Step 6 of 8

If the district says no, or the IEP isn't enough

Three separate routes with different costs and different clocks — and the protection that keeps your child's placement steady while you use them.

A refusal to evaluate, a finding of ineligibility, an IEP you believe is inadequate, or services written into the IEP that are not actually being delivered -- all of these can be challenged. IDEA gives you three distinct routes, and they are not a ladder you have to climb in order.

State complaint: you file with your state education agency alleging the district violated IDEA. The state must investigate and issue a written decision addressing each allegation within 60 days, extendable only for exceptional circumstances or by agreement to try mediation. It costs nothing and you do not need a lawyer.
Mediation: voluntary for both sides, run by a qualified impartial mediator who is not a district or state employee, and the state pays for it. Critically, choosing mediation cannot be used to deny or delay your right to a due process hearing -- so trying it does not cost you the formal route.
Due process complaint: the formal route, leading to a hearing before an impartial hearing officer. The complaint must allege a violation that occurred not more than two years before you knew or should have known about it -- unless your State has set an explicit time limit of its own, which some have.

Once you file a due process complaint, the timeline is fixed: the district must convene a resolution meeting within 15 days, it has 30 days to resolve the complaint, and if it does not, the hearing officer then has 45 days to reach a final decision. If you settle at the resolution meeting, the written agreement is binding -- but you can void it within 3 business days.

"Stay put": while a due process proceeding is going on, your child must remain in their current educational placement unless you and the district agree otherwise. This is the protection that stops a district changing a placement you are actively disputing while the dispute is unresolved.

How these routes work in practice -- filing forms, which office receives them, how hearing officers are appointed, and any state statute of limitations shorter than the federal two years -- is set by your state, not by IDEA. The federal floor above is accurate everywhere; the mechanics are not. Your state's Parent Training and Information Center (step 8) can tell you your state's version for free.

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