Wisconsin

1. Initial evaluation timeline

60 calendar days from the LEA’s receipt of parental consent to evaluate - no summer or holiday tolling - plus a front-end 15-business-day rule that federal law does not have.

• The clock itself. Wis. Stat. § 115.78(3)(a): “The local educational agency shall determine if a child is a child with a disability within 60 days after the local educational agency receives parental consent for the evaluation of the child under s. 115.782 (1) (b) or (4) (b), provides notice under s. 115.777 (3) (e) that no additional data are needed, or provides notice under s. 115.782 (4) (c) that no additional data are needed.” Note the second and third triggers: if the district decides no additional data are needed, the 60 days runs from that notice, not from any consent form. Source: Wis. Stat. § 115.78(3)(a).

• Calendar days, and breaks do not stop the clock. DPI: “these are 60 calendar days, not 60 school days,” and “[i]f that timeline falls across a holiday break or other time off of school, the LEA needs to plan accordingly within that time frame.” Unlike Pennsylvania, Wisconsin has no summer carve-out - a consent signed in May still runs through the summer. Source: DPI - Consent to Evaluate Received Date (Indicator 11).

• The front end (the part districts blow). A referral must be in writing, and “[w]ithin 15 business days of receiving a referral,” the LEA must “send to the child’s parents a request for consent to evaluate the child under s. 115.782,” or, if it determines no additional data are necessary, notify the parent of that determination within the same 15 business days. Wis. Stat. § 115.777(3)(e). So the true outer limit from a written referral is roughly 15 business days + parent’s consent + 60 calendar days. Source: Wis. Stat. § 115.777.

• Exceptions. Wis. Stat. § 115.78(3)(b): the 60-day period does not apply where the child transfers districts mid-evaluation (subsequent LEA making sufficient progress and parent agrees to a specific completion date), or where “the child’s parent repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the evaluation.” Source: Wis. Stat. § 115.78(3).

2. Eligibility-to-IEP timeline

30 calendar days from the eligibility determination to the IEP/placement meeting. Wis. Stat. § 115.78(3)(c): “The local educational agency shall conduct a meeting to develop an individualized education program … and determine a placement … within 30 days of a determination that a child is a child with a disability.” DPI confirms these are calendar days and fixes the trigger date: “The date of the eligibility determination is the date the [IEP] team meets and determines whether the student is or continues to be a ‘child with a disability,’” and that date begins the 30-calendar-day period. Wisconsin sets no separate numeric outer deadline for implementation after the meeting. The federal rule requires services as soon as possible following development of the initial IEP, while DPI’s timeline chart requires the placement notice and IEP copy a reasonable time before implementation; initial services also require parental consent. Sources: Wis. Stat. § 115.78(3); DPI - Eligibility Determination Date; DPI - IEP & Placement Timelines (PDF); 34 C.F.R. § 300.323(c)(2).