How to Get an IEP in California, and How a 504 Plan Differs

Choose the day the district received your request to see each step and the date it falls due if no school break is left out.

California special education · rules as of November 2026

I sent the letter. What has to happen, and by when?

Choose the day the district received your request, then the day it received your signed consent. You see each step the law sets, with the date it falls due if no school break is left out.

Choose the day the district received your request

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Choose the day the district received your signed consent

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I have not signed yetShow the example

Example: the district received your signed consent on Monday, March 22, 2027 IEP meeting no later than May 21 2027. That is the date if there is no long school break in between. A summer break or another long break makes it later.

The 60 days start on the day the district receives your signed consent. Your request starts only the first 15 days. In between, the law gives you at least 15 days to decide. That is a minimum for you. It is not a deadline.

We count calendar days, as the law does. The law leaves out days between school terms and school vacations longer than 5 school days. We do not hold any district’s calendar, so these dates leave out no break. The real date can be later.

The steps, each with its date if no break is left out

1. Step 1 Mar 1, 2027

   The district receives your request

   A written request starts the process. If you ask out loud, school staff must offer to help you put it in writing.

2. Step 2 · within 15 days Mar 16, 2027

   The assessment plan, in writing

   No later than Tuesday, March 16, 2027, if there is no long school break in between. If the district agrees to assess, it has 15 days to give you a written plan. The plan names the kinds of tests the district will use. If it will not assess, it must tell you why in writing.

3. Step 3 · your time 15 days or more

   You decide

   The law gives you at least 15 days from the day you get the plan. This is a minimum for you. It is not a deadline. Testing can start as soon as the district has your consent. Your consent covers the testing only. It does not agree to any services.

4. Step 4 · within 60 days of your consent May 21, 2027

   The eligibility decision and the IEP meeting

   No later than Friday, May 21, 2027, if there is no long school break in between. The 60 days are counted from Monday, March 22, 2027, the day the district received your signed consent. By then the district must decide whether your child is eligible and hold an IEP meeting.

After the first IEP

Three more limits apply each year. We print no dates for them, because each one counts from a day we do not know.

• 1year at most between reviews. The IEP team meets at least once a year to review progress, goals and placement.
• 3years at most between reassessments. The district tests again at least every 3 years, unless you and the district agree in writing that it is not needed.
• 30days to a meeting you ask for. Ask in writing. The district must hold the meeting within 30 days. Days between school terms and school vacations longer than 5 school days do not count.

These are the law’s outer limits, and a district can move faster. You and the district can agree in writing to extend the 15 days or the 60 days. The 60 days also do not apply if the child moves to a new district partway through and you agree on a new date with it, or if a parent repeatedly does not bring the child to the assessment. A request made in the last weeks of a school year follows a separate rule, which is in the table.

Is your child turning 3 and leaving Early Start? →

See every step and deadline as a table

Each step after a written request, its limit in law and its date with no break left out. Example: the district received your signed consent on Monday, March 22, 2027.

Step	The limit in law	Date, no break left out	Source
The district receives your request	A written request starts the process. A spoken request counts too, and staff must offer to help you put it in writing.	Monday, March 1, 2027	Education Code 56029; 5 CCR 3021
The assessment plan, in writing	If the district agrees to assess, within 15 calendar days of the request. Days between school terms and school vacations longer than 5 school days do not count. If the district will not assess, it must tell you why in writing. You can agree in writing to more time.	No later than Tuesday, March 16, 2027, if there is no long school break in between	Education Code 56321; 56043; 34 CFR 300.503
Your time to decide on the plan	At least 15 days from the day you get the plan. It is a minimum for you. It is not a deadline.	No date. You choose when to sign.	Education Code 56321
The district receives your signed consent	Testing can begin right away. The 60 days start on this day.	Monday, March 22, 2027	Education Code 56321
The eligibility decision and the IEP meeting	Within 60 calendar days of the day the district receives your signed consent. Days between school terms and school vacations longer than 5 school days do not count. You can agree in writing to more time.	No later than Friday, May 21, 2027, if there is no long school break in between	Education Code 56344; 56302.1; 56043
A request made 10 days or less before the school year ends	The assessment plan is due within 10 days after the next school year or term starts.	Depends on your district’s calendar	Education Code 56321
A request made 30 days or less before the school year ends	The IEP is due within 30 days after the next school year starts.	Depends on your district’s calendar	Education Code 56344
Review of the IEP	At least once a year.	Depends on the day of the last review	Education Code 56343
Reassessment	At least every 3 years, unless you and the district agree in writing that it is not needed. No more than once a year, unless you both agree.	Depends on the day of the last assessment	Education Code 56381
A meeting you ask for in writing	Within 30 days of the day the district receives your written request. Days between school terms and school vacations longer than 5 school days do not count.	Depends on the day you ask	Education Code 56343.5

How do I request an assessment for my child?

