Wyoming

1. Initial evaluation timeline

60 calendar days from the district’s receipt of the parent’s signed written consent- the federal default, unmodified. Wyoming is one of the states that never exercised the option in 34 C.F.R. § 300.301(c)(1)(ii) to set its own timeframe. Chapter 7 of the Wyoming Education Rules incorporates the federal clock by reference rather than restating it: 206-7 Wyo. Code R. § 7-4(b)(i)(B) provides that once a comprehensive initial evaluation is warranted, “consent must be obtained consistent with 34 C.F.R. § 300.300, and the evaluation must be conducted consistent with 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.301 through 300.311.” WDE’s own parent-facing guidance states the rule in plain terms: “Your school district has up to 60 calendar days to conduct an initial evaluation. The 60-day timeline begins when the school district receives your signed consent.“

• Days are calendar days. Wyoming’s Chapter 7 defines no state-specific “day,” “school day,” or “business day”; § 7-3(a) incorporates all federally defined terms by reference, so 34 C.F.R. § 300.11 controls - “day” means calendar day unless otherwise indicated. Practical consequence: unlike Pennsylvania (summer tolled) or Indiana (instructional days only), a Wyoming consent signed in mid-May runs straight through summer break. There is no summer or holiday tolling in Wyoming law. This is the single most important divergence from neighboring states and the mistake most often made by out-of-state counsel.

• Exceptions. Only the two federal ones at 34 C.F.R. § 300.301(d) - (1) the parent repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child, and (2) the child enrolls in a different school district after the clock starts (and then only with parental agreement and the new district’s sufficient progress). No Wyoming-added exception located.

• One express state-referenced extension, for SLD/RTI referrals. § 7-4 (SLD provisions) requires that a district “must promptly request parental consent to evaluate the child … and must adhere to the timeframes in 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.301 through 300.303, unless extended by mutual written agreement of the child’s parents and the group of qualified professionals,“ where a child has not made adequate progress under RTI. This tracks 34 C.F.R. § 300.309(c). Note the trap: the extension requires the parents’ written agreement - a district cannot unilaterally stop the clock to run more RTI cycles.

• Refusal to evaluate. § 7-4(b)(i)(D): if the district “does not suspect that the child has a disability and refuses a parent’s request for an initial evaluation,” it must issue prior written notice under 34 C.F.R. § 300.503, and “[t]he parent may challenge the refusal by utilizing the dispute resolution procedures in these rules.”

Sources: 206-7 Wyo. Code R. § 7-4 (Cornell LII); WDE - Chapter 7 Rules, Services for Children with Disabilities (full text, PDF); WDE/Parent Information Center - Quick Guide (PDF); 34 C.F.R. § 300.301; 34 C.F.R. § 300.11 (definitions of day).

2. Eligibility-to-IEP timeline

Wyoming sets no state deadline. The federal 30-calendar-day rule applies by incorporation. 206-7 Wyo. Code R. § 7-5(d)(i) says only that districts “shall develop, implement, review and revise IEPs consistent with 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.320 through 300.328.” That pulls in 34 C.F.R. § 300.323(c)(1) - a meeting to develop the IEP must be held within 30 days of the determination that the child needs special education and related services - and § 300.323(c)(2) (services provided “as soon as possible following development of the IEP”). Again, calendar days, no tolling.

Chapter 7 adds no fixed pre-meeting report-delivery interval and no separate numeric implementation deadline. Federal law still requires a free copy of the evaluation report and eligibility documentation, and access to education records without unnecessary delay and before any IEP or due process meeting, never more than 45 days after a request. Ask for the report and underlying records in writing before the eligibility meeting; the absence of a Wyoming-specific day count does not authorize withholding records needed for meaningful participation. Sources: 34 C.F.R. § 300.306(a)(2); 34 C.F.R. § 300.613.

Sources: 206-7 Wyo. Code R. § 7-5 (Cornell LII); 34 C.F.R. § 300.323; WDE - Chapter 7 Rules (PDF).