The school said no. Now find your deadline.

The Deadline Calculator

Free. Nothing you type leaves this page — the math runs in your browser.

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Date you sent the written request (or referral date)

Date the district received your signed consent

Your school calendar (needed for exact dates)

First day of school

Last day of school

First day of next year (if a count crosses summer)

Breaks — Thanksgiving, winter, spring, any week school is out:

These are all the breaks in the period

Your child's absences during the count (Texas / Florida rules)

Date the evaluation report was finished (Texas, if you have it)

Date eligibility was decided (optional)

Florida: we agreed in writing to a 30-day extension before day 45

Show my deadlines

Why the date matters more than the argument

Most IEP fights are not won by arguing harder. They are won because a parent can say, in writing: "You received my consent on this date. The rule gives you this many days. That date has passed." Federal law guarantees your child a free evaluation — but the timeline is set by your state, counted in school days in some states and calendar days in others, with pauses and extensions most parents never hear about. The districts count these days every week. Now you can count them too.

The five states with full date engines — California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois — cover the states whose rules differ most. Every other state's verified timeline is in the table below and on its state page.

Every state's evaluation timeline

Rules checked October 2026 — every rule on this page is cited to its source. Verify day counts against your district's official calendar.

The words, in plain English

Evaluation — the testing the school must do, free, to find out whether your child qualifies. IEP — the written plan that follows if your child qualifies under the IDEA law. 504 plan — accommodations under a different law (Section 504), for a child who needs access more than specialized teaching. Prior written notice — the school's duty to explain, in writing, whenever it refuses or changes something. A refusal without it is a paper defect you can use.

New to the fight? Start with the request letter that starts the clock, or read what to do when the school says no.