West Virginia IEP evaluation deadline: how long does the school have?

You signed consent for an evaluation. Here is exactly what West Virginia policy requires next, and what to do if the date passes.

Read this before you count: we cannot confirm the day type

This is the one thing on this page we are not certain about, and it changes your date by months.

Our sources state the deadline as "80 days." They do not clearly confirm whether those are calendar days or school days. The "calendar day" description that circulates online comes from advocacy summaries, not from the text of Policy 2419 itself. We are not going to repeat it as settled.

Why this matters so much:

• If they are calendar days, 80 days is under three months, and weekends, holidays and summer are all inside the count.
• If they are school days, 80 days is roughly a full semester of instruction, and summer break would not count at all — potentially pushing the deadline months later.

What to do: before you rely on any date, ask your district in writing to confirm whether the 80 days are calendar days or school days, and check the current text of WVDE Policy 2419 yourself. Ask them to put the specific deadline date in writing. That one email removes the ambiguity for your child's case.

There is an earlier deadline before this one

The 80-day clock only starts once you have signed consent. But the district has its own deadline to get you that paperwork: after a written referral, it must give you the consent form within 5 days.

This matters because a district that sits on your request for weeks has already violated the policy — even though the 80-day clock never technically started. Put your referral in writing and keep the date.

How to count your deadline

1. Find the date the district received your written consent. Not the date you signed it — the date they got it.
2. Ask the district, in writing, to confirm whether the 80 days are calendar days or school days, and to state the resulting deadline date.
3. Count forward 80 days using the answer you get, and check it against the current Policy 2419 text.
4. That date is the deadline for all evaluations and the Eligibility Committee meeting.

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 consent 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 West Virginia this goes to the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE), Office of Special Education. It is free and does not require a lawyer.
4. Keep the paper trail. Every date, every email, every response — including the district's written answer on how it counts the 80 days.