By: Becca Phillips, Advocate
When your child is struggling in school, it can be difficult to know whether the challenges are part of the learning process or signs of an underlying disability requiring additional support. Perhaps your child is falling behind academically, struggling with reading or writing, experiencing anxiety, having difficulty regulating emotions, or demonstrating challenges with executive functioning, attention, communication, or social interactions. You may have raised concerns with teachers over multiple years or requested additional support without seeing meaningful progress through school-based interventions (MTSS or RTI).
If you suspect your child has a disability affecting their ability to access and make progress in school, you have the right to request a comprehensive special education evaluation.
In Colorado, special education is governed by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Colorado's Exceptional Children's Educational Act (ECEA), which establishes requirements for special education services across public schools.
Understanding your rights and the evaluation process can help you advocate for the comprehensive assessments your child needs. As a former Colorado special education teacher and current parent educational advocate here in Colorado, here is what I feel parents need to know about requesting an IEP evaluation.
1. Understand When Your Child May Need an IEP Evaluation
An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is developed for students who meet specific eligibility criteria under IDEA and require specially designed instruction.
A child does not need to be failing academically to qualify for an evaluation. Disabilities can affect multiple areas of educational functioning, including academic achievement, communication, behavior, social-emotional development, executive functioning, motor skills, and cognitive functioning.
Some indicators that your child may need an evaluation include:
Persistent difficulty with reading, writing, or math despite additional support.
Challenges with attention, organization, working memory, or task initiation.
Anxiety, emotional regulation difficulties, or school avoidance affecting educational participation.
Speech and language difficulties, including receptive, expressive, or pragmatic language.
Peer and social interaction challenges.
Behavioral concerns that interfere with learning.
Significant differences between your child's abilities and academic performance.
A medical diagnosis is not required to request an evaluation or qualify for an IEP. Schools must consider whether a child has a disability that adversely affects educational performance and requires special education, rather than relying solely on a medical diagnosis. Under IDEA's Child Find requirements (34 C.F.R. § 300.111), districts must identify, locate, and evaluate children suspected of having disabilities who may need special education. This applies even when a child earns good grades, passes classes, or receives general education interventions.
2. Submit a Written Request for an Evaluation
Parents can request an initial special education evaluation at any time. You do not need to wait for a teacher recommendation, additional interventions to fail, or a scheduled parent-teacher conference.
Although concerns can be raised verbally, submitting your request in writing is strongly recommended. This documents when you raised your concerns and clearly communicates that you are requesting a comprehensive evaluation under IDEA. I would suggest you send your request to your child's principal and special education department at the school level if you have their contact information. You can also copy the special education department at the district level if needed and your child’s general education teacher.
Your request should include:
A clear statement requesting a comprehensive initial special education evaluation to determine eligibility
Specific areas of concern, such as academics, reading, writing, math, social-emotional functioning, behavior, executive functioning, motor skills, speech and language, or cognitive functioning
Examples of how these concerns affect your child's educational performance and participation
Relevant outside evaluations or provider recommendations, if available (these are helpful but not required)
A request for Prior Written Notice (PWN) regarding the district's decision
You do not need to identify a specific disability category or determine which assessments your child needs. That is part of the evaluation planning process. The proposed assessment areas should be outlined in the district's evaluation paperwork and consent process.
If the district denies your request, ensure you receive PWN explaining why it is refusing to evaluate and identifying the information used to make that decision.
The goal is to communicate why you suspect a disability and request that the district investigate your concerns through a comprehensive evaluation. Remember that a denial does not have to be the end of the road. Often as an advocate I help families understand your options and determine appropriate next steps.
3. Understand Colorado's Evaluation Timeline
If the district agrees to evaluate, it must obtain your informed written consent before conducting the initial evaluation. Colorado has a 60 calendar day initial evaluation timeline under ECEA Rule 4.02(3)(c) once the district receives the parent's written request and informed written consent. The district must determine your child’s eligibility by that 60 day mark.
It is important to take time to review the proposed assessment areas on the Consent for Evaluation PWN before signing. If important concerns have been left out, ask the district to consider additional areas.
Keep a copy of your signed consent form and confirm the date the district received it. This helps you track the evaluation timeline and follow up if necessary.
