The school won’t evaluate for assistive technology needs
Your child struggles to get words onto the page, follow along with the reading, or keep track of the steps in an assignment, and you have asked the team to consider a device or software that could help. No: at every IEP review the team weighs whether your child needs assistive technology devices and services, whether or not you raised it first (34 CFR 300.324(a) and (b)(2)). 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
“Consideration of special factors. The IEP Team must … consider whether the child needs assistive technology devices and services.”
34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(v)
The question belongs at every review, whether or not you have asked for a device by name.
What to do this week, in order
Write down three recent assignments where your child could not produce written work, the date, and the subject.
A dated list of three assignments, by subject
Ask, in a written note to the case manager, whether the last review weighed assistive technology needs at all.
A saved copy of your request and its answer34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(v)
Get the paragraph below in front of the case manager by email, and name the task and date range inside it.
Your email to the case manager, timestamped
If the answer rests on an evaluation you disagree with, ask what an independent assistive technology evaluation would involve and who pays for it.
The director’s written answer on an independent evaluation34 CFR 300.502(b)(1)
What to put in writing
Replace what sits in brackets and send it by email, so the date is fixed.
- To
- The IEP team chair, plus whoever handles assistive technology for the district
Dear [IEP team chair’s name], [Child’s full name] has trouble with [specific task, such as getting words onto the page] in [subject], and I am asking the team to weigh assistive technology devices and services for that need. Please tell me whether this came up at the review on [IEP meeting date] and, if so, what data the team looked at. If it did not come up, tell me what an independent assistive technology evaluation would involve and who arranges it. Where the team decides nothing more is warranted, write that finding down as prior written notice, with 34 CFR 300.503 as the reference. Respectfully, [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
- Consideration of special factors (34 CFR 300.324)The special-factor line quoted above.
- Assistive technology devices and services (34 CFR 300.6)Why training goes on the IEP.
- Independent educational evaluation (34 CFR 300.502)The evaluation move two asks for.
- 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.