Special Education Evaluation in South Carolina: How to Request One, the 60-Day Clock, and What to Do if the District Refuses

You believe your child has a disability affecting their education. The school has been informally supportive — extra teacher help, quiet interventions — but no one has formally evaluated them. Or you asked verbally and nothing happened. Getting a special education evaluation in South Carolina requires a specific process, and knowing the rules means you can hold the district to them.

Why Written Is the Only Way to Start

The most important thing to understand about requesting a special education evaluation in South Carolina: a verbal request does not start any legal clock. A conversation with the teacher, a discussion at a parent-teacher conference, even an informal email expressing concern — none of these trigger the district's legal obligation to respond.

Only a written referral for a special education evaluation starts the process. Once you submit a written request, the district must respond with Prior Written Notice — in writing, explaining whether they will evaluate or refuse and why. That response must come within a reasonable time.

How to Request an Evaluation in South Carolina

Write a letter or email addressed to:

1. Your child's school principal
2. The district's Director of Special Education (or Special Education Coordinator)

Send it to both. Keep a copy.

Your letter should state:

• Your child's name, school, and grade
• That you are requesting a comprehensive special education evaluation under IDEA and SC Regulation 43-243
• The specific areas of educational concern (reading, writing, math, behavior, communication, attention, sensory processing, etc.)
• That you are providing consent for the evaluation to begin (including consent in the referral letter starts the 60-day clock immediately)

Be specific about your concerns. "My child has struggled with reading since kindergarten. She has been in reading support since second grade and is now in fourth grade reading at a first-grade level. I believe she may have a specific learning disability and am requesting a comprehensive evaluation" is much more actionable than "my child is struggling."

You do not need to know what disability your child has to request an evaluation. You do not need a doctor's note or diagnosis to request an evaluation. The school's Child Find obligation means they must evaluate whenever there is reasonable suspicion of a disability affecting educational performance.

The 60-Day Clock: What It Means and What Can Stop It

Once you provide written informed consent for the evaluation, the district has 60 calendar days to complete all assessments and schedule an eligibility determination meeting. This is a hard deadline under SC Regulation 43-243 — 60 calendar days, not business days, not school days.

What cannot stop the 60-day clock:

• School breaks, holidays, and weekends
• Staff shortages or scheduling difficulties
• Summer recess (if consent was signed before summer)
• The student transitioning between grade levels

The only lawful exceptions to the 60-day timeline in South Carolina are when the parent repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the evaluation despite reasonable attempts by the district, or when the parent and the district agree in writing to extend the timeline.

A district that tells you evaluations are scheduled six months out, or that they are waiting until fall, is not following the law. If consent was signed, the 60-day clock is running.

What a Comprehensive Evaluation Must Cover

The district must assess in all areas of suspected disability. They cannot narrow the evaluation to only the areas they expect to find concerns. The evaluation should include:

Cognitive assessment: Intellectual functioning, including working memory, processing speed, verbal comprehension, and visual-spatial reasoning.

Academic achievement: Current performance in reading (decoding, fluency, comprehension), written language (mechanics, organization, expression), and mathematics (calculation, problem-solving). Scores should be reported with grade equivalents and standard scores, not just descriptions.

Behavioral and social-emotional assessment: Rating scales from multiple respondents — at minimum one teacher and one parent. Observation data collected in the classroom and other relevant settings.

Communication assessment: Expressive and receptive language, articulation, pragmatic communication (social language use). This is particularly important if speech or language concerns are part of the referral.

Occupational therapy screening: If fine motor skills, sensory processing, or daily living skills are areas of concern.

Functional assessment: In addition to academic and cognitive testing, evaluators should assess how the student actually functions in the school setting — their ability to follow directions, participate in class, manage transitions, and access the curriculum.

Review of existing records: Prior grades, intervention data, attendance records, any prior evaluations from private providers.

If the district's evaluation fails to assess an area you identified in your request, ask in writing why that area was excluded. A narrow evaluation that misses key areas can support a request for an Independent Educational Evaluation.

What Happens After the Evaluation Is Complete

Once the evaluation is complete, the district schedules an eligibility determination meeting. This meeting must occur within the 60-day window.

At the eligibility meeting, the team — including you as a required member — reviews all evaluation results and determines whether your child meets the three-part eligibility test under SC Regulation 43-243.1:

1. Presence of a disability in one of the 13 categories
2. Adverse educational effect
3. Need for specially designed instruction

You are entitled to receive the evaluation report before the meeting — not handed to you as you walk in. Ask to receive it several days in advance so you have time to review it.

What to Do if the District Refuses to Evaluate

If the district responds with a refusal to evaluate, they must provide you a Prior Written Notice explaining:

• The action they are refusing to take
• The reasons for the refusal
• What information they used to make this decision
• Your rights to dispute the decision

You have four options:

1. Request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense. If you believe the district is wrong to refuse, you can request the IEE. The district must then either fund the independent evaluation or file for due process to defend their refusal.

2. File a state complaint with SCDE's OSES. If the refusal is a procedural violation — particularly if the Child Find obligation should have required the district to evaluate — a state complaint is fast (60-day investigation timeline) and free. Contact Disability Rights South Carolina (disabilityrightssc.org) for guidance on filing.

3. Request mediation. The South Carolina OSES provides free mediation. A mediator can sometimes move a district to agree to an evaluation before a formal dispute escalates.

4. File a due process complaint. This is the formal legal route. South Carolina's two-tier due process system means a local hearing first, then an appeal to SCDE's Office of General Counsel. For a straightforward refusal to evaluate, state complaint is typically faster and less costly — but due process is available.

The BabyNet Transition: A South Carolina-Specific Starting Point

For parents of children who were receiving services through BabyNet — South Carolina's early intervention program for infants and toddlers with disabilities (IDEA Part C) — the transition to the school system at age 3 is the first special education evaluation point.

At age 3, BabyNet services end and the school district takes over responsibility. South Carolina districts must conduct an evaluation and, if the child remains eligible, develop an IEP to be implemented by the child's third birthday. If you are approaching your child's third birthday, notify the district in writing as early as possible and ensure the transition evaluation is scheduled with enough time to complete the IEP before services lapse.

The South Carolina IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a sample evaluation request letter for South Carolina, an evaluation timeline tracker, and a checklist for reviewing whether the district's evaluation covered all required areas.

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