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Letter 1: Request for an Initial Evaluation

When to Use It

Send this letter the first time you suspect your child may have a disability that affects learning. You do not need a diagnosis. You do not need the school’s agreement. You do not need to wait out an intervention program. The district has an affirmative duty - called child find - to locate and evaluate every child who may need special education (34 C.F.R. § 300.111). Your letter puts that duty in motion and on the record.

Send it to: the school principal and the district’s director of special education. Copy your child’s teacher.

One clock to watch. The federal 60-day evaluation clock does not start when this letter arrives. It starts when the district receives your signed consent form (34 C.F.R. § 300.301(c)). Many states substitute their own timeline - some shorter, some counted in school days. That is why the letter asks for the consent form immediately. Until you sign consent, no clock is running.