Calculate FIIE and Initial ARD deadlines using your district or charter school's instructional calendar.
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Texas Education Agency, Special Education Full and Individual Initial Evaluation (FIIE) Timeline and Special Education Initial Referral Timeline · 19 Texas Administrative Code §89.1011
| Rule | What it says |
|---|---|
| A-1 | Scenario A — consent received at least 45 school days before the last day of instruction, fewer than 3 absences. Written FIIE report due not later than the 45th school day following the date written consent was received. |
| A-2 | Scenario A + absences — 3 or more days absent during the period. Report due not later than 45 school days + the number of days absent. |
| B-1 | Scenario B — consent received at least 35 but fewer than 45 school days before the last day of instruction, fewer than 3 absences. Evaluation completed and report provided to the parent not later than June 30 of that year. |
| B-2 | Scenario B + absences — 3 or more days absent. 45 school days + days absent, into the following school year. June 30 is not mentioned in this branch — see question Q-5 below. |
| C-1 | Scenario C — consent received fewer than 35 school days before the last instructional day. The ordinary 45th school day count, carried into the following school year. There is no separate formula. |
| C-2 | Scenario C + absences — 45 school days + days absent, into the following school year. |
| ABS-02 | Three days is the threshold. The extension is the total number of qualifying absence days. 2 absences → +0. 3 absences → +3. 6 absences → +6, not +3. |
| ARD-01 | The ARD committee must make its initial eligibility determination and, if appropriate, IEP and placement decisions within 30 calendar days from the date of completion of the written FIE report. This is the state and federal requirement. |
| ARD-02 | If the 30th day falls during the summer and school is not in session, the ARD committee must meet no later than the 15th school day of the following school year. |
| ARD-03 | If the 30th day falls during summer and the FIE indicates the student would need extended school year services that summer, the committee must meet as expeditiously as possible after the report is completed. No date can be calculated. |
| ARD-04 | The written FIE report must be provided to the parent as soon as possible after completion, and no later than 5 school days before the initial ARD meeting, so the parent has time to review it. |
| ARD-05 | Parents must receive at least 5 school days' notice of the initial ARD meeting. |
| ARD-06 | Calendar-day due dates are not extended by weekends or holidays. If a due date falls on a weekend, holiday, or during a break, the meeting must be held before it — the deadline does not move forward. This calculator rolls the meeting date back to the last school day on or before the due date, and names the specific break or holiday that caused the shift. |
| ARD-07 | Scenario B overrides the 30-day count. When consent is received in the 35-to-44 school day window, the report goes to the parent by June 30 of the current year and the ARD committee must meet not later than the 15th school day of the following school year — not 30 calendar days from completion. Where at least 30 calendar days remain before the last day of school, the district should make efforts to hold the ARD during that time, as that is likely in the student's best interest. |
| DAY-01 | What counts as a “school day.” 19 TAC §89.1011(i): a school day does not include a day falling after the last instructional day of the spring term and before the first instructional day of the subsequent fall term. For a calendar without spring and fall terms, it excludes days after the last instructional day of one school year and before the first instructional day of the next. The summer gap is not counted. |
| REF-01 | If a parent submits a written request for an FIE, the district must, not later than the 15th school day after receiving it, provide prior written notice of its proposal to evaluate plus an opportunity to give written consent — or prior written notice of refusal — along with the Notice of Procedural Safeguards and the Overview of Special Education for Parents. |
| REF-02 | A verbal request does not trigger the 15-school-day timeline, though all federal prior written notice, Overview, and procedural safeguard requirements still apply. TEA recommends districts adopt operating procedures for handling verbal requests promptly. |
| INIT-01 | A student previously found not eligible, or previously dismissed from special education, who is referred again in a later school year, is an initial evaluation — these timelines apply. |
Sources: TEA Special Education Full and Individual Initial Evaluation (FIIE) Timeline and Special Education Initial Referral Timeline; TEA Frequently Asked Questions on 19 TAC §89.1011 (© 2024).
Local requirements are stricter than the law, never looser. They exist to leave room for scheduling, parent cancellations, and reconvenes.
| Standard | What it means |
|---|---|
| 30 days | State and federal requirement. The legal deadline. Meeting later than this is a compliance violation. |
| 25 days | A district internal standard. Five days of built-in cushion before the legal deadline. |
| 20 days | A stricter district standard — for example, a non-negotiable local requirement that initial ARDs be held within 20 calendar days of the FIE date. |
Whichever you choose, the calculator always shows the 30-calendar-day state deadline alongside it, so you can see how much cushion you actually have. Missing a district standard is an internal matter; missing the 30-day state deadline is not.
