Turning 3: From Early Start to the School District

Choose your child’s birth date, and see the latest date for each step.

California Early Start · before age 3

What has to happen before the third birthday?

Choose your child’s birth date. You see each step the rules set, on its latest date.

Choose your child’s birth date

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Or try an example

The exampleA July birthdayA birthday 60 days away

Example: born May 15, 2024 Early Start ends on May 15 2027. The transition plan, and any notice and meeting with the school district, are due by February 14, 2027.

Early Start does not continue past the birthday. The state says it cannot be continued. If you and the district disagree about the first IEP, Early Start services do not keep running during the dispute. Services from the school district or the Regional Center are separate decisions.

The months before the third birthday

1. Earliest start · 9 months before Aug 15, 2026

   Planning can start

   Federal rule lets the transition plan and the meeting with the district happen from this day, if everyone agrees.

2. California’s step · 6 months before Nov 15, 2026

   Your coordinator gives notice

   State regulation has your service coordinator tell you and the school district that transition planning is coming, for a child who may be eligible for special education. Within 30 days of that notice, you, the coordinator and the district agree on a meeting date. This state rule is being revised.

3. Federal deadline · 90 days before Feb 14, 2027

   Plan, notice, meeting, assessment

   Sunday, February 14, 2027 at the latest, for a child already in Early Start. Up to four things are due by this day, and the list is below. State regulation also sets the referral for the district’s evaluation by age 2 years 9 months, which is February 15, 2027.

4. The third birthday May 15, 2027

   Early Start ends

   Saturday, May 15, 2027. If the district finds your child eligible, an IEP or an IFSP must be written and being carried out by this day. Services start only with your consent. For a summer birthday, the IEP team sets the start day.

Up to four things are due by February 14, 2027

1. A transition plan in your child’s Early Start plan. Early Start writes it with you. It covers the options from the birthday to the end of that school year (34 CFR 303.209).
2. A notice to the school district. It is sent for a child who may be eligible for special education. It holds your child’s name, date of birth and your contact details. California reports no written opt-out policy for this notice.
3. A meeting with the school district. Its official name is the transition conference. It is held only with your approval, for a child who may be eligible for special education.
4. The Regional Center’s own assessment. For a child in Early Start through the center who has not already been found eligible, the center must assess for its services after 3.

On May 15, 2027

• EndsEarly StartAll Early Start services end when a child turns 3.
• May continueSchool district servicesOnly if the district finds your child eligible for special education. The services are then written in an IEP (Education Code 56426.9).
• May continueRegional Center servicesOnly if your child meets the state’s full definition of a developmental disability, or provisional eligibility for a child under 5 (Welfare and Institutions Code 4512).

These are the latest dates the rules allow for a child already in Early Start, and a date on a weekend is still the latest date. California’s six-month rule is being revised. On October 30, 2026 the state proposed to allow planning up to nine months before the birthday, and it takes comments until December 17, 2026. We read the rules and pages linked here on November 11, 2026. No date here is a promise about your child’s case.

How Early Start works before 3 → What an IEP is →

See every step and rule as a table

Each step before the third birthday, its rule and its date. Example: born May 15, 2024.

