Since the early 1980s, New York State has adhered to a strict legal timeline pertaining to a parent making an initial referral for an IEP or IESP, as well as for students who already have IEPs or IESPs and whose parents request a new review or meeting for any reason.
This strict legal timeline directs the DOE to conduct all evaluations, hold a review meeting, create an IEP, and issue a placement notice within 60 school days from the date the parents consented to the process (or around three months).
On April 6, 2020 the NYS Board of Regents adopted recommendations, proposed by the NYS Education Department on Friday, to not count any days when schools were closed pursuant to the Governor’s executive orders—effectively suspending this timeline until schools re-open.
If you are a client of ours who is affected, you will be contacted by your attorney case manager this week to discuss the implications of this change.