Iowa IEP evaluation deadline: how long does the school have?

You signed consent for the evaluation. Here is exactly what Iowa law requires next, and what to do if the date passes.

The part most parents miss: the deadline runs through the eligibility meeting

Sixty days is not just "finish the testing." In Iowa the 60 calendar days run all the way through the eligibility meeting — the meeting where the team decides whether your child qualifies for special education.

So a district that finishes testing on day 55 and schedules the eligibility meeting for day 75 has missed the deadline. The meeting has to happen inside the window.

The clock starts at consent, not at your request

This is the gap that catches families. The 60 days do not start when you ask for an evaluation. They start when the district receives your signed consent.

A district can burn weeks between your request and handing you a consent form. Put your request in writing and date-stamp it. Then date-stamp the consent. Keep both.

How to count your deadline

1. Find the date the district received your signed consent. Not the date you signed it — the date they got it.
2. Count forward 60 calendar days, including weekends and holidays.
3. Do not add days back for breaks or summer. Iowa counts calendar days.
4. That date is the deadline for the evaluation and the eligibility meeting.

What to do if the deadline passes

1. Put it in writing the same week. Email the case manager and the special education director. State the consent date, the deadline date, and that it has passed. A phone call creates no record.
2. Ask for prior written notice. If the district refuses or delays, you are entitled to a written explanation of what it is doing and why.
3. File a state complaint. A missed timeline is a straightforward compliance violation. In Iowa this goes to the Iowa Department of Education. It is free and does not require a lawyer.
4. Keep the paper trail. Every date, every email, every response.