II: The IDEA Hearing - the hearing tools, the packet library of letters and working forms, and the New York ordinary-hearing overlay - in your browser, kept current. It is educational content about the ordinary IDEA due process hearing and related New York procedure. The Hearing Room is not included in the Field Manual membership, and the Field Manual is not included in the Hearing Room membership: each is a separate subscription, purchased, billed, and canceled on its own. Like the Manual, the Hearing Room is not sold as a downloadable book or printed copy: reading access is online only, which is how the work is kept current. The Hearing Room membership is reading access only and does not include an editable letter-download allotment (Section 8).

The D.C. Hearing Room membership is a separate online subscription that provides reading access to The School Discipline and IDEA Hearing Field Manual (Manual No. II), Volume II: The IDEA Hearing, District of Columbia Edition - the D.C. hearing tools, the packet library of letters and working forms, and the District of Columbia ordinary-hearing overlay - in your browser, kept current. It is educational content about the ordinary IDEA due process hearing and related District of Columbia procedure. The D.C. Hearing Room is not included in the Field Manual membership or the Hearing Room membership, and neither of those memberships is included in the D.C. Hearing Room membership: each is a separate subscription, purchased, billed, and canceled on its own. Like the Manual, the D.C. Hearing Room is not sold as a downloadable book or printed copy: reading access is online only, which is how the work is kept current. The D.C. Hearing Room membership is reading access only and does not include an editable letter-download allotment (Section 8).

How these Terms use "the Manual." Except where a provision names a specific membership, in these Terms "the Manual" and "our materials" refer to the content of all of our memberships together - the IEP Field Manual and the 50-State Companion; Manual No. II, Volume II: The IDEA Hearing, including its hearing tools, packet library of letters and working forms, and New York ordinary-hearing overlay; and Manual No. II, Volume II: The IDEA Hearing, District of Columbia Edition, including its D.C. hearing tools, packet library of letters and working forms, and District of Columbia ordinary-hearing overlay - and "your membership" refers to whichever membership you hold. This shorthand does not combine the memberships, which remain separate subscriptions, each purchased, billed, and canceled on its own.

4. Payment and tax

The Manual is sold by Earlville Media LLC as the seller and merchant of record for your membership. Card payments are processed through our payment gateway, Elavon, using its secure hosted payment fields: your full card number is entered directly with the processor and never passes through or is stored on this site. Because we are the seller of record, we, not a third-party reseller, are responsible for charging and remitting any state or local sales tax that applies to your membership; where tax applies, it is calculated from the location you provide and added before you pay. Billing is recurring as described in Section 8. At launch we collect New York State and local sales tax on memberships used in New York; we monitor our obligations in other states and will begin collecting there if and when we are required to. Earlville Media LLC is the seller of record. Depending on how your bank displays it, the charge on your statement may read IEPFieldManual.com or Earlville Media LLC, and banks may shorten either one or append a location. If you do not recognize a charge, please contact us at hello@iepfieldmanual.com before disputing it and we will identify it for you.

5. Access

Membership access begins as soon as your first payment is confirmed: sign in with your email and a one-time link; there is no password. If a sign-in link does not arrive, check your spam folder, then write to hello@iepfieldmanual.com and we will help promptly.

6. License

Your membership grants a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license for you and members of your household. You may print pages for your own use, and you may adapt and send the template letters from any membership, and the working forms in the Hearing Room and the D.C. Hearing Room, for the education of your own children. You may not resell, share, redistribute, or publicly post the Manual, the Companion, the Hearing Room content, the D.C. Hearing Room content, or their materials (including to shared drives, parent groups, or forums), and you may not use them in paid advocacy, consulting, or training materials. Membership sign-in credentials and reading access are for your household only; sharing an account is grounds for termination. Editable letters you download during a Field Manual membership are watermarked to your account and remain licensed for the education of your own children after that membership ends. All other rights are reserved. The Advocate plan for professionals is not currently offered; if it is offered in the future, it will carry its own license terms.

7. Updates

The online Manual and 50-State Companion are maintained as a living work while your Field Manual membership is active; each state page shows the date its law was last checked, and the update log lists every change. The Hearing Room is likewise kept current and maintained as a living work while your Hearing Room membership is active, and the D.C. Hearing Room while your D.C. Hearing Room membership is active.

