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Evaluation Timelines

This article discusses how long a school system can legally take to complete an evaluation of a special needs child once requested.
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Posted by Teach
October 23, 2009 11:50 AM
Evaluation Timelines
The timelines of 60 days for evaluations' completion from day of referral and the 30 day timeline for completion of the IEP is what my department uses.
A shortcoming in the article is what rights/limits the parents may or may not have. This shortcoming, which appears in many articles, have given parents/guardians the false impression that they have much more control and many more rights than they actually do have. The results is that many parents/guardians become, at times, overly aggressive and insistent upon services far beyond those required by law.
As I have recently experienced: "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing". Schools have enough pressure in meeting Federal guidelines and maintaining positive parental relationship without articles that don't provide 'the rest of the story'.
Posted by anony
August 29, 2009 9:40 PM
Out of Date info
This information is woefully out of date. It cites IDEA 97. IDEA was reauthorized in 2004, and now includes a 90 day timeline: 60 days from consent to completion of initial evaluation, and then 30 days to hold an initial IEP meeting.