Indiana IEP Evaluation Timeline, Dispute Routes and Parent Resources (2026)
- Evaluation window
- 50 instructional days
- The clock starts at
- Written parental consent
- State complaint deadline
- One year
- Due process deadline
- Two years
How long does a school in Indiana have to complete an IEP evaluation?
An Indiana school has 50 instructional days from the day licensed personnel receive written parental consent to finish an initial educational evaluation and convene the case conference committee, which is Indiana's name for the IEP team. Instructional days count only when school is in session, so consent signed in late spring carries into the next school year rather than running through the summer. A parent can make the request out loud or in writing, after which the school has 10 instructional days to send written notice proposing the evaluation or explaining why it will not evaluate. Indiana runs a 20 instructional day version of the same evaluation when the referral happens while a student is suspended, expelled or placed in an interim alternative educational setting. For disagreements, the Office of Special Education at the Indiana Department of Education takes written complaints and arranges mediation, while due process hearing requests filed on or after July 1, 2025 go to the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings, a separate state agency whose administrative law judges hear and decide them.
The evaluation timeline in Indiana
| Initial evaluation window | 50 instructional days |
|---|---|
| The clock starts at | receipt of written parental consent |
| Against the federal rule | A timeframe Indiana sets for itself |
IDEA sets a default of 60 calendar days from parental consent for an initial evaluation (34 CFR 300.301(c)(1)). It also lets a state set its own timeframe instead, which is what Indiana has done, so the window above is the one that applies here.
Indiana measures its evaluation window in instructional days rather than the federal 60 calendar days, so the count advances only on days school is in session. Fifty instructional days is about ten school weeks, which in calendar time usually runs longer than the federal 60 days rather than shorter.
Source: 511 IAC 7-40-5(d) www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/indiana/511-IAC-7-40-5
The same window sits beside all fifty-one jurisdictions on the evaluation timelines by state table, which explains where the federal deadline comes from. To pull one state's window on its own, the evaluation deadline checker returns that single result.
Reevaluation and IEP review cadence in Indiana
Indiana keeps the federal cadence then adds a completion deadline the federal rules leave open. A public agency considers reevaluation at least once every three years, at any point in that cycle when it decides more information is needed then whenever a parent or a teacher asks. The three year consideration is not required where the family and the public agency agree it is unnecessary. A parent's request can be spoken or written. It goes to licensed personnel, meaning teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, building principals or other administrators. The school then has 10 instructional days to send written notice proposing or refusing the reevaluation. Where the committee decides, or a parent or a teacher asks, that a reevaluation look at a different or additional eligibility category or answer a question about what the student needs such as assistive technology or a related service, that reevaluation has to be finished and the case conference committee convened within 50 instructional days of written parental consent reaching licensed personnel. That is the same clock Indiana puts on an initial evaluation. The 50 day window does not apply where a student enrolls in another public agency partway through, so long as that agency is making sufficient progress then the family and the new agency agree on a completion date. Where the committee decides at an annual meeting that a reevaluation is needed to reestablish eligibility, that reevaluation happens by the next annual meeting. Reevaluation for that purpose happens no more than once a year unless the family and the public agency agree otherwise. The committee reviews the IEP at least annually, which states the same requirement as the federal rule.
Source: 511 IAC 7-40-8(b)(1) through (b)(3) for the three year consideration, the agreement that it is unnecessary then the parent or teacher request; 7-40-8(d) for reestablishing eligibility by the next annual case conference committee meeting plus the once a year limit; 7-40-8(e) for the 50 instructional day completion window and the two purposes it covers; 7-40-8(f) for the spoken or written request to licensed personnel then the 10 instructional day notice; 7-40-8(q) for the exception where a student enrolls in another public agency partway through; 511 IAC 7-32-58 for the definition of licensed personnel; 511 IAC 7-42-9(a) for the annual review of the IEP, which states the same requirement as 34 CFR 300.324(b)(1) www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/indiana/511-IAC-7-40-8
If you disagree in Indiana
IDEA gives families in every state the same three routes when a disagreement with the school does not resolve at the team table. What changes at the state line is who administers each route, how long you have to file and the local detail below.
The state complaint
Handled by the Office of Special Education at the Indiana Department of Education. Time limit to file: one year from the date of the alleged violation.
