New Hampshire IEP Annual Review and Triennial Reevaluation: Your Rights and What to Prepare

Two different review cycles govern your child's IEP in New Hampshire, and they serve different purposes. Understanding the difference between an annual review and a triennial reevaluation — and knowing what the district is required to bring to each — lets you prepare strategically rather than just show up and react.

The Annual Review: What Must Happen Every Year

Under IDEA and New Hampshire's Ed 1109, the IEP team must meet at least once a year to review and revise your child's IEP. This is the annual review. The meeting must occur within 12 months of the previous IEP's implementation date.

The annual review is not a rubber-stamp of last year's document. The team is legally required to:

Review and report on progress toward annual goals. Each goal in the IEP must have a measurable baseline, measurable objectives, and a reporting mechanism. By the annual review, the team should have documentation of your child's actual progress — data collected throughout the year, not just the case manager's general impressions. Under Ed 1109.01, the IEP must include how progress toward each annual goal will be measured and how parents will be periodically informed. Progress reports must be sent at least as frequently as report cards.

Revise the IEP as appropriate. If goals were not met, the team should examine why — was the goal too ambitious, were the services insufficient, did the child's needs change? Goals should be revised based on current data. The team should not simply carry forward unmet goals from the prior year without analysis.

Update the Present Levels section. The PLAAFP (Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance) must reflect current data, not last year's evaluation. How is the child performing now, academically and functionally? What is the impact of the disability on the child's ability to access the general curriculum?

Review the appropriateness of placement. Is the Least Restrictive Environment determination from last year still appropriate? Has the child's progress suggested they could access more general education time? Or have circumstances changed such that a different placement might better serve the child's needs?

Consider updated transition planning for students aged 14 and above, as required by New Hampshire's Ed 1109.01 rules — which require a transition plan starting at age 14, two years earlier than the federal IDEA minimum of 16.

What You Should Bring to the Annual Review

Current progress data you've observed at home. Teachers and case managers report on school performance. You report on functional skills, homework struggles, sleep and anxiety patterns, and skills your child is developing or regressing on at home. Home observations are data.

Questions about each goal. For every goal in the current IEP, ask: What is the current measurement data? How was this goal measured throughout the year? What specific data shows progress or lack of progress? If the case manager cannot answer with specific data, the goal is not being tracked appropriately.

A list of any concerns you've observed that are not yet reflected in the IEP. Bring these in writing so they can be discussed and potentially added to the new IEP.

Written parent input. Under IDEA, the parent is a full IEP team member with an equal voice. You can submit written parent input before the meeting — this becomes part of the IEP record. If the team proceeds without addressing your concerns, they have not conducted an appropriate annual review.

What Happens If the Annual Review Deadline Is Missed

If the district allows the annual review date to pass without convening the meeting, the current IEP technically continues to govern, but the district is out of compliance. A missed annual review deadline is a procedural violation under IDEA and NH Ed 1100 rules.

If the district misses the deadline and your child's needs have changed during the gap, the district may also be failing to provide FAPE during the period when the IEP was stale and should have been updated. Document the deadline and reach out in writing if the meeting has not been scheduled at least 30 days before the anniversary date.

The Triennial Reevaluation: A Full Reassessment Every Three Years

Separate from the annual review is the triennial reevaluation — a comprehensive reassessment of your child's disability and educational needs that must occur at least every three years. Under Ed 1107, this "triennial" evaluates continued eligibility for special education and assesses any changes in educational needs.

The triennial reevaluation is more thorough than an annual review meeting. It may include:

• Updated psychological testing (cognitive assessments, academic achievement measures)
• Updated evaluation in all areas of suspected disability
• Review of progress data, medical records, teacher observations, and parent input
• Re-administration of assessments from the initial evaluation to track changes

The district must get your written consent to conduct the triennial reevaluation. If you refuse consent, the district cannot conduct the evaluation — but then must rely on existing data, which may be three years old.

One exception: under Ed 1107 and federal law, both the district and the parents may agree in writing that a reevaluation is unnecessary. This agreement must be explicit and documented. Districts sometimes propose skipping the triennial evaluation as a cost-saving measure, and parents may agree without fully understanding that triennial data is often the most powerful documentation available for high-stakes decisions — out-of-district placement requests, extended school year arguments, and transition planning all depend on current, comprehensive evaluation data.

Agreeing to Waive the Triennial: When It's Reasonable and When It's Not

Waiving the triennial may be reasonable if:

• Your child was recently evaluated (within one to two years) through an IEE or re-evaluation
• The existing data is comprehensive and recent enough to support current IEP decisions
• Your child's disability profile is well-documented and stable

Waiving the triennial is likely not in your child's interest if:

• The last evaluation was the initial evaluation three years ago
• Your child's needs have significantly changed
• You are approaching a transition point (early childhood to elementary, elementary to middle, middle to high school, or secondary transition)
• You anticipate a dispute over services or placement — current evaluation data is your primary evidence

If the district proposes waiving the triennial and you disagree, you can simply decline to sign the waiver. The district then must conduct the evaluation or obtain an updated agreement.

Using Triennial Data Strategically

New triennial evaluation data often shifts the IEP substantially. If the reevaluation reveals a previously unidentified disability category, documents regression, or shows that progress has been slower than expected given the services provided, it can support:

• A request for additional services
• A request for an out-of-district placement evaluation
• An argument for compensatory education if the data shows the child would have been further along with appropriate services

This is why districts sometimes prefer waivers when parents don't assert their right to evaluation. The reevaluation data could prove inconvenient.

Request the evaluation data at least five days before the reevaluation eligibility meeting, as required by Ed 1107. Review the reports thoroughly before the meeting. If you disagree with the evaluation findings, you have the right to request an IEE at public expense and present those findings to the team.

The New Hampshire IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a preparation checklist for both the annual review and the triennial reevaluation — covering what documents to request in advance, which questions to ask about goal data, and how to assert your right to current evaluation information before signing a new IEP.

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