Why do I need to put my request for a school Special Education evaluation in writing?

Once you determine that you are going to request an evaluation for Special Education services for your son or daughter,  you should submit this request via email or letter. Ideally this is being sent to the school administrator who oversees Special Education.  (You can call the school and ask a teacher, counselor or school psychologist who should receive this request.)  It is important to put this in writing because Illinois law timelines are specific, and require the school to respond to your request in 14 school days.  If you have this in writing, there is no questions about when the request was made, and you know the date by which a reply should come.

Because teachers and school administrators manage incredible amounts of information daily, there are often protocols in place of who the request goes to.  If you do not receive a response from the school within a few days, this does not mean they are ignoring you. These requests often go through problem solving teams or intervention teams, and while these teams meet regularly, they do not meet daily. 

The response will either inform you that the school will move forward with a domain meeting to evaluate for Special Education, or, that they will not be completing an evaluation and why.   If you are denied an evaluation, it is important to understand why the school is denying the evaluation to determine your next steps. 

(Reference: Admin Code 23 § 226.110)