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

You signed the permission-to-evaluate form. Here is exactly what Pennsylvania law requires next, and what to do if the date passes.

The part most parents miss: summer stops the clock completely

Pennsylvania does not count any day from the day after the last day of the spring term through the day before the fall term starts. The whole summer is excluded. If you sign in late May, the clock effectively freezes and picks back up when school returns in the fall.

This is not the district doing you a favor or dragging its feet — it is written into the rule. But it does mean a June signature usually will not produce a report before autumn. If you want the evaluation moving, sign as early in the school year as you can.

How to count your deadline

1. Find the date the district received your signed written consent. Not the date you mailed it — the date they got it.
2. Count forward 60 calendar days, including weekends and holidays.
3. Stop counting on the last day of the spring term. Do not resume until the first day of the fall term — every day in between is excluded.
4. That date is the deadline for the report to be presented to you, in your hands.

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 Pennsylvania this goes to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). It is free and does not require a lawyer.
4. Keep the paper trail. Every date, every email, every response — including the date the report was actually handed to you.