Some districts also set an internal evaluation expectation shorter than the 45 school days the state allows, commonly 40 school days, with supervisor approval required to go beyond it. Check your own department's expectation.
Where the source documents are silent, this tool flags rather than guesses.
| # | Question |
|---|---|
| Q-1 | Resolved, August 2026. The day written consent is received is counted as school day 0; day 1 is the first instructional day following receipt. The source says the 45th school day “following” the date consent was received, which is read here as excluding the receipt date itself. |
| Q-2 | When deciding whether consent came "at least 45 school days prior to the last day of instruction," are the consent date and the last instructional day themselves counted? This tool excludes both, and warns when the count is within 2 days of a 45 or 35 boundary. |
| Q-4 | Over what period are the three-or-more absence days counted? The source says "during that period" without defining its end. |
| Q-5 | In Scenario B with 3+ absences, does June 30 still cap the timeline, or does the 45-days-plus-absences count govern? This tool applies the literal reading and shows both dates when they differ. |
| Q-6 | For a student under five not enrolled, or in a private or home school setting, whose instructional calendar is used? |
| Q-7 | Is the FIE completion date itself counted as the first of the 30 calendar days? This tool treats it as day 0. |
| Q-8 | Answered by the TEA FAQ and district guidance. A calendar-day due date is not extended by a weekend, holiday, or break. The meeting must be held before it. See rule ARD-06. |
| Q-9 | Is the first instructional day of the following school year counted as the first of the 15 school days? This tool counts it as day 1. |
| Q-16 | Answered by 19 TAC §89.1011(i). The summer gap between school years is not counted as school days. See rule DAY-01. This confirms how the calculator already carries counts across the summer. |
These are listed openly because a tool that hides its uncertainty is harder to trust than one that names it. If your district or ESC has settled any of them, please say so.
Please read this before relying on any date produced by this tool. Using the tool means you accept these terms.
1. This is a planning tool, not legal advice. This calculator is provided for informational and planning purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client, consultant-client, or professional relationship of any kind between you and Hope Psychoeducational Assessments and Consulting, LLC. It is not a substitute for the judgment of a qualified professional, for your local education agency’s procedures, or for legal counsel.
2. You remain responsible for every deadline. Legal responsibility for meeting special education evaluation and ARD timelines rests with the local education agency and the professionals it employs or contracts with. It does not transfer to this tool or to its author. You are responsible for independently verifying every date against current Texas law, Texas Education Agency guidance, your district or charter school’s official published calendar and procedures, and the individual circumstances of the student.
3. Calendars are unofficial reproductions. Instructional dates are reproduced from calendars published by each district or charter school. They are checked by hand, but they are not official, not authoritative, and not endorsed by or affiliated with any district, charter school, or the Texas Education Agency. Districts revise calendars during the year. Always confirm against the official published calendar.
4. Some rules are genuinely unsettled. Where the source documents do not clearly resolve a question, this tool says so rather than guessing, and it marks affected results as provisional or requiring manual review. Those designations are meaningful. A result that is not marked final should not be treated as final.
5. No warranty. This tool is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including any implied warranties of accuracy, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. No guarantee is made that the tool will be error-free, uninterrupted, current, or that any date it produces is correct.
6. Limitation of liability. To the maximum extent permitted by law, neither Hope Psychoeducational Assessments and Consulting, LLC nor its owner shall be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or exemplary damages arising out of or relating to your use of, or inability to use, this tool. This includes, without limitation, missed deadlines, compliance findings, due process proceedings, monitoring outcomes, administrative penalties, loss of data, or loss of professional standing — whether or not the possibility of such damages was known. Your sole and exclusive remedy for any dissatisfaction with this tool is to stop using it.
7. Changes. Legal requirements, TEA guidance, and district calendars all change. The rules and calendars in this tool may become outdated. Check the rule set and calendar information shown on each result and confirm they reflect current requirements before relying on a date.
8. Governing law. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.
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Texas Special Education Timeline Calculator
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Created by Vanessa Castillo, LSP, NCSP.
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Rule set: TEA FIIE Timeline 2024 v1 · 19 Texas Administrative Code §89.1011
Each calendar shows whether it has been verified against its source document. Calendars marked
unverified draft have not yet been checked by a person and produce provisional results.