Step	The rule	Date for this birthday	Source
Earliest day for the transition plan and the meeting	Not more than 9 months before the third birthday, if everyone agrees.	Saturday, August 15, 2026	34 CFR 303.209
California’s notice to you and the district	Six months before the third birthday. A meeting date is agreed within 30 days of the notice. The state proposed a change on October 30, 2026.	Sunday, November 15, 2026	17 CCR 52112; proposed change
Transition plan in the Early Start plan	Not fewer than 90 days before the third birthday.	Sunday, February 14, 2027	34 CFR 303.209
Notice to the school district and the state	Not fewer than 90 days before the third birthday, for a child who may be eligible for special education. It holds the child’s name, date of birth and parent contact details. Asked whether it has a written opt-out policy for this notice, California answered “no” in its report to the federal government.	Sunday, February 14, 2027	34 CFR 303.209; 303.401; state performance report
Meeting with the school district (transition conference)	Not fewer than 90 days before the third birthday, with the family’s approval, for a child who may be eligible for special education.	Sunday, February 14, 2027	34 CFR 303.209
Regional Center’s assessment for its own services	At least 90 days before the child turns 3, for a child in Early Start through the center who has not already been found eligible, fully or provisionally.	Sunday, February 14, 2027	Welfare and Institutions Code 4512
Referral for the district’s evaluation	No later than age 2 years 9 months, or before the district’s break if the child turns 3 during a break.	Monday, February 15, 2027	17 CCR 52112
The district’s own limits after a referral	If the district will assess: an assessment plan within 15 days of the referral, then the IEP within 60 days after the district receives your written consent. If it will not assess, it must say why in writing. Days between school terms and school vacations longer than five school days are not counted. The 60 days also do not apply when a child moves to a new district or a parent repeatedly does not bring the child to the assessment. You can agree in writing to more time.	Depends on the district’s calendar	Education Code 56321; 56344; 56302.1
Early Start ends	All Early Start services end when a child turns 3.	Saturday, May 15, 2027	DDS Early Start FAQ
IEP or IFSP written and being carried out, if the child is eligible	By the third birthday. Federal rules let an IFSP serve in place of the IEP if the parents agree. Services start with the parents’ consent.	Saturday, May 15, 2027	34 CFR 300.124; Education Code 56426.9
A third birthday in the summer	The IEP team sets the day services begin.	Depends on the district’s calendar	34 CFR 300.101; Education Code 56426.9
Found eligible for Early Start more than 45 and fewer than 90 days before the birthday	If the child may be eligible for special education, Early Start notifies the district as soon as possible.	After February 14, 2027 and before March 31, 2027	34 CFR 303.209
Referred to Early Start fewer than 45 days before the birthday	If the child may be eligible for special education, Early Start does not have to evaluate. With the parent’s consent, it refers the child to the district.	After March 31, 2027	34 CFR 303.209
In Early Start, and referred to the district fewer than 90 days before the birthday	The district still finishes its evaluation. If the child is eligible, it has an IEP by the birthday, even when its 60-day limit ends later.	After February 14, 2027	DDS and CDE guide, 2013
Regional Center services after 3	The full definition of a developmental disability, or provisional eligibility for a child under 5. Provisional eligibility is reassessed at least 90 days before age 5. Services end at 5 if the child does not then meet the full definition, unless an appeal was filed.	From May 15, 2027	Welfare and Institutions Code 4512

What has to happen before the third birthday, and by when?

The federal deadline is 90 days before the birthday, and planning can start up to nine months before it.

Federal rules set that window for the transition plan and for a meeting with the school district (34 CFR 303.209). The window assumes your child is already in Early Start. Starting at nine months needs everyone to agree. The transition plan is written into your child’s Early Start plan. That plan’s official name is the Individualized Family Service Plan, or IFSP. The meeting’s official name is the transition conference.

California’s own regulation uses a shorter window. It has your service coordinator notify you and the district six months before the birthday, for a child who may be eligible for special education. Within 30 days of that notice, you, the coordinator and the district agree on a meeting date (17 CCR 52112). On October 30, 2026, the state proposed to widen its window from six months to nine. Comments close December 17, 2026 (notice), and the proposal is not law yet. We read the rules and pages linked in this guide on November 11, 2026.

Up to four things are due by the 90-day date:

• The transition plan is in the IFSP. You must be included in writing it. It reviews the options from the birthday to the end of that school year.
• Early Start notifies the school district and the state. This applies to a child who may qualify for special education.
• The transition conference is held, if you approve it and your child may qualify for special education. The district must take part.
• The Regional Center assesses your child for its own services after 3. This applies to a child in Early Start through the center who has not already been found eligible, fully or provisionally (Welfare and Institutions Code 4512).

The last deadline is the birthday. An IEP, or Individualized Education Program, is the school district’s written plan for special education. If the district finds your child eligible, it must make sure an IEP or an IFSP has been developed and is being carried out by the third birthday (Education Code 56426.9, 34 CFR 300.124). The federal rule lets an IFSP serve in place of the IEP when you agree (34 CFR 300.323). Special education services start only after you consent to them (34 CFR 300.300). A summer birthday has its own rule, covered below.

The district has its own limits once it gets a referral. If the district will assess your child, it gives you a proposed assessment plan within 15 days of the referral. If it will not assess, it must tell you why in writing. The IEP is due within 60 days after the district receives your written consent to the assessment. You can agree in writing to more time for either one. Days between school terms and school vacations longer than five school days are left out of both counts. The 60 days also do not apply in two cases (Education Code 56302.1). One is a child who moves to a new district before the first one decides, when you and the new district agree on a date. The other is a parent who repeatedly does not bring the child to the assessment. A referral made near the end of the school year gets later dates. By our arithmetic, those two limits alone can take 75 days, and a school break adds more. A child referred fewer than 90 days before the birthday is covered by the late start rules below.

