Connecticut IEP evaluation deadline: how long does the school have?

You made a written referral. Here is exactly what Connecticut law requires next, and what to do if the date passes.

The part most parents miss: Connecticut's clock is unusual — and it favors you

In most states the clock only starts once you sign consent, and it only covers the evaluation. Connecticut is different on both counts.

It starts at referral. The day the district receives your written referral, the 45 school days begin. A district cannot burn weeks getting you a consent form and call it free time.

It ends at IEP implementation. Not the report. Not the eligibility meeting. The services actually starting.

The federal 60-calendar-day rule does not apply here. Per CSDE guidance, since 2020–21 the state timeline governs in Connecticut. If someone at the district tells you they have 60 calendar days, that is out of date.

Out-of-district and private placements get longer

If the evaluation involves an out-of-district or private placement, the timeline is 60 school days rather than 45.

How to count your deadline

1. Find the date the district received your written referral. Not the date you mailed it — the date they got it.
2. Count forward 45 school days. Only days students are in attendance for instruction count — weekends, holidays, breaks, and summer do not.
3. Add back the days the district was waiting on your signed ED625, up to 10 school days.
4. Add back the days it was waiting on your signed ED626, up to 10 school days.
5. That date is the deadline for the evaluation, the eligibility decision, and the IEP being implemented. Use 60 school days instead of 45 for an out-of-district or private placement.

What to do if the deadline passes

1. Put it in writing the same week. Email the case manager and the special education director. State the referral date, the deadline date, and that it has passed. A phone call creates no record.
2. Ask for prior written notice. If the district refuses or delays, you are entitled to a written explanation of what it is doing and why.
3. File a state complaint. A missed timeline is a straightforward compliance violation. In Connecticut this goes to the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE), Bureau of Special Education. It is free and does not require a lawyer.
4. Keep the paper trail. Every date, every email, every response.