Write to the school district and say you are requesting an assessment for special education.

The law defines the request as a written request from a parent, a teacher or a foster parent. Disability Rights California publishes a manual for parents, and it suggests writing to the principal or the special education director. A spoken request still counts. School staff must then offer to help you put it in writing. We’d write the letter ourselves and keep a dated copy, because both deadlines count from dates.

A sample request. This is an example, not a legal form.

Dear [principal or special education director],

I am the parent of [child’s full name], born [date], who is in grade [grade] at [school]. I am requesting an assessment to find out whether my child is eligible for special education. This letter is my written referral under California Education Code 56029. I am concerned about [what you see, in your own words]. If the district will assess my child, please send me the written assessment plan within 15 days, as Education Code 56321 requires, in [your language]. If the district will not assess my child, please tell me why in writing. Please also send me copies of the assessment reports before the IEP meeting.

[Your name, address, phone and email, and the date]

The assessment plan must be in plain language. It must be in your native language unless that is clearly not feasible. It must also explain the kinds of tests the district plans. Signing the plan agrees to the testing only. The law says consent to an assessment is not consent to services or placement.

You do not have to wait for the school to suggest it. Districts must look for children who may need special education, including children who are passing from grade to grade. Once the district has your letter, the first count begins.

How long can the district take?

If the district agrees to assess, it has 15 days to send the assessment plan, then 60 days from the day it receives your signed consent to meet.

Both counts are calendar days. Neither count includes days between school terms or school vacations longer than five school days. During those days the count stops, and it starts again when school does (Education Code 56321, 56344). We do not hold any district’s calendar, so the figure above prints each date with no break left out. The real date can be later than the one it shows.

Your own time sits between the two counts. The law gives you “at least 15 days” to decide on the plan. You may hear that you must sign within 15 days, but the law sets 15 days as your minimum. You can sign on the first day, and the district can start testing as soon as it has your consent. The 60 days begin on the day the district receives that consent, not the day you sign it. A later consent usually means a later meeting date.

Inside the 60 days, the district must decide whether your child is eligible and hold an IEP meeting. The district can take longer if you agree to an extension in writing. The 60 days also do not apply in two cases. One is a child who moves to a new district before the first district decides, when you and the new district agree on a date to finish. The other is a parent who repeatedly does not bring the child to the assessment.

A request near the end of the school year follows a separate rule. Say you make the request 10 days or less before the school year ends. The plan is then due within 10 days after the next school year or term starts. A request made 30 days or less before the year ends has a second rule. The IEP is then due within 30 days after the next school year starts.

Most first assessments in California finish on time, and some do not. We read the federal report for the 2023–24 school year. In that year California finished 148,551 of 157,933 first assessments inside the timeline, which is 94.06%. Another 9,382 children waited longer (California’s Annual Performance Report, federal fiscal year 2023). The federal target is 100%. The U.S. Department of Education has since listed a newer report for California, which we have not read.

The IEP team decides at that meeting whether your child qualifies.

Who qualifies for an IEP, and how is a 504 plan different?

A child qualifies when the team finds a listed disability and, because of it, a need for special education.

California’s test has those two parts. The second part asks whether the child needs instruction and services that a changed regular program can’t provide. The state regulation lists 13 categories, from autism to visual impairment. For children aged 3 to 5 the law adds one more, an established medical disability. The regulation also says no single score can be the only reason for the team’s decision.

Two details matter for a child who struggles with reading. California law names dyslexia inside the category called specific learning disability. The same section says a district is not required to find a severe gap between ability and achievement.

Some needs do not qualify a child on their own. The law names limited English, a lack of instruction in reading or math, and a temporary physical disability. It also names social maladjustment and environmental, cultural or economic factors (Education Code 56026). Some children have a listed disability but need only a related service, with no special instruction. Under the federal rule, such a child does not qualify, unless the state counts that service as special education. You do not have to settle which kind of need your child has before you ask. The assessment is how the team finds out. We can’t tell you whether your child will qualify. The IEP team decides, and you are a member of it.

