How to Request a Special Education Evaluation in Texas

In Texas, a written request for a special education evaluation starts a hard clock: the district has 15 school days to either propose an evaluation (with a consent form) or refuse in writing (TEC §29.004(c); 19 TAC §89.1011(b)). Once the district receives your signed consent, the written evaluation report — Texas calls it the FIE, the "full individual and initial evaluation" — is due within 45 school days (TEC §29.004(a)). Both clocks run in school days, which means they pause over summer — and there's a much-misunderstood end-of-year exception that we'll state precisely below, because most versions of it online are backwards.

Step 1: Put the request in writing — to the right person

This is the single most important Texas-specific detail: the 15-school-day clock starts only on a written request made to the district's director of special education services or a district administrative employee (a campus principal counts). A verbal request to a teacher starts no clock. One sentence, by email, to the principal and the district special education office:

"I am making a written request for a full individual and initial evaluation (FIE) of my child under TEC §29.004. Please respond as required within 15 school days."

Within 15 school days the district must either (a) give you prior written notice that it proposes to evaluate, plus the procedural safeguards notice, TEA's "Overview of Special Education for Parents" form, and the opportunity to consent — or (b) give you prior written notice refusing to evaluate, with the same accompanying documents.

Also worth knowing: Texas rule explicitly says districts may not require your child to sit through any fixed period of RTI/MTSS interventions before a referral (19 TAC §89.1011(a)). "We have to finish the intervention cycle first" is not a lawful reason to delay.

Step 2: Consent starts the 45-school-day FIE clock

From the day the district receives your signed written consent, the written FIE report is due by the 45th school day. Three rules govern how that clock actually behaves:

  • Summer doesn't count. "School day" excludes every day between the last instructional day of spring and the first of fall (TEC §29.004(a-2)). A consent signed in late spring can lawfully produce a report well into the fall semester.
  • Absences extend it. If your child is absent 3 or more school days during the evaluation period, the deadline extends by the number of days absent.
  • The June 30 band — stated correctly: if the district receives your consent at least 35 but fewer than 45 school days before the last instructional day of the year, the report is due by June 30, and the ARD committee then meets by the 15th school day of the next school year. If consent arrives with fewer than 35 school days left, the June 30 rule does not apply — the ordinary 45-school-day clock runs and simply pauses over summer. (Many parent guides state this backwards; the band is 35-to-44 school days.)

Practical takeaway: to get results before summer, count backward — your signed consent needs to be in the district's hands at least 35 school days before the last day of school.

Step 3: The ARD meeting — 30 calendar days after the report

In Texas the IEP team is called the ARD committee (admission, review, and dismissal) — it's the same thing as the federal IEP team. The ARD committee must decide eligibility and, if appropriate, adopt an IEP and placement within 30 calendar days of the written FIE report's completion (19 TAC §89.1011(g)). Note the day-type flip: evaluation runs in school days, this meeting clock in calendar days.

One enforceable detail districts often miss: you're entitled to a copy of the evaluation report at least 5 school days before the initial ARD meeting (§89.1011(h)). A district that hands you the report at the meeting table is out of compliance — and you can reasonably ask to reconvene once you've had time to read it.

If the district refuses

A refusal must come as prior written notice with reasons and the data relied on. Texas adds its own teeth elsewhere too: any district proposal or refusal on identification, evaluation, placement, or FAPE requires written notice at least 5 school days before the district proposes or refuses the action (19 TAC §89.1050(g)). From a written refusal, your options:

  • State complaint to TEA — written complaint, 1-calendar-year lookback, TEA resolves within 60 calendar days (19 TAC §89.1195). One trap: you must send a copy of the complaint to the district at the same time you file with TEA — omitting that can stall the filing — TEA treats the district copy as part of a complete complaint.
  • Mediation — free and voluntary.
  • Due process hearing — the filing window is 2 years from when you knew or should have known (19 TAC §89.1151(c)). If you've read that Texas has a one-year limit: that was true before September 1, 2022, and is now outdated.

Get a plain-language read of your situation

Describe where things stand — or paste the district's response — and get a free plain-language read in about 2 minutes: whether the 15-school-day or 45-school-day clock is running, how the summer rules affect your dates, and what to send next. You can redact your child's name.

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IEP Explained provides analysis and preparation tools — you decide and you send. We are not a law firm, we do not provide legal advice or representation, and nothing on this page is legal advice for your specific situation.