A complaint is written, signed then sent to both the Office of Special Education and the public agency serving the student. Families file through I-CHAMP, the state's online portal for all three formal routes, or on paper by mail, fax or in person. The office does not accept a complaint by email. Anyone can file one, including a group or an organization. A complaint can also allege that a school is not following an order from a hearing officer or an agreement reached in mediation. Indiana then works to a 40 day report rather than the federal 60 day maximum. The public agency has 10 calendar days to respond in writing, resolve the complaint in a signed agreement, agree to mediation or ask the office to start investigating. Where the public agency does not respond in those 10 days, the office starts investigating on the eleventh day. An assigned investigator issues a report with findings of fact, conclusions and any corrective action within 40 calendar days of the filing, naming the date by which that corrective action has to be finished. Either side can ask for reconsideration within 10 calendar days of the report, in which case the response from the Director of the Office of Special Education is due within 60 calendar days of the original filing. Extensions come only from exceptional circumstances or from both sides agreeing to more time for mediation. Where an issue is already before a hearing officer, the office sets that issue aside until the hearing ends.
Source: 511 IAC 7-45-1(a) for who may file and what a complaint must contain, 7-45-1(c) for the one year limit, 7-45-1(d)(6) for the only two grounds for an extension, 7-45-1(g) with 7-45-1(k) for the 10 calendar day response from the public agency then the investigation starting on the eleventh day, 7-45-1(l) for the 40 calendar day investigator report, 7-45-1(m) with 7-45-1(n) for reconsideration within 10 calendar days then the revised report due within 60 calendar days of the original filing, 7-45-1(o) for the corrective action deadline stated in the report, 7-45-1(r) for setting aside an issue already before a hearing officer then 7-45-1(t) for a complaint about a school not following a hearing decision; 511 IAC 7-45-2(i) for enforcing a mediation agreement through the complaint route; 511 IAC 7-45-0.5(b) and 7-45-0.5(c) for paper filing by fax or first class mail plus the bar on filing by email; 34 CFR 300.152(a) for the federal 60 day maximum that Indiana tightens; the I-CHAMP portal, filing in person then the Director of the Office of Special Education as the decider on reconsideration as stated on the Indiana Department of Education special education complaint page and in the Notice of Procedural Safeguards, August 2025 edition www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/indiana/511-IAC-7-45-1
Mediation
Mediation is voluntary for both sides. Either a parent or the public agency can suggest it. Both then sign a Request for Mediation form that goes to the Office of Special Education by mail or through I-CHAMP. The office keeps a list of trained mediators, assigns one on a general rotation basis then bears the cost, so mediation is free to families. No employee of the department, a school corporation or another public agency providing special education services can serve as the mediator. Discussions stay confidential and cannot be used as evidence in a later due process hearing or civil case. A signed mediation agreement binds both sides, is enforceable in court then can also be enforced through the complaint route. A family can request mediation before a due process hearing request, at the same time or afterward. Mediation does not delay that hearing or give up any other right. Where mediation is used to work out a filed complaint, it happens within 20 calendar days of the written agreement to mediate. Indiana also offers a facilitated IEP meeting at no cost to either side, where a trained impartial facilitator sits in on a case conference committee meeting and makes no decisions about the IEP.
Source: 511 IAC 7-45-2(a) for the voluntary process either side can start, 7-45-2(b) for mediation before or alongside a hearing request without delaying it, 7-45-2(c) for the division bearing the cost, 7-45-2(d)(6) with 7-45-2(e) for who may not serve as mediator, the mediator list then selection on a general rotation basis, 7-45-2(g) with 7-45-2(h) for the signed binding agreement, its enforceability in court then the confidentiality of the discussions, 7-45-2(i) for enforcement through the complaint route; 511 IAC 7-45-1(h) for mediation of a filed complaint within 20 calendar days; the Request for Mediation form signed by both sides, the I-CHAMP route, the point that a family may also request mediation after a hearing request then the bar on any employee of the department, a school corporation or another public agency providing special education services serving as mediator, all as stated in the Indiana Department of Education Notice of Procedural Safeguards, August 2025 edition; the no cost facilitated IEP meeting as stated on the department's dispute resolution page www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/indiana/511-IAC-7-45-2
A due process hearing
Time limit to file: two years from the date the parent or the public agency knew or should have known about the action the request is about.
A request goes to the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings, the separate state agency that took these hearings over under IC 20-35-14 for requests filed on or after July 1, 2025. Requests filed before that date stayed with the independent hearing officers already assigned to them. Families file through I-CHAMP or send the signed written request by mail, fax or hand delivery to that office in Indianapolis, with a copy going to the school at the same time. The office does not accept filings by email. An administrative law judge with no connection to the family or the school is assigned, holds a prehearing conference then issues the decision. The school holds a resolution meeting within 15 days of the request unless both sides waive it in writing or use mediation instead. The written decision is due 45 calendar days after the 30 day resolution period ends, or after a written waiver of the resolution meeting. Discipline cases run on an expedited track, held within 20 instructional days of the date the school receives the request, with a determination 10 instructional days after the hearing. The hearing itself costs the family nothing, including the written transcript, though each side pays for its own lawyer. A family that disagrees with the decision has 30 calendar days from receiving it to file a petition for judicial review in state or federal court, which is shorter than the 90 days the federal rules allow where a state sets no explicit limit. The two year filing limit does not apply where the school misrepresented that it had resolved the problem or withheld information it was required to give the family.