In 2025–26, 883,862 California students had an IEP in the state’s Census Day count (California Department of Education). The Public Policy Institute of California says students with disabilities are about 15% of total enrollment. The largest category was specific learning disability, with 269,401 students. Autism had 205,789, speech or language impairment 181,529, and other health impairment 138,167. By our arithmetic on the state’s counts, those are 30.5%, 23.3%, 20.5% and 15.6% of students with IEPs. A school’s SchoolScope profile shows state results for students with disabilities where the state publishes them (search schools).

A 504 plan comes from a civil rights law. It reaches conditions that do not typically qualify a child for an IEP, and it has fewer fixed deadlines.

The 504 rule is looser about timing. It requires an evaluation before a child is first placed and before a significant change in placement. It requires re-evaluation that is “periodic”, with no set interval. The rule says a group of people who know the child, the evaluation data and the placement options makes the placement decision. An IEP is reviewed at least once a year.

We could not establish whether a 504 plan must be written down. The parts of the federal rule we read do not use the words “504 plan”. California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office describes it as an individualized plan that “specifies how schools will accommodate” a student’s medical needs. Its examples are diabetes and severe allergies. We’d ask the district for the plan in writing.

The two plans overlap. A child with an IEP does not need a separate 504 plan. The IEP is one way to meet Section 504. Some children have a listed disability but do not need special education. Such a child may still be eligible under Section 504, and the district must decide child by child. The Office for Civil Rights also says a 504 plan can include special education and related services. Disability Rights California reads state law as wider than the federal rule. In its reading, an impairment that “limits” a major life activity is enough. We did not read the state statutes behind that reading.

For an IEP, the IEP team decides at its meeting. That meeting has its own rules.

What happens at the IEP meeting, and what am I agreeing to?

You are a member of the IEP team, and you can consent to part of the IEP.

You can withhold consent from the rest. The team includes one or both parents, a representative you choose, or both. It includes at least one regular education teacher if your child is, or may be, in a regular class. It also includes a special education teacher or provider and a district representative who knows what the district can provide. A required team member can skip the meeting only if you agree in writing. Your child joins when appropriate. You can invite other people who know your child. The person who invites someone decides whether that person has the knowledge to be there.

The meeting is set at a time and place you and the district agree on. The law lets the district hold the meeting without you only if it cannot convince you to attend and has kept a record of its tries to find a time. The district must take any action necessary to make sure you understand the meeting. That includes arranging an interpreter for a parent who is deaf or whose native language is not English. You may audio record the meeting if you tell the team at least 24 hours before. The law speaks of audio recording and does not mention video. If the district wants to record and you object, the meeting is not recorded.

No federal or state law sets how many days before the meeting the district must give you the assessment reports. Disability Rights California says so in its manual. What the law does give you is a records request. When you ask for your child’s school records, the district must provide copies within five business days. The copies must also come before any IEP meeting. The request can be spoken or written. We’d make it in writing, and the sample letter above already asks. You also get a copy of the assessment report and a free copy of the IEP.

The IEP itself is a written document. It states how your child is doing now, measurable yearly goals, and how the school will measure and report progress. It lists each service with its start date and its frequency, location and duration (Education Code 56345). It explains any time your child will spend away from classmates without disabilities. The district is responsible for providing the services written in the IEP. The law does not promise that a child will meet each goal.

You do not have to accept or refuse the whole document. If you consent in writing to some parts, the district must put those parts in place without delaying services. If the district believes a part you refused is necessary, it must start a due process hearing. A due process hearing is a hearing before a judge from the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings. Disability Rights California says the refused parts “cannot be implemented” and may be decided in that hearing. The first offer of special education works differently. If you refuse it, the district cannot use a hearing to provide the services anyway. After services start, you can also revoke your consent in writing at any time.

An IEP you do not sign does not cancel the one before it. Disability Rights California says IEPs do not expire, and “the last agreed-upon and implemented IEP remains in effect”.

After the first IEP, the team meets at least once a year. The district reassesses your child at least every three years. You and the district can agree in writing that a reassessment is not needed. If you ask for a meeting in writing, the district must hold it within 30 days. Days between school terms and school vacations longer than five school days do not count.

What can I do if I disagree?

