New Jersey

1. Initial evaluation timeline

90 calendar days from receipt of parental consent - and the clock covers more than the evaluation. N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.4(e): “After parental consent for initial evaluation of a preschool age or school age student has been received, the evaluation, determination of eligibility for services under this chapter, and, if eligible, development and implementation of the student’s IEP shall be completed within 90 calendar days.” New Jersey therefore does not use the federal 60-day evaluation clock (34 C.F.R. § 300.301(c)(1)); it substitutes a longer, single all-in clock that runs through IEP implementation. Days are calendar days. Source: N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.4 (Cornell LII); NJDOE, State-Imposed Rules Not Required by Federal Law (PDF).

Front-end trigger: on a written parental request for an evaluation, the child study team, parent, and general education teacher must meet within 20 calendar days (excluding school holidays, but not summer vacation) of receipt of the written request to decide whether to evaluate. N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.3(e). Source: N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.3 (Cornell LII).

2. Eligibility-to-IEP timeline

30 calendar days from the eligibility determination to the IEP meeting - nested inside the 90-day outer clock. N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.7(a): “A meeting to develop the IEP shall be held within 30 calendar days of a determination that a student is eligible for special education and related services or eligible for speech-language services,” and the IEP “shall be implemented as soon as possible following the IEP meeting.” Practical effect: the 30-day IEP-meeting deadline does not extend the 90 days; implementation must still occur within 90 calendar days of consent to the initial evaluation. Source: N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.7 (Cornell LII); N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.4 (Cornell LII).