The honest answer is: it depends on your state, and on which clock you mean. The first clock is how fast the school must answer your written request. The second, longer clock starts only after you sign consent for testing. A page that gives one number for both leaves out what decides your actual date.
Federal law says the evaluation must be conducted within 60 days of the school receiving your signed consent, unless your state has set its own timeframe (34 CFR §300.301(c)). Read that carefully. The 60 days in 34 CFR §300.301(c) do not start when you ask. They start when the school receives your consent. And if your state has set its own timeframe, the state timeframe applies to you, not the federal number.
That is why "60 days" pages mislead. They quote the federal backup rule as if it were everyone's rule, start it on the wrong day, and ignore how your state counts days.
California works in calendar days, but not every calendar day counts. Testing and the meeting to decide eligibility are due within 60 days of the school receiving your consent, not counting days between school terms or vacation days longer than 5 school days (California Education Code §56043(c)). A long summer break can stretch the real date well beyond a simple count.
Texas counts school days, meaning days school is in session. The evaluation is due within 45 school days of the school receiving your signed consent (19 TAC §89.1011(c)). Weekends, holidays, and breaks do not count, so the count in 19 TAC §89.1011(c) can cover nine weeks or more of calendar time.
Florida gives 60 calendar days from the school receiving your consent to finish the evaluation (Florida Rule 6A-6.0331(3)(g)). But that count excludes some days, including days when the student is absent, under Rule 6A-6.0331(3)(g). A child's absences can move the date, which is why the school's own written count matters.
New York runs two clocks side by side: the evaluation must be completed in time for the committee to meet, and the committee must meet and make its recommendation within 60 school days of the school receiving your consent (8 NYCRR §200.4(b)(1)). Because two counts run at once, ask the district in writing which date it is working to.
Illinois requires the eligibility decision within 60 school days of the school receiving your consent (23 Ill. Admin. Code §226.110(d)). Illinois also expects the process not to be stretched simply because the full time is available, under 23 Ill. Admin. Code §226.110(d). If testing drags with no reason given, ask for the reason in writing.
Do not rely on a general page, including this one, for your deadline. Note the date the school received your signed consent, with proof. Ask the district, in writing, to confirm the state rule it is using, how it counts days, and the date it counts as your deadline. Keep that answer; the written exchange settles any difference in counting before the date passes.
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Rules checked October 2026 — every rule on this page is cited to its source. Verify day counts against your district's official calendar.