4. Request a Comprehensive Evaluation in All Areas of Suspected Disability
One of the most important parts of the evaluation process is ensuring the school assesses all areas where your child may have a disability.
Under 34 C.F.R. § 300.304, districts must use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information. An evaluation cannot rely on a single test to determine eligibility.
The evaluation must be sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of your child's special education and related service needs, whether or not those needs are commonly associated with the disability category being considered.
Depending on your child's needs, evaluation areas may include:
Academic achievement: Basic reading skills such as decoding, reading fluency, reading comprehension, phonological processing, written expression, spelling, math calculation/computation, math problem solving
Cognitive functioning: Intellectual abilities, processing skills, fluid reasoning, working memory
Social-emotional functioning: Anxiety, emotional regulation, social skills, and behavioral functioning
Executive functioning: Attention, organization, planning, task initiation, and self-monitoring
Speech and language: Receptive, expressive, and pragmatic language, articulation, and communication
Motor and occupational therapy needs: Fine motor skills, visual-motor integration, and sensory-related needs
Adaptive functioning: Daily living skills, independence, and adaptive behaviors
Behavioral functioning: Behaviors interfering with learning and whether a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is appropriate
Parents should identify concerns that may not be immediately visible to teachers. Masking, compensatory strategies, outside tutoring, and extensive parental support can sometimes make a child's struggles less apparent at school. If you choose to, you can share outside evaluations, provider recommendations, work samples, and parent observations to help inform the evaluation.
5. MTSS and RTI Should Not Delay a Needed Evaluation
A common concern among Colorado parents is being told their child must complete additional interventions through Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) or Response to Intervention (RTI) before the district will consider an evaluation.
While interventions and progress-monitoring data can provide valuable information, they cannot be used to delay or deny an evaluation when a disability is suspected.
IDEA's Child Find obligations apply even when a child participates in general education interventions. A district cannot require parents to wait until their child fails an intervention program, falls significantly behind, or demonstrates years of limited progress before considering an evaluation. If your child is struggling despite interventions, that information may strengthen the need for a comprehensive evaluation.
6. What If the School Refuses to Evaluate?
If the district refuses your request, it must provide Prior Written Notice explaining its decision.
Under 34 C.F.R. § 300.503, PWN must describe the action being refused, explain why, identify the evaluations, assessments, records, or reports used to make the decision, and explain the procedural safeguards available to parents.
Do not accept verbal explanations such as:
"Your child is making progress."
"Their grades are too good."
"We need to try more interventions first."
"The teacher does not see a disability."
"Your child already has a 504 Plan."
"We do not have enough data."
These statements do not automatically establish that an evaluation is unnecessary. The question is whether the district has reason to suspect a disability that may require special education.
If you disagree with the refusal, there are additional options to challenge the schools decision, which is one of the many things as an advocate I help families navigate.
7. What Happens After the Evaluation?
Once assessments are completed, the school will schedule an eligibility meeting to review the results and with you as a core member of the team, determine whether your child qualifies for special education.
Under IDEA, the team must determine that:
Your child meets the criteria for a qualifying disability category under IDEA
The disability adversely affects their educational performance
Your child needs specially designed instruction because of the disability
If your child qualifies, the team will develop an IEP outlining individualized goals, specially designed instruction, related services when needed, accommodations, modifications, and other supports necessary to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
If your child is found ineligible but you disagree with the district's evaluation, you may have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense under 34 C.F.R. § 300.502.
8. You Are an Essential Part of the Evaluation Process
Parents bring valuable information that may not be captured through classroom observations or standardized assessments. You know your child's history, strengths, challenges, and the support they need to navigate everyday demands. Your observations matter.
You do not need to be an expert in special education law to advocate effectively. You have the right to raise concerns, request an evaluation, provide relevant information, and participate meaningfully in decisions about your child's education.
Do not wait for academic failure or for the school to independently recognize every concern. Early identification and comprehensive evaluation can help ensure children receive the individualized support they need to access their education and make meaningful progress.
An evaluation is not about placing a label on your child. It is about understanding how your child learns, identifying their needs, and ensuring they have access to the instruction and support necessary to succeed.
Colorado parents have rights, and you do not have to navigate the special education process alone.
