Rhode Island IEP evaluation deadline: how long does the school have?

You signed consent for testing. Rhode Island stacks several deadlines. Here is each one, and what to do if a date passes.

There are earlier deadlines before this one

Rhode Island's rules are layered, and each layer is a date you can hold the district to:

• The referral-review meeting must happen within 10 school days of the referral.
• The evaluation must begin within 10 school days of your consent.
• If your signed consent is not back within 15 school days of the district's request, the team reconvenes.

How to count your deadline

1. Find the date the district received your signed consent. Not the date you mailed it — the date they got it.
2. Count forward 60 calendar days, including weekends, holidays and breaks. That is the outer deadline for the report and the eligibility meeting.
3. Separately, count 10 school days from consent. Testing should have started by then.
4. Write all of these dates down in one place, next to your referral date.

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. Name the specific deadline missed. Rhode Island has several — say whether it is the 10-school-day start, the referral meeting, or the 60-calendar-day report and eligibility meeting.
3. 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.
4. File a state complaint. A missed timeline is a straightforward compliance violation. In Rhode Island this goes to the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE). It is free and does not require a lawyer.