As we move fully into the spring season, a special education attorney’s thoughts turn to … end of year IEP team meetings! (What else?!) The last couple of months of school are always crazy, but this year promises to be even more so. Staffing shortages continue to plague school districts, resulting in backlogs of assessments, data gathering, and team meetings throughout the year. Which means…even more work will be squeezed into these next two months. Yikes!

What does this situation mean for special education students and their parents? It means that parents need to be more on the ball than ever. How do you know if your child needs a team meeting? You will need to schedule a team meeting, if:

  • The child’s IEP expires between now and the end of the school year;
  • The child’s IEP doesn’t end now, but you have concerns about the content of the IEP (or 504 Plan) or about how the school is following the plan.
  • The child has an IEP or 504 Plan, and the child will be changing schools or academic levels next year (for example, elementary to middle school, middle school to high school). I’ll talk more about transition IEPs in a future post.
  • The child is struggling in school and doesn’t have an IEP or 504 Plan.

If your child needs a team meeting, the time to schedule is NOW! Why? Because many of the timelines are based on school days, not calendar days.

In Massachusetts, the school district must respond to a parent request for evaluation within 5 school days. 603 C.M.R. 28.04(1)(a). https://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr28.html?section=04 Then, evaluations must be completed within 30 school days of the day that the parent returns the consent for evaluation to the school. 603 C.M.R. 28.04(2). The district must convene a team meeting within 45 school days of the day that the parent returns the consent for evaluation. 603 C.M.R. 28.05.

Let’s assume that your child’s last day of school is June 15. That is a strong possibility if your district hasn’t used a lot of snow days. As of April 10, that means there are only 42 school days left in the year. But take heart! Massachusetts has a safety net for the end of the school year. If a parent gives consent for evaluation within 30 to 45 days of the last day of school, the district is required to ensure a team meeting is scheduled which will allow for the delivery of a proposed IEP or a determination that the child is ineligible for an IEP within 14 (calendar) days of the end of the school year.

So, what is a parent to do? First, if you think your child will need either initial or updated evaluations, send a request IN WRITING to the Director of Special Education in your district. Email me (christine@tetreaultlawMA.com) for a sample request. Get the request to the district as quickly as possible. Email counts as putting the request in writing, and it’s the quickest way to get the request into the district’s hands and start the clock running. My sample request letter includes explicit consent for the evaluations, so the process should begin immediately.

Next, schedule your dates to follow up. Here is my suggestion for a follow-up schedule:

  • 7 calendar days after you email your request, contact the Director of Special Education make sure that the requested evaluations have been scheduled.
  • 20 school days after you email your request, follow up with the Director to be sure the evaluations have been done, or will be done within the 30 day window. Request copies of any reports that have already been completed.*
  • 30 school days after you email your request, follow up with the Director to be sure the evaluations have been done. Request copies of any reports that have already been completed.* Provide the Director with dates and times that you are available for the team meeting.
  • 35 school days after you email your request, if the school has not communicated a date for a team meeting, contact the Director and again request a date within the 45-day window.

Don’t worry about being a pest! Your job is to get the education your child needs. Be polite, be considerate, but be firm.

Why should you act on this now? Why not just wait until a fresh school year? There are compelling reasons, which I will discuss in my next blog post. In the meantime, don’t wait to move on this end of year IEP meeting. And don’t wait to contact me to assist you in the process. This time of year gets very busy, so save your place on my calendar!