South Dakota IEP evaluation deadline: how long does the school have?

You signed consent for an evaluation. Here is exactly what South Dakota rules require next, and what to do if the date passes.

25 school days

From your signed consent, the district must complete the evaluation itself. Then it has 30 more days for the written report, the eligibility decision, and the IEP meeting.

Day type: School days for the 25-day evaluation window
Clock starts at: Your written parental consent
What the deadline covers: Step one: the evaluation. Step two: written report, eligibility determination, and IEP meeting within 30 days after the evaluation window ends
Legal citation: ARSD 24:05:25:03; SD DOE Eligibility Guide

The part most parents miss: this is a two-step clock, not one

South Dakota splits the timeline. First, 25 school days from consent to finish the evaluation. Second, 30 days from the end of that window for the written report, the eligibility determination, and the IEP meeting.

So the testing being "done" is not the finish line. The eligibility decision and the IEP meeting have their own deadline after it. Track both dates separately.

Extensions are not routine. Under South Dakota's rules, extensions are allowed only in rare, documented circumstances. "We are short-staffed" is not the same as a documented exception. Ask what the documented reason is, in writing.

School days mean summer pauses the clock

A school day is a day students are in attendance for instruction. Days when school is not in session — summer, winter break, spring break — never count (34 CFR § 300.11). That is not a favor the district is doing you. It is how school-day counting works.

The practical effect: consent signed in late May does not produce a completed evaluation in June. The 25 school days pick back up when instruction resumes.

How to count your deadline

Find the date the district received your signed consent. Not the date you mailed it — the date they got it.
Count forward 25 school days. Skip weekends, holidays, breaks, and any day students are not in attendance for instruction.
That date is the deadline for the evaluation itself.
From the end of that window, count 30 days for the written report, the eligibility determination, and the IEP meeting.

What to do if the deadline passes

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.
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.
File a state complaint. A missed timeline is a straightforward compliance violation. In South Dakota this goes to the South Dakota Department of Education (SD DOE), Office of Special Education. It is free and does not require a lawyer.
Keep the paper trail. Every date, every email, every response.

Free: IEP evaluation deadlines for all 51 jurisdictions

A one-page chart of every state's deadline, day type, and when the clock starts — plus a playbook for when a district blows the date.

Get the free cheat sheet

Need the letters too? The Evaluation Request Kit has fill-in templates for the request, the follow-up, and the complaint.

Sources

ARSD 24:05:25:03 — 25 school day evaluation timeline
South Dakota Department of Education — Eligibility Guide
34 CFR § 300.11 — definitions of day, business day, and school day

Verified July 2026. State rules change — confirm against the current code before relying on a date.