When you are working to get support for your child with suspected or confirmed disability, what are the basic IEP timelines? Is there a roadblock halting your progress? Or is your school district utilizing full limits on timelines to delay the start of your child’s IEP and/or services?
It’s easiest if we start at the beginning of the IEP process. If your child does not have an IEP and you have submitted a written request for special education assessment, the school district has 15 calendar days to formally respond after receiving the request. This does not necessarily mean that your child will be assessed: it means that within 15 days you should receive formal written notice of the next steps. If the school district plans to move forward with the initial IEP assessment, the next step typically comes in the form of an Assessment Plan. If the school district chooses not to move forward with an assessment, they will send a Prior Written Notice or a Notice of Action that should contain reason(s) why they are not moving forward at this time.
If the IEP team is moving forward with assessment for special education services, the next important basic IEP timeline is the Assessment Plan. Once the school has prepared and given an Assessment Plan to you to review, the IEP process cannot continue until you have signed the form and given permission for the school to move forward with the assessment. Your signature allows your school district to observe and assess your child for services. They will have 60 calendar days to complete all proposed assessments and hold the initial IEP meeting to determine your child’s eligibility. This 60-day timeline is the same for all special education assessments. If the IEP team later asks for permission to do another assessment to determine further services and support for your child, the process can take up to 60 days once the school district has received your signed permission.
Basic IEP timelines provide protections for your child’s education, but your school district can weaponize those timelines and delay the IEP process.
Services delayed are services denied. Once your child has qualified for special education, the next step is for you and your child’s IEP team to agree on and sign the initial IEP. However, there are more basic IEP timelines to remember: your child’s annual and triennial IEP meetings.
An annual IEP is active for one calendar year. You should—at a minimum—be meeting with your IEP team once per year to discuss your child’s overall progress towards their goals and update the IEP document depending on your child’s successes and areas of improvement from the previous year. A triennial IEP is when your child goes through the entire assessment process again. It is almost exactly like the initial assessment and helps determine if your child still qualifies for special education services.
The final basic IEP timeline is extremely important: one that you solely hold as the parent or guardian of your child. If you request an IEP meeting, the school must arrange and schedule this IEP within 30 days of the request. This meeting can be requested because you have concerns, updates, or truly any reason you see necessary to bring together the entire IEP team.
It can potentially take close to three full months between your initial request for assessment and your child actually qualifying and receiving services. If you have concerns about your child having or potentially having a disability, reach out to a trained advocate at Aspire Advocacy today!
For help at your child’s next IEP meeting, more information about our special education advocacy services, or for a FREE 20-minute consultation to see if we are a good fit for you, call or email today!
As parents, we understand. As advocates, we can help.