You can ask for an independent assessment, file a state complaint, try mediation, or request a due process hearing.

The routes have different time limits.

The law says an independent assessment comes from qualified specialists. When you ask for one at public expense, the district has two choices. It can pay, or it can file for a hearing to show that its own assessment was appropriate. If the district wins that hearing, you can still get an independent assessment at your own cost. The district must consider the results (Education Code 56329).

A complaint and a hearing go to different places. The California Department of Education investigates complaints. It says it completes investigations within 60 days of receiving the complaint and can extend that time in exceptional circumstances. In the federal report for 2023–24, the state issued 77.31% of its complaint decisions on time (Annual Performance Report). Mediation and hearings are run by the Office of Administrative Hearings, not by the department’s complaint unit.

A hearing request also protects your child’s current program. While a hearing or a court case is pending, your child stays in the present placement. You and the district can agree otherwise. Federal rules also set special cases, such as a discipline case or a child starting public school for the first time (Education Code 56505, 34 CFR 300.518).

Will an assessment cost money, label my child or expose our records?

An assessment does not place your child in special education, and the first offer of services starts only with your consent.

Does it cost anything?

The law describes the education an eligible child receives as a “free appropriate public education”. The district gives you a copy of the IEP at no cost. The district must conduct the first assessment itself (34 CFR 300.301). An independent assessment can be at public expense, which means the district pays for it or makes sure it costs you nothing. In the law we read, we did not find a sentence that says the district’s own assessment is free. The Center for Parent Information and Resources, which the U.S. Department of Education funds, says that when the school agrees an evaluation is needed, it “must evaluate the child at no cost to parents.” Ask the district to confirm in writing that it charges nothing.

Some costs can stay with you. If you hire a lawyer or an expert for a hearing, you pay for them. The state pays for mediation and for the hearing itself.

Will it label my child?

An assessment answers two questions. Is your child eligible, and what does your child need? It does not decide services on its own. If the team finds your child eligible, you choose whether the first offer of services starts. The law also sets a direction for placement. Children with disabilities are educated with children who are not disabled “to the maximum extent appropriate”. In 2025–26, 60.9% of California students with IEPs spent most of the day in a regular class. Most here means at least 80% of the school day (California Department of Education). Before the district decides a child no longer qualifies, it must reassess the child. The two exceptions are a student who graduates with a regular diploma and a student who ages out of eligibility. We can’t tell you how teachers or classmates will treat a child who has an IEP. No record we read measures that.

Who sees the records?

The district needs your consent before it shares information that identifies your child (34 CFR 300.622). There are exceptions. Officials of agencies that take part in your child’s special education can receive it for that purpose. The federal student privacy rules also allow some other disclosures without consent. We did not read those privacy rules. You can see the records yourself, with copies within five business days of asking.

Does immigration status matter?

We did not read a source on immigration status and special education, so this guide can’t answer that question.

What if the district says no?

The law has a rule for a district that refuses to assess. It must say so in writing. The Education Code starts its 15-day rule with an “if”. “If an assessment ... is to be conducted”, the district must give you the plan within 15 days. The state regulation says all referrals “shall initiate the assessment process”. Disability Rights California says the plan is due within 15 days “unless the district disagrees with the need for assessment”.

The federal rule says a district must give you written notice before it refuses to evaluate your child. The notice must describe what it refuses and explain why. It must also say where you can get help. We did not find a source in the law we read that says a district must always assess when a parent asks. If a district says no, keep the notice. You can complain to the state, try mediation, or request a hearing. A hearing can cover a refusal to start an assessment.

What about charter and private schools?

A charter school is part of the public school system in California. Children with IEPs at charter schools are served “in the same manner” as children in other public schools. They keep all their rights under the federal rules. Some charters are a school of the district that granted the charter. That district must make sure the IEP is carried out. A charter school also can’t refuse a student solely because of a disability. The Legislative Analyst’s Office says state and federal law both prohibit it.

Private school is different. A child whose parents chose a private school has no individual right to a public school’s special education. For each private school child the district designates to receive some services, it must develop and carry out a “services plan”. The district is not required to pay for a private school you chose. That holds if the district offered a free appropriate public education (Education Code 56174). Districts must still find and evaluate children in private schools. Disability Rights California suggests sending your request to two districts. One is where you live, and the other is where the private school is. A home school that California recognizes as a private school is treated as one for these rules.