Federal law lets you ask your public school to evaluate your child at no cost. Here is what to document first, what to put in writing, and the 60-day deadline that starts once you consent.
Quick takeaways
- Federal Child Find rules require public schools to consider evaluation requests for children from birth through age 21, including homeschooled and private school students.
- Put your evaluation request in writing and send it to the principal or district special education director, keeping copies of everything you send and receive.
- Under federal IDEA regulations, the evaluation must be completed within 60 days after you give written consent, unless your state sets a different deadline.
- Eligibility requires both a disability under IDEA and a need for special education because of it; children not eligible may still qualify under Section 504.
- School evaluations are free, and more than 6.8 million children ages 3 to 21 receive special education and related services in the United States each year.
When work that looks manageable for other kids keeps defeating your child, it is natural to wonder whether a learning disability or ADHD is behind it. Federal law gives parents the right to ask a public school to evaluate their child, at no cost to the family, and the process follows a fairly predictable sequence from district to district. This timeline walks through each stage, what to bring to it, and the deadlines that keep it moving.
Week 1: Document What You See at Home
Learning disabilities can affect reading, writing and math, and some children also struggle with motor coordination or social interaction. Before you contact the school, start a simple record. Pull together work samples showing the gap between effort and results, note how long homework actually takes, and write down specific patterns: reads aloud fluently but cannot answer questions about the text, or finishes untimed math work but fails every timed quiz.
Dates matter. A log with dates and examples is more useful in a meeting than a general feeling that something is off. Two age notes: if your child is under 3, Early Childhood Intervention agencies handle concerns about delays at that age, and school districts take over from age 3 through 21. If you homeschool or your child attends private school, the process still applies; federal Child Find rules cover homeschooled and privately schooled children, along with children who are homeless, migrant or wards of the state.
Before the Formal Request: Talk With the Teacher
A school professional can refer a child for evaluation, and a parent can too. Either way, a conversation with the teacher first tells you what the school is seeing. Federal guidance notes that schools may try sufficient interventions in the regular classroom before referring a child for special education evaluation, so ask what has been tried, for how long, and how it went.
For online students, our guide to talking with your child’s online teachers suggests ways to build this communication at a distance. Whatever you agree on, follow up with an email restating it, and keep every message. Parent advocacy organizations recommend retaining copies of all correspondence and following up with the principal on the status of any request, habits that pay off later in the process.
Putting Your Request in Writing
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended in 2004, gives parents a legal right to request that their public school evaluate a child for special education. A request can be verbal, but putting it in writing is the standard advice, because a dated letter creates a record.
Send the letter to your child’s principal or to the district’s director or coordinator of special education. Include:
- Your child’s full name, grade, school and teacher.
- A short, specific description of the difficulty, with examples from your log.
- A clear sentence requesting a full, individual evaluation for special education services.
- Your contact information and the date.
Keep a copy, then follow up rather than waiting for a call that may not come. One wrinkle worth knowing: some states do not treat a parent letter as permission to evaluate and instead require the parent to sign the district’s own consent form. When that happens, the date of your signature on that form establishes the evaluation timeframe, so sign and return it promptly.
Helpful tip
Ask for the school’s procedural safeguards notice when you make your request. It explains your rights at every stage of the process, and you will want it before decisions are made, not after.
Consent and the 60-Day Rule
Once a district proposes an evaluation, it must provide written notice and obtain your informed consent before testing begins. Read the consent form carefully: agreeing to an evaluation is not the same as agreeing to special education services, which is a separate decision made later.
Under the federal IDEA regulations, the evaluation must be completed within 60 days after you give consent. States can set a different timeline, and when they do, the state’s deadline applies, so ask your district which number governs where you live. The school must consider your request either way; Child Find does not obligate a school to agree to every evaluation request, but it does mean yours receives an actual answer.
What the Evaluation Actually Involves
The law calls this a full and individual initial evaluation, meaning the testing focuses on your child, not on class averages. It has three purposes: to determine whether your child has a disability as defined by IDEA, to identify your child’s specific educational needs, and to guide decisions about appropriate educational programming.
Requirements that protect your child during this stage:
- The evaluation covers all areas of suspected disability and includes information about academic, developmental and functional performance.
- It must be administered in your child’s native language or other mode of communication.
- It must be unbiased, so results are not affected by cultural background, race or disability.
A school evaluation costs nothing. Private testing is a different story, and our articles on how much a dyslexia evaluation costs and the real cost of ADHD support break down what families pay when they go that route.
The Eligibility Meeting and Your Rights
When testing ends, a team that includes you meets to determine eligibility. IDEA lists 13 disability categories under which a child may qualify. Here is the part that surprises many parents: a disability alone does not make a child eligible. The law requires both that the child has a disability and that, because of it, the child needs special education and related services.
If the team finds your child eligible, the school develops an individualized education program, or IEP, describing the specially designed instruction and related services your child will receive. More than 6.8 million children ages 3 through 21 receive special education and related services in the United States each year, all at no cost to parents. If your child is found not eligible under IDEA, he or she may still qualify for protections under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Whatever the outcome, our guide to supporting your child in online school explains how to share results with online teachers so accommodations follow your child into online classes.
If the School Says No: Next Steps
A school can decline to evaluate if it sees no reason to suspect a disability requiring services, and it may point to classroom interventions instead. If that happens, restate your concerns in writing, reference the work samples and records you have kept, and ask for the decision and its reasoning in writing too. Child Find applies to all children suspected of having a disability regardless of severity, and it covers children who receive passing grades and are advancing from grade to grade, so a “he’s doing fine academically” answer does not automatically close the discussion if learning is suffering.
For dispute options and appeal rights, check with your state education agency, since procedures vary by state. Parent centers can also help families understand the evaluation process at no cost.
A concrete first step: write down three dated examples of what you are seeing at home, then draft your evaluation request letter and keep a copy for your records.
Parents and students ask
Does it cost anything to have the school evaluate my child?
No. The initial evaluation, and special education and related services if your child is found eligible, are provided through public schools at no cost to parents.
What starts the evaluation timeline?
Under the federal IDEA regulations, the 60-day clock starts when you give informed written consent to the evaluation. Some states require a district consent form first, and the date you sign that form establishes the timeframe.
Can the school refuse to evaluate my child?
The school must consider your request, but it does not have to agree to every one if there is no reason to suspect a disability that requires services. If it declines, ask for the decision and its reasoning in writing and keep documenting what you see.
What if my child has a disability but does not qualify for special education?
A child found not eligible under IDEA may still qualify for protections under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Ask the school how that process works in your district.
This guide is general information for families. Follow your school’s policies, and talk to your child’s teacher, school counselor or pediatrician about your child’s specific needs.