Source: IC 20-35-14, enacted by House Enrolled Act 1380 in 2024, as stated on the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings guide to IDEA due process hearings then on the Indiana Department of Education dispute resolution page; 511 IAC 7-45-3(c) for the two year limit and its two exceptions, 7-45-3(b) for what a request must contain then 7-45-3(b)(6) for sending it to the state and the opposing party at the same time; 511 IAC 7-45-6(a) for the resolution meeting within 15 calendar days, 7-45-6(d) for waiving it in writing or using mediation instead then 7-45-6(f) with 511 IAC 7-45-7(b) for the 45 calendar day written decision after the 30 day resolution period; 511 IAC 7-45-7(q) for the public agency bearing all costs of the hearing including transcription; 511 IAC 7-45-10(b)(1) for the expedited discipline track at 20 instructional days with a determination 10 instructional days after the hearing; 511 IAC 7-45-9(a) for the 30 calendar day petition for judicial review under IC 4-21.5-5-5; 511 IAC 7-45-0.5(c) for the bar on filing by email; the filing address plus the I-CHAMP route as stated on that guide and in the Notice of Procedural Safeguards, August 2025 edition; 34 CFR 300.516(b) for the federal 90 day default that Indiana displaces www.in.gov/oalp/idea-due-process-hearings/
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Who to contact in Indiana
- The state special education office. Office of Special Education, Indiana Department of Education. This is the office that answers questions about Indiana rules and receives a state complaint.
- Your rights in writing. Indiana Department of Education Notice of Procedural Safeguards, August 2025 edition, published in English and Spanish, given to families once a year plus at referral or a request for evaluation, at the first complaint or hearing request of the school year, at a disciplinary change of placement then on request. Every district hands parents this notice at least once a year (34 CFR 300.504). It is the plain summary of what you can ask for at each step.
- Parent training and information center. IN*SOURCE, the Indiana Resource Center for Families with Special Needs. A parent center is free and federally funded under IDEA. Staff there talk families through the process in their own state at no cost.
- The state rules themselves. 511 IAC 7-32 through 7-50, the State Board of Education special education rules that Indiana calls Article 7, which implement IC 20-35 (Special Education). IC 20-35 is the special education article of Indiana's education code. Article 7 sections carry an affected line naming it, then 511 IAC 7-33-1(b) names the department of education, division of special education as the state educational agency responsible for general supervision of all special education programs as specified in IC 20-18-2-9 and IC 20-35. The working detail a family meets sits in Article 7, the State Board of Education rules at 511 IAC 7-32 through 7-50 covering evaluations, the case conference committee, IEPs, discipline then the three dispute routes. IC 20-35-14, added in 2024, is the chapter that moved due process hearings to the Office of Administrative Law Proceedings.
Child Find in Indiana
Indiana's child find duty covers students from age three to under twenty-two. The right to a free appropriate public education runs to the end of the school year in which a student turns twenty-two rather than stopping on a birthday, unless that student graduates with a diploma first or the case conference committee decides the student will leave school earlier. Children under three go through First Steps, Indiana's early intervention program, run by the Bureau of Child Development Services at the Family and Social Services Administration rather than by school districts. A memorandum of understanding between that agency and the Indiana Department of Education has First Steps notify the school district at least six months before a child's third birthday. Indiana is not an opt-out state, so a child's directory information reaches the district whether or not the family consents, while the family service plan and any evaluation reports move only with consent. By the third birthday the district completes its evaluation, convenes the case conference committee, writes the IEP then puts it in place. The 50 instructional day limit still applies to that evaluation.
Source: 511 IAC 7-40-1(a) for the child find duty covering students three years of age to under twenty-two, 511 IAC 7-33-2(b) for the free appropriate public education ending at the close of the school year in which the student turns twenty-two then 511 IAC 7-43-2(c) and 7-43-2(d) for the six month transmittal and the duties due by the third birthday; the memorandum of understanding with the Family and Social Services Administration, the point that Indiana is not an opt-out state and the 50 instructional day limit on the transition evaluation as stated in the Indiana Department of Education Spread the Word guidance on Part C to Part B transition www.in.gov/doe/files/Spread-the-Word_-Part-C-to-Part-B-Transition-2.pdf
