← All letters

Letter 11: Parent Request for Reevaluation

When to Use It

Send this letter when something has changed since the last evaluation and the IEP is being built on stale numbers. A new diagnosis. A sharp decline in grades or behavior. Services that have run for a year without movement in the data. A big transition ahead. The IDEA gives you this lever directly: the district must conduct a reevaluation if the parent requests one (34 C.F.R. § 300.303(a)(2)).

Two limits to know before you send. A reevaluation may not happen more than once a year unless you and the district agree otherwise, and it must happen at least every 3 years unless you and the district agree it is unnecessary (34 C.F.R. § 300.303(b)). And the district needs your informed consent before it reevaluates (34 C.F.R. § 300.300(c)) - which is why this letter asks for the consent forms in the same breath. If the district refuses your request, it owes you prior written notice explaining why (34 C.F.R. § 300.503).

Send it to: the director of special education, with a copy to your child’s case manager.