The state reports how often this deadline is met. For program year 2024–25, 85.47% of the children it counted had an IEP developed and being carried out by the third birthday (State Board of Education, January 2026). The state counts children referred from Early Start. It leaves out children found not eligible before the birthday, children whose parent’s refusal to consent caused a delay, and children who joined Early Start fewer than 90 days before the birthday. The target is 100%. The state also reviewed 485 Early Start records for federal fiscal year 2024. The notice to the district was late in 34 of them. Those 485 records are a sample the state checked, so the count describes that sample.

Can I stop the notice to the school district?

No. California reports no written opt-out policy for the notice, and three later steps need your permission.

Federal rules let a state give parents a set time to object in writing. California told the federal government that it has no written opt-out policy. The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) tells parents the notice “is required by law” (Early Start FAQ).

The notice is short. The federal rule lists your child’s name, your child’s date of birth and your contact information.

Three steps after it need your permission:

• The fuller referral. With your permission, the district can also get your child’s recent IFSPs, evaluations and the service coordinator’s details. DDS says this “can help” the district decide whether your child qualifies (Early Start FAQ).
• The district’s assessment. DDS says that when the district contacts you to start, “you can decline the assessment.” Federal rules let the district ask for mediation or a due process hearing about a refusal, and they do not require it (34 CFR 300.300).
• The transition conference. Early Start holds it “with the approval of the family” (34 CFR 303.209). In the state’s review of 485 records, the parents of 80 toddlers did not approve one.

Declining any of these does not change the day Early Start ends.

Do Early Start services continue if the school plan is late or we disagree?

No. Early Start ends on the third birthday, even while a first IEP is in dispute.

DDS writes that “Early Start ends at age 3 and cannot be continued per federal and state laws and regulations” (provisional eligibility FAQ). Services from the district or the Regional Center are separate, and later sections cover them.

Before the birthday, a dispute inside Early Start does not stop the services already in your child’s IFSP. They continue during mediation or a hearing. Disability Rights California says this protection is commonly called “stay put.” It does not cross the birthday. The same Disability Rights California chapter explains what happens if you and the district disagree at the first IEP meeting. “Until the disagreement is resolved, your child is not entitled to continue receiving early intervention services from the school district or regional center.” For a child who is a Regional Center client, it adds that you can ask for an Individual Program Plan (IPP) meeting about continuing services until the district’s preschool program resumes. The summer birthday section below has the limits.

That makes the months before the birthday the time to act. A parent can do five things early:

• Ask to start at nine months before the birthday. Federal rules allow it if everyone agrees.
• Decide early about the fuller referral. The district’s 15-day limit starts from the referral.
• Return the district’s consent form quickly if you want the assessment. The 60 days count from the day the district receives your written consent.
• Know your choice if you disagree with the first IEP. Disability Rights California says the district may offer “fewer or other services.” If you consent to those, the district must provide them while the dispute is pending.
• Know where a dispute goes. A dispute about a proposed preschool IEP goes to the education hearing system, even before the birthday.

Disability Rights California also advises parents to “know and keep track of the steps” themselves. The figure above gives the dates for your child.

Who decides what happens after 3?

Two agencies decide, each with its own test, and one decision does not settle the other.

DDS’s packet describes three paths at 3. A child can be eligible for both Regional Center and special education services. A child can be eligible for special education only. A child can be eligible for neither. A fourth outcome is possible. A child the district finds not eligible can still be eligible for Regional Center services, fully or provisionally (Early Start FAQ).

The quoted words in the last row are from DDS’s Early Start packet.

The district’s list includes autism, speech or language impairment and “established medical disability.” It does not include “developmental delay,” which is one way a child qualifies for Early Start. So a child can qualify for Early Start and still need a new decision at 3. DDS’s directive tells Regional Centers to check for the full definition first. If the child does not meet it, the child “should be assessed for provisional eligibility” (DDS directive).

Provisional eligibility and full eligibility also last for different times. The center reassesses a provisionally eligible child at least 90 days before the fifth birthday. Services end at 5 if your child does not then meet the full definition, unless an appeal was filed (Code 4512). If the reassessment is not finished by then, the DDS directive says centers “should continue services until the reassessment is complete.” A child found to have a developmental disability under the full definition stays eligible unless a full reassessment finds the first decision was ”clearly erroneous.”

We can’t give you one rate for how many children qualify for special education at 3. The Legislative Analyst’s Office wrote in January 2018 that about 45% of children served by early intervention do. A state workgroup report from October 2021 says 26% of the toddlers who had received Early Start services in 2018, about 11,200, were found eligible. The two numbers differ, and neither source shows how it counted. For Regional Center services, the Legislative Analyst’s Office says about 20% of children in early intervention go on to become active clients. The workgroup says roughly 22% of children leaving Early Start are found eligible. Those two count different outcomes.