8. Membership billing: automatic renewal, cancellation, refunds

This section applies to each membership we offer - the Field Manual membership, the Hearing Room membership, and the D.C. Hearing Room membership. Each is a separate subscription, billed and canceled separately; a charge, a cancellation, or a refund for one membership does not affect the others. The membership is a subscription with automatic renewal: when you subscribe, you choose a plan and a billing interval (monthly or annual), and you authorize us to charge your card the tax-inclusive total at the start of each billing period, automatically, until you cancel. The exact amount, the billing interval, the next billing date, and the date by which you must cancel to prevent the next charge are stated in the consent you give at sign-up and restated in your confirmation email.

Cancellation. Cancel online at any time from Account: no phone call, no chat queue, no retention offers. Cancellation stops future charges, and access continues through the period already paid for and then ends. You can turn renewal back on the same way at any time before the period ends.

Renewal reminders. For annual memberships, we send a renewal notice at least 15 days and no more than 45 days before the cancellation deadline, with the amount, renewal date, and online cancellation method. For monthly memberships, we currently send a courtesy reminder about 7 days before renewal.

Price and material changes. We will send clear notice of any material change, including a price change, at least 5 business days and no more than 30 days before it takes effect. We will not charge an increased recurring amount unless you affirmatively consent to it. If you do not consent, renewal at the increased amount will not occur.

Failed payments. If a renewal charge fails, we email you right away so you can update your card, and the charge is retried over the following days. If payment still cannot be collected, the membership is cancelled, no further charges are attempted, and we email you to confirm.

Membership refunds. If a membership is not for you, contact hello@iepfieldmanual.com within 14 days after your first charge for a full refund of that membership. If an ordinary renewal surprises you, contact us within 14 days after the renewal charge for a full refund and cancellation of that membership. We process approved refunds promptly; your bank or card issuer controls posting time. This policy does not limit any right that applies to a price increase or under applicable law.

Download allotment. Field Manual plans include a weekly number of editable letter downloads (shown at sign-up). The Hearing Room and D.C. Hearing Room memberships are reading access only and include no download allotment. Reading is not metered on any membership. The allotment exists to prevent bulk extraction and is enforced per account on a rolling 7-day window.

9. Chargebacks

Please contact us before disputing a charge: our refund promise is faster than a chargeback. A chargeback filed without first requesting a refund may result in termination of your license, and we may contest it through our payment processor.

10. Educational content, not legal advice

The Manual is general educational information. It is not legal advice, it does not address your specific facts, and neither subscribing nor reading it creates an attorney-client relationship with William J. Porta or any law firm. IDEA is federal law, but states implement it differently; verify your state's rules. Statements of law are current as of the edition date and may change. For advice about your child's situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

11. Intellectual property

The Manual, the 50-State Companion, Manual No. II, Volume II: The IDEA Hearing (including its hearing tools, packet library of letters and working forms, and New York ordinary-hearing overlay), Manual No. II, Volume II: The IDEA Hearing, District of Columbia Edition (including its D.C. hearing tools, packet library of letters and working forms, and District of Columbia ordinary-hearing overlay), the template letters, the visual maps, and this website are © 2026 Earlville Media LLC and protected by copyright law. William J. Porta, Esq., M.Ed. is the author. If you send us feedback or suggestions, you grant us a perpetual, royalty-free license to use them.

12. Disclaimer of warranties

The Manual is provided "as is." To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose. We do not warrant any educational, procedural, or legal outcome from using the Manual.

13. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability arising out of or relating to the Manual or these Terms is limited to the amount you paid, and we are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; in those jurisdictions, these limits apply to the extent permitted.

14. Copyright complaints

If you believe material on this site infringes your copyright, email hello@iepfieldmanual.com with the work claimed to be infringed, where the material appears on this site, and your contact information, and we will review it promptly. This site publishes our own content and does not host user submissions.

15. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in New York.

16. Changes; severability; entire agreement

We may update these Terms prospectively; the version in effect when a billing period begins governs that period. If any provision is unenforceable, the rest remain in effect. These Terms are the entire agreement regarding your membership.