Minnesota

1. Initial evaluation timeline

30 schooldays from the date the district receives written parental permission to evaluate - half the federal default, and counted in school days. Minn. R. 3525.2550, subp. 2: the team “shall conduct an evaluation for special education purposes within a reasonable time not to exceed 30 school days from the date the district receives parental permission to conduct the evaluation or the expiration of the 14-calendar day parental response time in cases other than initial evaluation, unless a conciliation conference or hearing is requested.” MDE’s own timeline chart reads the rule as requiring the district to “conduct a special education evaluation and provide the parent with a copy of the evaluation report - within 30 school days of consent“ (citing Minn. R. 3525.2550 and 3525.2710). The Part B procedural safeguards notice states it to parents the same way: ”An initial evaluation shall be conducted within 30 school days from the date the district receives your permission to conduct the evaluation, unless a conciliation conference or hearing is requested.“

• Days are school days, not calendar days. Minn. R. 3525.2550 uses school days. Under 34 C.F.R. § 300.11, a school day is a day children attend for instructional purposes. Summer recess, school breaks, holidays, and other noninstructional days do not count; no separate summer-tolling rule is needed.

• Reevaluations run 30 school days from consent or from expiration of the 14-calendar-day parental objection window (see § 9 below).

• Watch the built-in escape hatch - the 30-school-day limit does not apply “unless a conciliation conference or hearing is requested.” Sources: Minn. R. 3525.2550; MDE - Part B Timelines; MDE - Part B Notice of Procedural Safeguards.

2. Eligibility-to-IEP timeline

Minnesota sets no state-specific eligibility-to-IEP deadline; MDE applies the federal rule and layers its own notice/consent clock on top:

• Initial IEP team meeting within 30 calendar days of determining the child is eligible. This requirement comes from 34 C.F.R. § 300.323(c)(1); no separate Minnesota provision is needed.

• Prior written notice plus a copy of the proposed IEP must be served “within a reasonable time, and in no case less than 14 calendar days before the proposed effective date” of the change. Minn. R. 3525.3600.

• Initial services start only on receipt of written parental consent (Minn. Stat. § 125A.091, subd. 5); changes on an annual IEP take effect on parental consent or after the 14-calendar-day objection window runs (Minn. Stat. § 125A.091). Sources: MDE - Part B Timelines; Minn. R. 3525.3600; Minn. Stat. § 125A.091.