The plan changes too. An IFSP is written around your family and your home. With your agreement, it records your family’s concerns and priorities. Services are meant to come to your home, the childcare center, or wherever your child spends the day (Early Start FAQ). The IFSP team can write down a reason for another setting (34 CFR 303.344).

An IEP is written around school. It starts from your child’s ”academic achievement and functional performance.” Children with disabilities are taught with children without disabilities ”to the maximum extent appropriate.” DDS says a child who qualifies with both agencies has two plans, an IEP and an IPP. Our comparison of the four plans sets them side by side.

What if the birthday is in the summer, or we started late?

For a summer birthday, the IEP team sets the day services begin.

Federal and state law both say this for a third birthday “during the summer” (34 CFR 300.101, Education Code 56426.9). State guidance from 2013 says to hold the IEP meeting on or before the birthday, even when school is out. It names summer breaks and mid-winter breaks (Effective Early Childhood Transitions). Extended school year services are school services in the summer. The same guidance says they “must be considered” for an eligible child with a summer birthday.

The referral moves earlier for these children. If your child turns 3 during a school break, state regulation sets the referral before the break starts.

A gap can still happen for a child whose birthday falls in a break. The 2021 state workgroup report says such a child “sometimes experiences a gap in services” until school resumes. One regulation says a Regional Center “may continue” services until the next school term. It covers a child the center has found eligible for its own services. The center’s team must decide the services are necessary until the district’s preschool program resumes (17 CCR 52112). The 2021 report says a 2009 change in the law kept centers from buying educational services for children aged 3 to 17. DDS says that limit ended on July 1, 2021. We could not confirm how often centers use the regulation now, so ask your service coordinator early.

A late start has its own rules. They depend on how many days are left before the birthday.

• Your child is in Early Start and was referred to the district fewer than 90 days before the birthday. The 2013 guidance says the district must still finish its evaluation. If your child is eligible, it must develop an IEP by the birthday, even when its 60-day limit ends later.
• Your child was found eligible for Early Start more than 45 and fewer than 90 days before the birthday, and may be eligible for special education. Early Start notifies the district “as soon as possible” (34 CFR 303.209).
• Your child was referred to Early Start fewer than 45 days before the birthday, and may be eligible for special education. Early Start does not have to evaluate your child. With your consent, it refers your child to the school district.

A first IFSP written after age 2 years 6 months must include transition steps (17 CCR 52112).

What do parents worry about at this handoff?

The district’s services are free, the notice is limited, and a no can be challenged.

Cost. Special education is a “free appropriate public education.” For an eligible child, the right to it begins no later than the third birthday (34 CFR 300.101). For Regional Centers, DDS says its family fee programs have ended. Two ended on July 1, 2024, and the Parental Fee Program ended on July 1, 2025. DDS will finish collecting Parental Fee Program fees assessed through June 30, 2025, and it assesses no new fees. Our Regional Center guide covers what a center pays for.

Privacy. The federal rule lists three items for the required notice: your child’s name, date of birth and your contact information. DDS’s FAQ also lists where your child lives. The fuller referral, with your child’s IFSPs and evaluations, goes to the district with your permission (Early Start FAQ, 17 CCR 52112). Federal early intervention rules allow a few other disclosures without permission. Two examples are a court order and a health or safety emergency (34 CFR 303.414, 34 CFR 99.31).

Immigration status. DDS says a child’s or parent’s immigration status does not affect Early Start eligibility. We did not read a source on immigration status and services after 3, so this guide can’t answer that.

A label. The district’s test names a condition, and the condition alone is not enough. Your child must also need specially designed instruction or services. DDS says you can decline the district’s assessment. Provisional eligibility at the Regional Center needs no named diagnosis. We could not confirm how long either agency keeps a child’s records.

A no. If the district finds your child not eligible, its duties do not end. Disability Rights California says the district must still follow its rules on finding, referring and assessing children. Due process rights also still apply. If the Regional Center assesses your child at this stage and finds your child not eligible, it must give you notice. Our Regional Center guide explains the appeal.

Some children are unlikely to qualify for special education. With your approval, Early Start still tries to hold a meeting with other providers. The Regional Center must also give you information on community and state preschool programs (Government Code 95013.3). A 3- or 4-year-old can be provisionally eligible for Regional Center services without having been in Early Start.