School Refusing to Evaluate Your Child in Louisiana: What to Do Next

You've asked the school to evaluate your child for special education. Maybe you made the request verbally at first, and now you've followed up — and the school's answer is no. Or the school has been running intervention programs for months and insisting your child needs more time in the SBLC process before they can be evaluated. Either way, you're not getting the evaluation you requested, and time is passing.

A school's refusal to evaluate is a serious procedural issue — but it does come with a clear set of remedies. Here's what the Louisiana process requires and what you can do when the school isn't following it.

The School Must Respond in Writing

Under Louisiana's Act 198 (2024), when you submit a written evaluation request, the school must respond within 15 calendar days. If they intend to refuse the evaluation, they must issue a Prior Written Notice (PWN) within that window.

The PWN must explain:

• The specific action the school is refusing (i.e., conducting a comprehensive special education evaluation)
• Why they are refusing
• What evaluation data and other sources of information they relied on in making the decision
• A description of any other options they considered and why those were rejected

If the school doesn't provide a PWN within 15 days of your written request — or if they provide one that doesn't include all required elements — that is a procedural violation of Bulletin 1508 and IDEA.

The Two Most Common Refusal Justifications — and How to Counter Them

"Your child needs to go through the SBLC and RTI process first."

This is the most common delay tactic in Louisiana. Schools often tell parents that their child must complete two or three tiers of Response to Intervention (RTI) before they can be referred to pupil appraisal. This is incorrect under revised Bulletin 1508.

Louisiana's updated regulations include an explicit no-delay rule: special education evaluations cannot be delayed because of ongoing RTI requirements or a lack of intervention data. If you have made a formal written request for a comprehensive evaluation under IDEA and Bulletin 1508, that request must be honored. RTI can continue in parallel with the evaluation — it cannot be used as a gate that must be cleared first.

When you write your evaluation request, explicitly state: "I am requesting a comprehensive initial special education evaluation under the IDEA and Louisiana Bulletin 1508. I understand that RTI may continue during this process, but per revised Bulletin 1508, my evaluation request cannot be delayed pending the outcome of ongoing interventions."

"We don't think your child has a disability."

A school can legally refuse an evaluation if they genuinely believe, based on existing data, that there is no reason to suspect a disability. But this determination must be documented in a Prior Written Notice that explains what existing data they relied on and why it supports the conclusion that evaluation is not warranted.

If you have documentation that contradicts the school's conclusion — a private evaluation, a medical diagnosis, teacher reports of struggles, grades or behavioral data showing difficulties — present it with your request. The school is required to consider all relevant information. If you can demonstrate that your existing documentation establishes reasonable grounds to suspect a disability, a flat refusal unsupported by data is harder to justify.

Your Options After a Refusal

Option 1: File a State Complaint with the LDOE.

If the school refused your evaluation request without issuing a proper PWN, or if the PWN doesn't meet the regulatory requirements, or if you believe the refusal itself violates IDEA and Bulletin 1508, you can file a formal state complaint with the Louisiana Department of Education's Division of Special Education. The LDOE investigates the complaint and, if a violation is found, can order the school to conduct the evaluation and issue corrective action. The state complaint timeline is 60 calendar days from filing.

Option 2: Request an Independent Educational Evaluation.

If the school conducted an evaluation (or if they claim existing data is sufficient) and you disagree with their findings, you have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense. When you request an IEE, the school must either fund the independent evaluation or file for due process to defend their own evaluation as appropriate. They cannot simply deny the IEE request without taking one of those two actions.

Option 3: Request Mediation or an IEP Facilitation.

If the dispute is about whether the school's existing data is sufficient, IEP facilitation or mediation can sometimes resolve the disagreement more quickly than a formal complaint. A neutral facilitator helps both sides work through the data and reach an agreement. This is voluntary — the school must agree to participate — but it can be faster than a state complaint for some disputes.

Option 4: File for Due Process.

If the school's refusal is part of a broader pattern of FAPE denial, or if the evaluation is time-sensitive and other avenues are too slow, requesting a due process hearing is an option. This is the most formal and adversarial path, and it typically benefits from legal representation, but it is available and enforceable.

What to Do Right Now

If you haven't yet put your evaluation request in writing, do it today. A verbal request — even one you've made multiple times — doesn't trigger the formal timelines. Send a written request by email to the school principal and the district's Pupil Appraisal Director. Keep a copy. Note the date.

Your written request should:

• State your child's name and current grade
• Request a comprehensive initial special education evaluation
• Cite the IDEA and Louisiana Bulletin 1508
• Reference the 15-day response requirement under Act 198
• State that if the district refuses, you expect a Prior Written Notice within that window explaining the basis for the refusal

From that point, the clock is running.

The Louisiana IEP & 504 Blueprint includes an evaluation request letter template, a guide to the PWN requirements, and a step-by-step breakdown of each dispute resolution option available in Louisiana.

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