What Is an IEP in Maryland? The COMAR-Based Process Explained for Parents

You've heard the acronym. A teacher may have mentioned it. A therapist may have suggested your child "might qualify." But what exactly is an IEP, and how does the process actually work in Maryland public schools?

The short answer is that an Individualized Education Program is a legally binding contract between your child's school and your family. It documents your child's disability, defines measurable annual goals, and lists every service the school is legally required to deliver. But in Maryland, the devil is in the details — because the state layers its own strict regulations on top of federal law, and those local rules change the timeline, the paperwork, and your rights at every step.

What an IEP Actually Is (and What It Is Not)

An IEP is a federal entitlement created by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). To qualify, your child must meet a two-pronged test under COMAR 13A.05.01, the state regulation that governs special education in Maryland:

1. Your child must be identified as having one of the 13 federally recognized disability categories — including Autism, Specific Learning Disability (SLD), Other Health Impairment (OHI, which frequently captures ADHD), Emotional Disability, and Speech or Language Impairment, among others.
2. By reason of that disability, your child must require specially designed instruction to make progress in the general curriculum.

The second prong is where many Maryland families get stuck. A diagnosis alone — even a private neuropsychological evaluation showing dyslexia — does not automatically trigger IEP eligibility. The school district must agree that the child needs specially designed instruction, not merely accommodations. This is exactly why understanding the evaluation process before you walk into a meeting matters so much.

An IEP is different from a 504 Plan. A 504 Plan is a civil rights document under the Rehabilitation Act that provides accommodations (extended time, preferential seating) but no specialized instruction and no supplementary funding. If the school offers your child a 504 when you believe they need an IEP, that is a distinction worth fighting for. See maryland-504-plan-vs-iep for a full breakdown.

Maryland's IEP Process: The 60/90-Day Evaluation Timeline

This is where Maryland diverges meaningfully from the generic national playbook. The state's evaluation rules under COMAR 13A.05.01.04 are strict and non-negotiable.

The 90-calendar-day window: The moment you submit a written request for a special education evaluation — to the school principal or IEP chairperson — a 90-calendar-day clock starts. Within that window, the school must review existing data, determine whether formal assessments are needed, and secure your written consent to evaluate.

The 60-calendar-day window: Once you sign the consent for evaluation, a second, tighter deadline begins. The school has exactly 60 calendar days to complete all assessments, convene the eligibility meeting, and determine whether your child qualifies for special education services.

30 days to the IEP: If your child is found eligible, the IEP itself must be developed within 30 days of the eligibility determination meeting.

These timelines have very narrow exceptions. The clock stops only if you repeatedly fail to make your child available for testing, if your child transfers districts mid-evaluation, or if you and the school mutually agree in writing to an extension. Failure to meet these timelines is one of the most common grounds for filing a state complaint with MSDE — and it frequently results in the district being ordered to provide compensatory education.

How to Request an IEP Evaluation in Maryland (Do It in Writing)

This step matters more than most parents realize. A verbal request to a teacher, counselor, or even a principal does not start the legal clock. Only a written request does.

Your request should:

• Be submitted via email to both the school principal and the school's IEP chairperson (or special education coordinator)
• Explicitly state that you are requesting a formal special education evaluation under IDEA and COMAR 13A.05.01.04
• Describe the specific academic, behavioral, or functional concerns you've observed
• Be timestamped so you have documented proof of when the 90-day window began

Many Maryland families encounter a specific delay tactic at this stage: the school redirects the child to a Student Support Team (SST) or Educational Management Team (EMT) — the pre-referral intervention process used by districts like MCPS (Collaborative Problem Solving/CPS) and PGCPS (Student Intervention Team/SIT). While these multi-tiered support systems serve a legitimate purpose, federal law is unambiguous: an ongoing SST process cannot delay or deny your written request for an IDEA evaluation. Write back immediately if this happens, citing COMAR 13A.05.01.04, and confirm that your evaluation request stands.

What Happens During a Maryland Special Education Evaluation

A comprehensive special education evaluation in Maryland is multidisciplinary. Depending on your child's areas of concern, assessments may include:

• Psychoeducational testing by a school psychologist (cognitive ability, academic achievement)
• Speech and language evaluation
• Occupational therapy assessment
• Social/emotional evaluation (for behavioral or emotional concerns)
• Functional behavior assessment (FBA) if behavior is a significant factor — see maryland-functional-behavior-assessment

Before assessments begin, the school will provide you with an assessment plan listing each area to be evaluated. Read it carefully and request additions in writing if important areas are missing.

After the evaluations are complete, the school will hold an eligibility meeting to present the results and determine whether your child qualifies. You are a legal member of the eligibility team. If the school finds your child ineligible but you disagree with the evaluation, you have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense. See maryland-independent-educational-evaluation for how that works.

What Goes Inside a Maryland IEP

Maryland's IEP document is governed by COMAR 13A.05.01.09 and must include specific components:

Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP): A data-driven description of where your child currently performs. This is the foundation from which all goals are built. If the PLAAFP is vague, the goals will be unenforceable.

Measurable Annual Goals: Each goal must be measurable — meaning you can determine at year's end whether your child achieved it. Goals should tie directly to the areas of weakness documented in the PLAAFP.

Services, Placement, and Minutes: A precise list of special education services, related services (speech, OT, counseling), and the number of minutes per week for each. Maryland requires a clear justification for any time your child spends outside the general education environment.

Progress Reporting: At minimum, parents must receive progress reports as frequently as report cards go home for general education students.

Emergency Conditions Plan: Post-COVID, Maryland now requires IEPs to include a learning continuity plan for emergencies — a provision national guides often overlook entirely.

One Maryland-specific protection that deserves attention: under Ed. Art. § 8-405, the school must provide you with all documents they plan to discuss — including draft IEPs, assessment reports, and data charts — at least five business days before the IEP meeting. "Business days" excludes weekends and holidays. If documents arrive late, you have the right to postpone the meeting.

What Happens After the IEP Is Written

An IEP is not a one-time document. It is reviewed at least annually, but you can request a meeting to amend it at any time if your child is not making progress or if circumstances change. The school is legally required to implement the IEP as written — if services are being missed due to staffing shortages (a significant issue in districts like PGCPS, which had over 240 special education teacher vacancies in 2023-2024), you have grounds to request compensatory education.

If you disagree with the IEP at any point, do not refuse to sign it outright — instead, sign indicating you "attended the meeting" without indicating agreement, and document your specific objections in the Prior Written Notice (PWN) that the school is required to issue.

If you are new to the IEP process or feel outmatched by the district's team, the Maryland IEP & 504 Blueprint walks through each of these steps in plain English, with Maryland-specific scripts, email templates, and COMAR citations built in — because generic national guides won't tell you about the five-day rule or the all-party consent recording law.

Over 111,000 Maryland students ages 3 through 21 are currently receiving special education services. Knowing the process in advance is the single most effective thing you can do before you walk into that meeting room.

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