North Carolina

1. Initial evaluation timeline

90 calendar days from the LEA’s receipt of a written referral - not from parental consent. NC 1503-2.2(c)(1): “Evaluations must be conducted, eligibility determined, and for an eligible child, the IEP developed, and placement completed within 90 days of receipt of a written referral.” Days are calendar days: NC 1500-2.7(a) - “Day means calendar day unless otherwise indicated as a business day or school day.” North Carolina thus exercises the 34 C.F.R. § 300.301(c)(1)(ii) option to substitute its own timeframe for the federal 60-days-from-consent default, and its clock is triggered earlier (by the referral) and carries more freight (evaluation + eligibility + IEP + placement) than the federal one. On an oral request, the LEA “shall provide assistance, as needed, in completing a written referral” (NC 1503-2.2(b)). Exceptions are limited to NC 1503-2.2(d): the parent repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for evaluation; the parent repeatedly fails or refuses to respond to a request for consent; or the child enrolls in another LEA after the 90-day clock has begun (with conditions). Source: NC Policies Governing Services for Children with Disabilities, amended March 2021 (PDF), NC 1503-2.2, NC 1500-2.7.

• Narrow SLD extension: the 90-day clock generally cannot be extended by agreement. NC 1503-3.3(c), located in the specific-learning-disability section, creates a narrow exception for an evaluation involving suspected SLD. In that setting, the parent and group of qualified professionals may extend the referenced evaluation or reevaluation timelines by mutual written agreement. It is not a general extension power for other disability evaluations.

2. Eligibility-to-IEP timeline

No separate clock - it is folded into the same 90 days. North Carolina’s version of 34 C.F.R. § 300.323(c) drops the federal “meeting to develop an IEP within 30 days of a determination of eligibility” language and replaces it: NC 1503-4.4(c)(1) - “Each public agency must ensure that within 90 days of receipt of the referral the initial evaluation will be conducted; eligibility determined; and for an eligible child, the IEP developed, and placement completed.“ Services follow ”as soon as possible following development of the IEP“ (NC 1503-4.4(c)(2)). Source: NC Policies (PDF), NC 1503-4.4.