Michigan Special Education Evaluation Timeline: The 30 School Day Rule

Your child's evaluation request has been sitting with the school for two months. You've followed up twice, and you keep getting vague answers about scheduling. Here's the thing: Michigan doesn't give schools the luxury of an open-ended timeline. The state's evaluation rules are significantly stricter than what federal law requires — and most parents have no idea they have this leverage.

This post covers exactly how Michigan's evaluation timeline works, when the clock starts, and what to do when a district blows past its deadline.

How Michigan's 30 School Day Timeline Works

Under the Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE), once a parent provides written consent for a special education evaluation, the district has exactly 30 school days to complete the entire evaluation process, convene the IEP team, and issue a formal offer of FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education).

This is dramatically shorter than the federal IDEA standard of 60 calendar days. MARSE is more protective of students' rights in this area, and it applies to all Michigan public school districts, intermediate school districts (ISDs), and public school academies (charter schools).

The 30-day clock is measured in school days — not calendar days. That means summer recesses, spring break, and other school closings don't count against the timeline. However, it also means that if you submit a request on the last day before a long winter break, the clock doesn't start until students return.

The clock begins the moment you provide written consent. If you verbally agreed to an evaluation but never signed the consent form, the timeline has not started. If the school has been delaying sending you the consent paperwork, that delay matters — document it.

What Has to Happen Within Those 30 Days

The 30-day window isn't just about completing testing. MARSE requires the district to accomplish three things within that window:

1. Complete the comprehensive evaluation. The Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) must assess the student across all areas related to the suspected disability. This includes academic achievement, cognitive functioning, behavioral observations, and any additional assessments required by the specific disability category being evaluated.

2. Convene the IEP team. The district must hold an Individualized Educational Planning Committee (IEPC) meeting with the appropriate participants to review the evaluation results and determine eligibility.

3. Issue an offer of FAPE. If the student is found eligible, the district must generate an IEP and formally offer services — not just discuss them.

Once a parent consents to the initial IEP and services, the district has a maximum of 15 additional school days to begin implementing those services. This second clock is just as binding.

The REED Step Before the Evaluation Begins

Before the formal 30-day window even opens, the district first conducts a Review of Existing Evaluative Data (REED). This is a paper-based process where a team reviews existing records — previous evaluations, classroom data, state assessment scores, medical records the parent has provided, teacher observations — to determine whether additional testing is actually needed.

The REED process itself is supposed to happen before the parent signs consent for a full evaluation. If the REED determines that no additional data is needed, the district can proceed to eligibility determination without new testing. This is actually the right call in some situations — particularly for reevaluations — but parents should be aware that a REED is not a substitute for a thorough evaluation when new data is genuinely needed.

If you've received a consent form that only references a REED (not a full evaluation), ask the district in writing to clarify exactly what assessments will be conducted and what the team's plan is if the REED determines new testing is necessary.

Transitions from Early On to Part B Have Separate Timelines

If your child is transitioning from Michigan's early intervention program (Early On, which serves children birth to age 3) into the school-age Part B system, the timeline has additional layers.

Transition planning must begin between ages 2 years 3 months and 2 years 9 months. The local school district must be notified and a transition conference held before the child turns 2 years 9 months. After the parent provides written consent for evaluation, the standard 30-school-day window applies — but the IEP must be fully implemented no later than the child's third birthday. This hard deadline creates enormous time pressure if you consent late or if the school is slow to schedule the evaluation.

If your child's third birthday falls during the summer, the IEP team must determine the specific date services will begin to ensure FAPE is provided. The district cannot simply wait until the school year starts.

What to Do If the District Misses the Deadline

If 30 school days have passed since you signed consent and you have not received an evaluation, an IEP meeting invitation, or a formal offer of FAPE, the district is in violation of MARSE. This is not a minor paperwork issue — it is a denial of your child's rights.

Your options escalate as follows:

First, document the violation in writing. Send an email to the special education director noting the specific date you signed consent, the number of school days that have elapsed, and requesting the evaluation be completed immediately.

Second, cite the rule. Reference MARSE R 340.1721 in your correspondence. This signals to the district that you know the specific regulatory provision they've violated, and it changes the tone of the conversation immediately.

Third, file a state complaint with the MDE. If the district does not respond or correct the violation, you can file a formal complaint with the Michigan Department of Education Office of Special Education. The MDE has a 60-day investigation period and can order corrective action, including mandating that the district complete the evaluation and potentially award compensatory services for time lost.

Parents in Michigan served approximately 212,000 students with disabilities in the 2023-2024 school year, and the volume of formal state complaints filed against districts surged more than 20% between 2019 and 2024. Procedural timeline violations are among the most common findings in those complaints — and they are among the easiest to prove because the dates are simply on the paperwork.

If you want the full template for documenting timeline violations and the exact language to use in your state complaint, the Michigan IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook walks through this process step by step, with fill-in-the-blank email scripts built specifically for Michigan parents.

Reevaluation Timelines Are Different

Once your child is already in special education, the district must conduct a reevaluation at least every three years (called a triennial reevaluation) unless both the parent and the district agree in writing that it's unnecessary. A reevaluation can also happen sooner if the parent requests one or if the district believes the student's needs have changed significantly.

For reevaluations, the district still starts with a REED. If the REED determines no new testing is needed, the district can proceed directly to eligibility redetermination. If new testing is needed, the 30-school-day clock applies from the date of parental consent for the assessment plan.

Parents have the right to request a reevaluation at any time if they believe their child's current evaluation is outdated or incomplete. This is particularly useful if your child has been diagnosed with a new condition, if circumstances at school have changed significantly, or if you believe the existing evaluation failed to assess all areas of suspected disability.

The Bottom Line

Michigan's 30-school-day evaluation timeline gives parents significantly more leverage than the federal standard. The problem is that most parents don't know about it until after the deadline has passed. If you've signed consent for an evaluation and the school is dragging its feet, start counting school days from the date you signed — and if you're approaching day 25 without a meeting scheduled, start documenting.

The rules exist to protect your child. Knowing them is the first step to using them.

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