Reviewed by Dr. Elizabeth Long, Ph.D. — Director of Special Education, 32 years in public schools.
In Tennessee, the school generally has 60 calendar days from when the school receives your written consent to complete the evaluation and decide whether your child is eligible for special education (under Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0520-01-09-.05(1)(f)).
What this deadline covers. This deadline covers both the evaluation and the eligibility decision.
Tennessee's 60 days cover the evaluation and eligibility; the IEP follows within 30 calendar days.
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 Tennessee'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. Tennessee uses the unit shown above.
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 Tennessee, that's Support and Training for Exceptional Parents (STEP). For the official rules, see Tennessee's special education office.
Start factually: "Our evaluation was due on [date] based on Tennessee'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 Tennessee's Department of Education or your district before relying on any exact date. This is educational information, not legal advice.
We have not yet read this state’s rule at its source. The dates below come from our own dataset, not from Tennessee’s published rule, so we are not standing behind them yet. Compare them with your state’s regulation before you rely on them.
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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