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.

The part most parents miss: 80 calendar days, but the clock pauses

The 80 days are calendar days, not school days. You can tell from the rule itself: everywhere else Policy 2419 means school days it says "school days" explicitly (the 5-day consent rule, the 45-day steps), while the 80-day timeline just says "days." And the policy lists summer break as an exception that pauses the count — which would be meaningless if the count already skipped non-school days.

So the 80 days run on the calendar, but they pause (toll) for:

• Summer break — the days school is out for summer do not count.
• Weather closures — days the district is closed for weather.
• Governor-declared states of emergency that close the district.

Weekends and ordinary holidays do count. So consent signed mid-year gives you a date under three months out; consent signed near summer stretches later, because the summer weeks drop out.

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: within 5 days of the district's decision to evaluate, it must give you the written notice requesting consent.

This matters because a district that decides to evaluate and then sits on the consent paperwork has a deadline of its own — even though the 80-day clock has not started yet. 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. Count forward 80 calendar days, including weekends and ordinary holidays.
3. Add back (do not count) any summer-break days, weather-closure days, or state-emergency closure days that fall in the window.
4. That date is the deadline for all evaluations and the Eligibility Committee meeting. Ask the district to confirm the exact date in writing.

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.