How to Request an IEP Evaluation in North Dakota

If your child is struggling and you suspect a disability is part of the reason, you have the right to request a special education evaluation — and the clock does not start until you submit something in writing. Not after the school finishes its intervention cycle. Not after the next RTI data review. After your written request.

North Dakota's evaluation timeline runs on calendar days, not school days. That is a critical distinction, and it works in your favor when you know how to use it.

Start With a Written Request — Not a Conversation

Many North Dakota parents spend weeks or months in verbal discussions with teachers and building-level staff before ever triggering the formal evaluation process. Those conversations might feel productive. They accomplish nothing legally.

Your written request does not need to be lengthy or cite specific regulations. A clear email or letter is sufficient. Include:

• Your child's full name, grade, and school
• A description of your specific concerns — academic struggles, behavioral patterns, developmental delays, anything that suggests a disability may be affecting their education
• A clear statement that you are requesting a comprehensive evaluation for special education eligibility under IDEA and NDCC 15.1-32
• A request that the district provide the Prior Written Notice (PWN) and Consent to Evaluate forms within five business days

Send it to the building principal and the special education unit director. Under North Dakota's multidistrict structure, your district may belong to one of the 20 multidistrict special education units — the unit director often holds the evaluation authority. If you are unsure who that is, ask the principal or call the district office.

Keep a copy and note the date you sent it.

The 60-Calendar-Day Timeline — and Why It Matters

Once you provide written consent to evaluate, North Dakota requires that the entire evaluation process be completed within 60 calendar days. This includes scheduling the assessments, conducting them, compiling the Integrated Written Assessment Report, and holding the eligibility meeting.

The calendar-day standard is one of the most important features of North Dakota's evaluation process. Unlike states that calculate the window in school days — pausing the clock over winter break, spring break, and summer — North Dakota's 60 days keep running through every holiday and recess.

This means:

• If you give consent on December 1, the 60-day window closes around January 30 — including winter break.
• If you give consent in early June, the deadline falls in early August, potentially before the new school year begins.

Track this yourself. Count 60 calendar days from the date you sign the consent form and write that date down. You should not need to rely on the district to manage their own deadline.

The only exceptions to the 60-day window are narrow: if you repeatedly fail to make your child available for testing, or if your child transfers to a different district mid-evaluation and both parents and the new district agree to extend. Routine scheduling difficulties — which are common in North Dakota's multidistrict units, where a single school psychologist may serve a dozen districts — are not an exception. If the evaluator's calendar is backed up, that is the unit's problem to solve, not a basis for extending your child's timeline.

What the School Must Do After Your Request

Before they can conduct any evaluations, the district must:

1. Issue a Prior Written Notice (PWN) describing what they propose to evaluate and why
2. Provide you with a copy of the Procedural Safeguards notice — your full rights document under IDEA
3. Obtain your informed written consent to proceed

You have the right to review what the district proposes before consenting. The Assessment Plan they provide should identify the areas they intend to evaluate. If you believe they are overlooking a domain — for example, proposing only academic testing when you have documented concerns about attention, executive function, or social-emotional functioning — you can request that additional areas be included before you sign.

Once you consent, the 60-day clock starts.

When the School Can Refuse to Evaluate

The district can decline an evaluation request. If they do, they must provide you with a Prior Written Notice documenting their refusal, the reasons for it, and the data they relied on to make that determination.

The most common situation where schools try to delay evaluation requests: Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) or Response to Intervention (RTI). A school may tell you they need to complete an intervention cycle before they can evaluate. This is not legally correct. NDDPI guidelines are explicit: participation in MTSS or RTI cannot be used as a basis to delay or deny a parent's evaluation request. Under 34 CFR §300.301(b), your written request triggers the district's obligation to act. Intervention and formal evaluation can and should run simultaneously.

If you receive a refusal, the Prior Written Notice that accompanies it is an important document. It must explain the specific reason for the refusal and the data supporting it. Vague language does not satisfy the requirement. If the reasoning is thin or the data cited is inadequate, that PWN becomes the foundation for a state complaint to NDDPI or a due process challenge.

Re-Evaluation: The Same Process Applies

If your child already has an IEP and you believe the current evaluation is outdated or incomplete, you can request a re-evaluation at any time. The process is the same: written request, consent, 60-calendar-day window. The district is required to re-evaluate at least once every three years regardless, but parents can request it earlier if circumstances warrant — a new diagnosis, a significant change in functioning, or a disagreement with how the child's needs are characterized in the current IEP.

The IEP team reviews existing data first to determine whether new formal testing is needed, or whether existing data is sufficient to update the evaluation picture. You can request specific areas of new testing. If the team proposes to waive formal re-evaluation based on existing data, they need both your agreement and the written agreement of the district representative.

After the Evaluation: Your Rights If You Disagree

If the district completes the evaluation and finds your child ineligible, or if the evaluation report misses what you see at home, you have two immediate options:

Request an IEE at public expense: You have the right to an Independent Educational Evaluation conducted by an outside examiner not employed by the district. Once you submit the written request, the district must either fund the IEE without unnecessary delay or file for due process to defend its evaluation. They can ask why you disagree, but they cannot require you to explain before acting. You are entitled to one IEE at public expense for each evaluation the district conducts.

File a state complaint with NDDPI: If the district violated the evaluation timeline, failed to assess all areas of suspected disability, or conducted a technically defective evaluation, you can file a state complaint. NDDPI investigates within 60 calendar days and can order corrective action including a new evaluation.

Pathfinder Parent Center (800-245-5840) in Minot can walk you through the evaluation process and help you understand your options at any stage — before you request, during the window, or after you receive results.

The North Dakota IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook includes an evaluation request letter template that cites NDCC 15.1-32, a 60-calendar-day tracking tool, and a guide to reviewing the Integrated Written Assessment Report before the eligibility meeting — so you can identify gaps in the evaluation before the district declares your child ineligible.

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