How to Request a Special Education Evaluation in Georgia

If you suspect your child has a disability that is affecting their ability to learn, you have the right to formally request that the school evaluate them for special education. You do not need a doctor's note, a therapist's referral, or the school's permission to make this request. You simply need to ask — in writing, citing the right Georgia rules.

Here is the complete picture of how special education evaluations work in Georgia.

Your Right to Request an Evaluation

Georgia's Child Find mandate, codified in Rule 160-4-7-.03, requires every school district to identify, locate, and evaluate all children within its jurisdiction who have suspected disabilities — regardless of the severity of their disability, whether they are in public school, private school, charter school, or home school.

This means the school cannot wait for the problem to get bad enough before evaluating. If there is reasonable cause to suspect a disability, the district is legally obligated to evaluate.

When you request an evaluation in writing, the school must respond in one of two ways:

1. Provide consent paperwork so the evaluation can proceed
2. Send you a Prior Written Notice explaining in writing why they are refusing to evaluate

They cannot simply say "let's wait and see." A refusal must be documented in writing with specific reasons. If you do not get a response within a reasonable timeframe (generally 10 business days), follow up in writing and escalate to the special education director.

How to Write the Request

Your evaluation request does not need to be formal or legal-sounding. It needs to:

• Be in writing (email creates an automatic timestamp and paper trail)
• Be addressed to the special education director and the principal
• Clearly state that you are requesting a special education evaluation under IDEA and Georgia's Child Find mandate (Rule 160-4-7-.03)
• Describe the areas of concern — academic, behavioral, communication, social, or other functional areas
• Include your child's name and grade

Keep it short and direct. A long, emotional letter is not more effective than a concise, well-cited one. What matters is that it is written, dated, and addressed to the right people.

The SST Delay Problem — and the Bypass Rule

This is the single most important thing Georgia parents need to know about the evaluation process.

Georgia's schools use a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework. Before referring a student for special education evaluation, schools typically require them to move through SST (Student Support Team) tiers — a process that can stretch for months or even an entire school year. Schools frequently tell parents: "We can't evaluate until the student has gone through our SST process."

This is not legally accurate for students where special education necessity is clear.

Georgia Rule 160-4-2-.32 (3)(a) explicitly states that school personnel and parents may determine there is "reasonable cause to bypass the SST process for an individual student." If your child already has a medical diagnosis, has a documented history of learning difficulties that have not improved with general education interventions, or if the disability is readily apparent, you have grounds to request a bypass.

When you submit your evaluation request, include a separate paragraph invoking this rule: "Pursuant to Georgia Rule 160-4-2-.32, I am also requesting that the SST process be bypassed for [Child's Name], as reasonable cause exists to proceed directly to special education evaluation. The necessity for evaluation is clear based on [brief description — e.g., existing diagnosis of ADHD, documented reading difficulties, speech and language concerns]."

The 60-Calendar-Day Evaluation Timeline

Once you sign the consent form, the clock starts. Under Georgia Rule 160-4-7-.04, the district has exactly 60 calendar days to complete the evaluation report.

This is not 60 school days. It is 60 calendar days.

Exceptions are narrow:

• Holiday breaks where students are absent for five or more consecutive school days (Thanksgiving, Winter Break, Spring Break) do not count
• Summer vacation does not count if consent is received fewer than 30 days before the last day of school
• If consent arrives 30 or more days before the last school day, the evaluation must be completed within the 60-day window

Mark the 60-day deadline on your calendar the day you sign. If the evaluation is not delivered by that date, the district is in violation of Georgia Rule 160-4-7-.04 — and you can file a formal complaint with GaDOE.

What the Evaluation Must Cover

A comprehensive evaluation is not one observation by a school psychologist. Under Georgia's rules and IDEA, the evaluation must:

• Assess all areas related to the suspected disability
• Use a variety of assessment tools — no single test can be the sole basis for eligibility or exclusion
• Be conducted by qualified examiners
• Include review of existing data: grades, work samples, attendance records, prior test results, disciplinary history

For a student with suspected reading disability, the evaluation should include cognitive testing, academic achievement testing (specifically reading fluency, decoding, and comprehension), and phonological processing. For a student with suspected ADHD, it should include behavioral rating scales completed by both parents and teachers, direct observation, and academic achievement testing. For a student with suspected autism, it should include communication assessment, adaptive behavior scales, and a social-emotional evaluation.

If the evaluation the school proposes covers only one narrow area, you can request that it be broadened before you sign consent.

After the Evaluation: The Eligibility Meeting

After the evaluation is complete, the team holds an eligibility meeting within a reasonable timeframe (best practice is 10 days). The team reviews all evaluation data and determines:

1. Does the student meet the criteria for one of Georgia's 13 disability categories?
2. Does the disability adversely affect educational performance?
3. Does the student require specially designed instruction?

If the answers to all three are yes, the student is eligible. An IEP must be developed within 30 days of the eligibility determination.

What to Do If the School Refuses to Evaluate

A refusal to evaluate triggers specific parent rights:

1. Request the formal Prior Written Notice (PWN) in writing — the refusal must be documented with specific reasons, the data used to make the decision, and the options that were considered
2. Request an Independent Educational Evaluation — if the school did evaluate but you disagree with the findings, you can request a publicly funded IEE
3. File a formal GaDOE complaint — if the school failed to respond to your request or refused without adequate justification, this is a Child Find violation that GaDOE investigates within 60 days
4. Request a due process hearing — the formal legal mechanism for compelling an evaluation

Most refusals dissolve when the parent follows up in writing citing Child Find and the 60-day rule. Schools that know you are tracking the timeline respond differently than schools that think you will drop the issue.

Evaluating in a Rural Georgia District

Rural Georgia families face an additional layer of difficulty: districts may have limited school psychologists, long waitlists for evaluations, and fewer specialists available. None of this changes the 60-day deadline. If the district cannot complete an evaluation within the timeline because of staffing shortages, that is the district's problem to solve — not a reason to extend your child's wait.

If your district is systematically missing evaluation timelines, document it and consider a formal complaint. GaDOE's monitoring system tracks evaluation timeline compliance, and repeated violations can trigger corrective action.

Start With the Right Request

The Georgia IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook includes a ready-to-send evaluation request letter template that cites Child Find, the 60-day rule, and the SST bypass rule in the correct format. It also includes a timeline tracking worksheet so you can document every date in your child's evaluation process.

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