The school changed the IEP with no prior written notice
A service was reduced, an evaluation was turned down, or a placement changed, and the only record you have is a revised schedule or something said out loud, with no letter explaining what was decided or why. No: before a public agency proposes or refuses to change a child’s identification, evaluation, placement, or FAPE, it must send written notice describing the decision and the reason for it (34 CFR 300.503(a)). Start by pulling the IEP page or the letter the dispute turns on and writing down today’s date; every move below adds to that record.
What the rule says
“the parent … and the public agency may agree not to convene an IEP Team meeting … and instead may develop a written document to amend or modify the child’s current IEP.”
34 CFR 300.324(a)(4)(i)
A change made outside a full meeting still needs your agreement to skip that meeting; one nobody discussed with you never had it.
What to do this week, in order
Note the date you first heard about the change and exactly what was said or sent — a schedule, an email, a hallway conversation.
Your own dated account of how you learned
Line the old IEP page up against the new one and mark exactly what moved: the minutes, the placement, or the evaluation call.
A side-by-side comparison of both pages
Ask the case manager, by email, whether the district is proposing or refusing this change, citing 34 CFR 300.503(a).
Proposal or refusal, stated by the case manager34 CFR 300.503(a)
If a staff member already stated the decision by phone or at a meeting, ask that person to confirm it by email today.
A message confirming the spoken decision
Send the paragraph below naming the exact change and the date range, and ask directly for the notice that never arrived.
Your sent email and the date it went out
What to put in writing
Replace what sits in brackets and send it by email, so the date is fixed.
- To
- Whoever told you about the change, with the director copied
Dear [Director’s name], I’m writing about a change to [Child’s full name]’s IEP, page [page number], between [start date] and [end date]: it now reads differently from what our team agreed to, and nobody sent anything in writing about it beforehand. Please tell me plainly whether the district is proposing or refusing this change, share the evaluation data or other records behind that call, and, if the answer is a refusal, put it in the form prior written notice takes, which 34 CFR 300.503 sets out. Thank you for looking into this, [Your name]
If the answer is no, it arrives as prior written notice: what was refused, why, and the records the district relied on (34 CFR 300.503(b)).
When to escalate, and to whom
Escalate when the written answer is a no, or when the record you built this week draws no answer at all.
| The path | The count | How it runs |
|---|---|---|
| A state complaint | 60 days to a decision | A signed letter to your state education agency about a violation inside the past year; the state decides in writing within 60 days.34 CFR 300.152(a), 300.153(c) |
| Mediation | Voluntary, at no cost to you | You and the district sit with an impartial mediator the state pays for; it can start before any complaint and may not delay a hearing.34 CFR 300.506(b) |
| A due process complaint | 2 years to file | A hearing before an impartial officer; the district holds a resolution meeting within 15 days, and the decision is due 45 days after the 30-day resolution period.34 CFR 300.507(a)(2), 300.510(a)(1), 300.515(a) |
Those counts are IDEA’s; your state may set its own window for due process, and publishes its own complaint form.
This page explains the federal rule, and it does not replace your state’s procedures, or advice from someone qualified to read your file.
Have the pages this dispute is about read back to you, free.
The review reads every page you upload, names the service, goal or wording that is vague or missing, and gives you its page number.
Review my IEP — freeFree, no card. It reads your pages and contacts no one.
Where this comes from
- Amending an IEP without a meeting (34 CFR 300.324)The amendment rule quoted above.
- Parent participation in meetings (34 CFR 300.322)Your place in the meeting they skipped.
- Procedural safeguards notice (34 CFR 300.504)The rights notice owed with any decision.
- Prior written notice (34 CFR 300.503)What every no owes you.
When the paragraph needs to become a full letter, the letter templates carry one for each request.