How long does the school have to set up an IEP meeting after an initial referral or request?

Special education law in California states that a school has 15 school days to provide an assessment plan after a parent has made an initial referral or request. Even if the school chooses to not have a meeting first to discuss the referral and any assessments, the school still needs to obtain the parents’ consent (via a Consent to Assess Form) during those 15 days.

As soon as the Consent to Assess Form has been signed, the school must complete the agreed assessment of the student, hold an IEP eligibility meeting, and develop an IEP document within 60 school days.

After determining that the student is eligible for special education, the school and IEP team have 30 days to develop the IEP. In practice, this often happens in the same IEP meeting, which may continue over more than one meeting date. For more, see our article IEP Timelines.