What is a 90 Day Deadline for Special Education Evaluation?

What is a 90 Day Deadline?

Once a parent requests an evaluation for special education for their child, a school district has 90 calendar days to complete the evaluation process and, if eligible, put an IEP in place.

What must happen within those 90 days?

Within the 90 day period, a school district must accomplish the following:

Discuss areas of concern affecting your child’s educational progress.
Evaluate your child in the areas of concern.
Hold a meeting to discuss the evaluation results and your student’s possible eligibility for special education services.
Hold an IEP meeting if your student is eligible for special education.

What if the team decides my child is not eligible?

If the team decides that your child is not eligible for special education and you disagree with their evaluation, you can request (in writing) an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) with a provider outside of the school system, and at no cost to you. The team must consider the information from the IEE but is not required to deem the student eligible due to the outside evaluation.

Can the school refuse a request for an IEE?

The District cannot say “no” to your request for an IEE. They must either provide you information of where to obtain the IEE, or they must go to due process to determine, from a hearing officer, if their evaluation of your student was appropriate.

What if the school exceeds the 90-day time limit?

If the school team goes beyond the 90 day deadline to complete this process, and your child is found eligible for special education, you may request compensatory education for the services missed.

Still unsure?

The process of a special education evaluation can be confusing and frustrating. I can work with you through the meetings, paperwork, and phone calls. Give me a call and we can talk about your student’s situation.

Resource

To watch a video on this topic, along with other informative special education videos click HERE

90 Day Deadline