Reviewed by Dr. Elizabeth Long, Ph.D. — Director of Special Education, 32 years in public schools.
If your child is in the public school system, Maine generally gives the school 45 school days from when it receives your written consent to complete the evaluation and decide whether your child is eligible for special education (under Maine Unified Special Education Regulation (MUSER) § V.1.A(3)). A child from birth to five in the Child Development Services System is on a different clock, described below.
What this deadline covers. This deadline covers both the evaluation and the eligibility decision. Maine has two different clocks for a first evaluation, and which one is yours depends on where your child is served. If your child is 5 to 22 and in the public school system, it is 45 school days. If your child is from birth to five in the Child Development Services System, it is 60 calendar days. School days and calendar days are not the same length of time, so read the unit beside your own number.
In Maine, two systems run first evaluations: Child Development Services (CDS) and your local school administrative unit. Before you count days, ask the plain question: who is responsible for my child's services today, CDS or my school administrative unit? Ask both, and write down the answer you are given. Maine is moving this job from CDS to school administrative units one unit at a time. A unit takes it on when the commissioner approves that unit and the department signs an agreement with it. The law sets the end of the change at July 1, 2028 (20-A M.R.S. § 7209-A). A unit that cannot be ready by then can be given an additional year, or a modified plan (20-A M.R.S. § 7209-A(3)). So two families in two districts can be told two different things this week, and both can be right. The answer you get is what tells you which clock above is yours.
Under federal law (20 U.S.C. § 1414(a)(1)(C)) the default is 60 calendar days from the school's receipt of consent, but Maine's own rule controls where it sets one.
The timeline generally begins when the school receives your signed written consent — write the deadline on your calendar that day so you can tell early and calmly if things slip. Try the deadline calculator →
"Calendar days," "school days," and "business days" differ sharply — school and business days exclude weekends and breaks, so the same number can mean very different real dates. Maine uses the unit shown beside your own clock above.
You should have the written evaluation report in hand at least three days before the IEP Team meeting where it will be discussed. Those are calendar days, not school days. If it has not arrived, ask for it — and it is reasonable to ask for the meeting to be moved rather than to walk in having never read it.
A ready-to-send letter that formally requests a special education evaluation and starts the timeline. Just add your details. Enter your email and it's yours.
Every state has a federally funded Parent Training and Information Center that helps families for free. In Maine, that's Maine Parent Federation. For the official rules, see Maine's special education office.
Start factually: "Our evaluation was due on [date] based on Maine's timeline — can you give me an update?" Get the response in writing, and if it keeps slipping without a plan, it's reasonable to involve the special education director and consider a state complaint. Start by assuming it was a scheduling problem, not bad faith.
State special education rules change and are periodically updated. Confirm the current figure with Maine's Department of Education or your district before relying on any exact date. This is educational information, not legal advice.
Read September 17, 2026 at the Maine Secretary of State’s own site: 05-071 C.M.R. ch. 101, § V (MUSER), as amended June 12, 2026. Rules change — compare yours with your state’s regulation before you rely on it.
Dr. Long's Assistant answers your specific questions in plain language — built from Dr. Long's expertise, plus state and federal law read at the source — never the open internet.
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