The Kansas IEP Process: From Evaluation Request to Implemented Plan

If your child is struggling in school and you suspect a learning disability, ADHD, autism, or another condition is behind it, you may need to request a special education evaluation. The process that follows is governed by strict Kansas regulations — and most parents don't realize how much control they have if they know the rules.

Here's the full Kansas IEP process, from the moment you put your request in writing through the day services begin.

Step 1: Request the Evaluation in Writing

Everything starts here. A special education evaluation can be initiated by a parent, a teacher, or another school professional. But for the legal timeline to begin, the request must be in writing and it must be received by the school.

Your written request should:

• Be addressed to the building principal or the district's special education director
• State your child's name, grade, and school
• Identify your concerns: academic struggles, suspected disability areas, behavioral issues
• Explicitly request a special education evaluation under IDEA
• Request that the school provide you with their response in writing

You don't need to diagnose your child or cite specific regulations. You need to put the request in writing. Keep a copy. Note the date the school receives it.

Why written matters: Many parents make verbal requests — in a teacher conference, during a phone call, at a parent-teacher meeting. Verbal requests don't start the legal clock. The school has no formal obligation to act until there's a written request. This is one of the most common procedural mistakes Kansas parents make, and it can delay services by months.

Step 2: School Responds with Prior Written Notice

After receiving your written request, the school must issue a Prior Written Notice (PWN) explaining whether they agree to evaluate or are refusing to do so. This is not optional — a PWN is legally required.

If they agree to evaluate, they'll also send you a consent form for the evaluation. Review it carefully. It should specify the areas to be evaluated. If your concern covers multiple areas (cognitive functioning, language, attention, behavior), make sure the consent covers all of them — the evaluation must assess all areas of suspected disability under K.A.R. 91-40-11.

If they refuse to evaluate, the PWN must explain their reasoning. A refusal to evaluate can be challenged through mediation or a state complaint with KSDE.

The MTSS trap: Many Kansas schools use Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) interventions before referring to special education. A school may suggest waiting to see how MTSS interventions play out before evaluating. This suggestion has no legal weight. Kansas law is clear: a parent's written request for an evaluation must be responded to regardless of where the child is in an MTSS process. If the school informally tells you to wait, ask for that refusal in writing as a PWN.

Step 3: Sign and Return the Consent Form

Once you receive the consent form, sign it and return it as quickly as possible. The 60-school-day evaluation timeline begins the moment the school receives your written consent — not when you signed it, not when you mailed it. Get it back promptly.

Note the date you returned the consent. Start counting school days from that date.

Step 4: The 60-School-Day Evaluation Clock

Kansas's evaluation timeline is one of its strictest procedural rules. Under K.A.R. 91-40-8(f), from the day the school receives your signed consent, the school has 60 school days to:

1. Complete the evaluation
2. Determine eligibility
3. If eligible, develop and implement the IEP

Implement — not just write. By day 60, if your child is found eligible, services should be actively underway.

"School days" means weekdays when school is in session. Weekends, holidays, and summer breaks pause the clock. In practice, a consent signed in October may have a clock that extends to February or March of the following year when you count actual school days.

Exceptions to this timeline are narrow: if you fail to bring your child for scheduled evaluation appointments, or if your child enrolls in a new district mid-evaluation and you agree to a new completion date with the new district.

Track the timeline yourself. If day 60 passes without communication, document it and contact KSDE.

Step 5: The Multidisciplinary Evaluation

The school's evaluation team — typically including a school psychologist, special education teacher, and relevant specialists — conducts assessments in all areas of suspected disability. For most IEP evaluations, this includes:

• Cognitive assessment (IQ testing)
• Academic achievement testing
• Processing assessments relevant to the suspected disability
• Classroom observation
• Parent and teacher interviews and rating scales
• Any specialized assessments: speech-language, OT, behavior, adaptive functioning

In many Kansas districts — especially outside the larger urban centers — the evaluators are employed by an interlocal special education cooperative, not the local district. The school psychologist driving out from the cooperative's offices may only be in your child's building one or two days per month. This doesn't change the 60-day deadline, but it means scheduling and logistics can be tighter.

Request a copy of all raw evaluation data and reports before the eligibility meeting. You are entitled to receive this.

Step 6: Eligibility Determination Meeting

After the evaluation, the IEP team convenes to determine whether your child qualifies for special education services. The team must include you, at least one of your child's general education teachers, at least one special education teacher or provider, an LEA representative with authority to commit district resources, someone who can interpret the evaluation results (often the school psychologist), and, when appropriate, your child.

The team applies the two-prong eligibility test:

1. Does the student meet criteria for one of the 13 disability categories (or gifted)?
2. Does the disability adversely affect educational performance to the degree that specially designed instruction is required?

If the team finds your child eligible, the IEP can be developed at this same meeting or at a separate meeting scheduled promptly after. If found ineligible, you receive a PWN explaining the determination and your right to dispute it.

Step 7: IEP Development

The IEP document must include:

• The PLAAFP: your child's current functioning levels — the baseline for all goals
• Measurable annual goals
• The specific services your child will receive, with exact frequency, location, and duration
• Accommodations and modifications
• Progress monitoring and reporting schedule
• Supplementary aids and services
• LRE documentation (how much time in general education, why)
• For students 14 and older in Kansas: transition planning

Read every line before signing. Vague service descriptions ("speech therapy as available") are not compliant. If anything is unclear, ask. You can take the draft home to review before signing.

Step 8: IEP Implementation

Once you've signed — or once the school moves forward with your consent — services must begin. In Kansas, remember: the entire process through implementation must fit within 60 school days of your original consent.

After the IEP is implemented, you have the right to progress reports on your child's annual goals as frequently as other students receive report cards. At minimum, the IEP must be reviewed annually, and your child must be reevaluated at least every three years.

The Kansas IEP & 504 Blueprint includes an evaluation request letter template, a school-day tracking worksheet for monitoring the 60-day deadline, and a pre-meeting checklist for the eligibility and IEP development meetings.

See more United States homeschool guides →