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

Maryland has two deadlines running at once. Here is exactly what Maryland law requires, how to tell which one binds in your case, and what to do if the date passes.

Why the dual deadline matters so much

In most states only one clock runs, and it starts at consent. That leaves a gap: a district can take weeks to give you a consent form, and none of that delay counts against it.

Maryland closes that gap. The 90-day referral clock is running the whole time — from the day the agency received your written referral, before any consent form existed. The slower the district is with paperwork, the more likely it is that the 90-day date, not the 60-day date, becomes the binding one.

How to work out which deadline binds you

You need two dates: the day the agency received your written referral, and the day it received your signed consent. Then:

1. Add 90 calendar days to the referral date. Write that date down.
2. Add 60 calendar days to the consent date. Write that date down.
3. The earlier of the two is your deadline.

The practical rule of thumb: if consent came back within 30 days of the referral, the 90-day referral date is later, so the 60-day consent date controls. If the district took more than 30 days to get consent in hand, the 90-day referral date lands first and it controls — the district has effectively burned its own cushion.

How to count your deadline

1. Find the date the agency received your written referral. Put the referral in writing precisely so this date exists.
2. Find the date the agency received your signed consent. Not the date you signed it — the date they got it.
3. Count 90 calendar days from the referral, and 60 calendar days from the consent. Include weekends and holidays for both.
4. Take whichever date comes first. That is the deadline for the initial evaluation.

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 both the referral date and the consent date, both deadline dates, which one came first, and that it has passed. A phone call creates no record.
2. Ask for prior written notice. If the agency 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 Maryland this goes to the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). It is free and does not require a lawyer.
4. Keep the paper trail. Every date, every email, every response.