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Letter 36: Request for an IDEA Evaluation of a Child with a 504 Plan

When to Use It

Send this letter when the 504 plan is being followed and your child is still struggling. Accommodations level the field; they do not teach. If your child needs specially designed instruction, that comes only through an IEP. A 504 plan does not pause the district’s child find duty under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - the duty to locate and evaluate every child suspected of having a disability, a 504 plan or not (34 C.F.R. § 300.111). This letter asks for the full evaluation, in all areas of suspected disability (34 C.F.R. §§ 300.301, 300.304(c)(4)).

Two clocks, one plan. The federal evaluation clock - 60 days, unless your state substitutes its own timeline, and many do - starts when the district receives your signed consent, not when this letter arrives (34 C.F.R. § 300.301(c)). And nothing about this request suspends the 504 plan. The district’s Section 504 obligations continue, and the current plan stays in place and fully implemented while the evaluation proceeds (34 C.F.R. § 104.33).

Send it to: the director of special education, with copies to the 504 coordinator and the principal.