Montana Special Education Reevaluation: When It's Required and How to Request One

A reevaluation is not the same as the annual IEP review. Where the annual review looks at goals and services, a reevaluation takes a fresh look at your child's current functioning, disability status, and eligibility for special education. In Montana, reevaluations are required on a specific schedule — and parents have the right to request one outside that schedule when circumstances change.

When Reevaluation Is Required

Under IDEA and Montana's ARM, a reevaluation must be conducted:

At least once every three years ("triennial evaluation"), unless the parent and district agree it is unnecessary. This three-year clock runs from the date of the previous comprehensive evaluation.

When the school proposes to determine that the child is no longer eligible for special education, the district must first conduct a reevaluation (unless the parent agrees in writing to waive it). A district cannot exit a child from special education without completing this process.

When the parent or teacher requests a reevaluation, provided no more than one year has passed since the last reevaluation.

Note that the rule cuts both ways: you can request a reevaluation if you believe your child's needs have changed significantly, but you cannot request one more frequently than once per year without district agreement.

When Parents Should Proactively Request a Reevaluation

Three years is a long time in a child's development. There are several situations in Montana where requesting a reevaluation before the triennial makes strategic sense:

After a significant change in functioning. If your child received a new medical or developmental diagnosis, experienced a major behavioral shift, or has regressed significantly in areas not addressed by the current IEP, the existing evaluation data may not accurately reflect their current needs. An outdated evaluation means current IEP goals may be calibrated to a child who no longer exists.

Before a significant transition. If your child is approaching the transition to high school, transitioning from elementary to middle school, or approaching the transition planning period (age 14 to 16 in Montana), current evaluation data is critical for building an appropriate transition IEP. An evaluation conducted three years ago when your child was in second grade may not capture what a high school program needs to address.

When you suspect the current eligibility category is wrong. If your child was initially identified under one disability category but you believe a different or additional category better reflects their needs — and therefore would change the services they receive — a reevaluation is the mechanism for revisiting that determination.

When the school is proposing to exit your child from special education. This is one of the most common situations where a proactive reevaluation request protects your child. If the district believes the child no longer needs services, it must reevaluate first. Do not allow verbal statements at an IEP meeting to substitute for a formal process.

The Reevaluation Process in Montana

Reevaluation in Montana is governed by ARM 10.16.3321, the same rule that governs initial comprehensive evaluations.

Step 1 — The existing data review. The reevaluation process begins with a review of existing data: current IEP, evaluation reports, progress monitoring data, teacher input, and parent observations. Based on this review, the team determines what additional data is needed and what, if any, new assessments are required.

Step 2 — Parent consent. Montana requires written parental consent for reevaluations. This exceeds the federal baseline, which only requires parental consent for initial evaluations. The district must obtain your signed consent before conducting any new assessments. You can refuse consent for specific assessment components if you have a reason to do so.

Step 3 — Assessment. If new assessments are determined necessary, the district must complete them within the 60-calendar-day timeline. This timeline runs from the date you sign consent for the reevaluation assessments.

Step 4 — Eligibility determination meeting. After assessment, the team meets to review the results and determine whether the child continues to meet eligibility criteria for special education under one or more disability categories. If eligible, the IEP is updated to reflect current needs.

What Happens If You Disagree with the Reevaluation Findings

If the reevaluation concludes that your child is no longer eligible, or if you believe the assessments were inadequate or improperly conducted, you have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense under ARM 10.16.3504 and 34 CFR 300.502.

Simply state in writing that you disagree with the district's evaluation and are requesting an IEE. You do not need to explain why — the disagreement alone triggers the district's obligation to either fund an independent evaluation or immediately file for due process to defend its own evaluation. The district cannot delay, require additional justification, or ignore the request.

In rural Montana, independent evaluators may be far from your community. For neuropsychological or complex developmental evaluations, families may need to travel to Billings, Missoula, Bozeman, or Great Falls. When local options are demonstrably unavailable, travel costs can often be included in the "public expense" requirement. Request this in writing and be specific about why local options are not available.

When the District Refuses to Reevaluate

If you request a reevaluation and the district refuses — either claiming it's too soon (less than a year since the last evaluation) or that the existing data is sufficient — it must issue a Prior Written Notice explaining its refusal. The PWN must identify what data the district reviewed, why it concluded a reevaluation is not needed, and what alternatives were considered.

If the PWN's reasoning is factually incorrect or relies on data you believe is outdated or incomplete, that is a basis for an IEE request or, in cases where the refusal itself is procedurally deficient, an OPI state complaint.

Reevaluation and the Age 22 Exit Rule

Following a landmark lawsuit by Disability Rights Montana, eligible special education students in Montana now have the right to continue receiving FAPE until they earn a standard high school diploma or turn 22, whichever comes first. Districts that previously exited students at age 18 through the use of alternate diplomas or certificates were violating this right.

If your child is approaching graduation age and the district is planning to exit them through an alternate credential rather than a standard diploma — and your child still needs special education services — a reevaluation before that exit is not just advisable, it is often required. The district cannot exit a student from special education based on graduation with an alternate credential without ensuring the exit process meets IDEA requirements.

The Montana IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook includes a reevaluation request letter, a guide to the IEE process, and documentation checklists for building a case before the reevaluation meeting.

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