Arkansas IEP evaluation deadline: how long does the school have?

You signed consent for the evaluation. Here is exactly what Arkansas law requires next, and what to do if the date passes.

The part most parents miss: eligibility can lawfully land about 90 days out

Arkansas splits the process into two stages, and parents who only count to 60 get blindsided.

Stage one: 60 calendar days from consent to complete the evaluation. Stage two: 30 calendar days from when testing is finished to hold the evaluation/programming conference and decide eligibility.

Stacked together, that means a district can be fully compliant and still not tell you whether your child qualifies until roughly 90 days after you signed. Plan for that. It does not mean you have to like it — but it is the rule you are counting against.

How to count your deadline

1. Find the date the district received your signed consent. Not the date you mailed it — the date they got it.
2. Count forward 60 calendar days, including weekends and holidays. That is the deadline for the evaluation.
3. Get the actual date testing was completed, in writing.
4. Count forward 30 calendar days from that completion date. That is the deadline for the evaluation/programming conference and the eligibility decision.

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 Arkansas this goes to the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Office of Special Education. It is free and does not require a lawyer.
4. Keep the paper trail. Every date, every email, every response.