Put your assistive technology request to the school in writing
Sending this puts a request for an assistive technology evaluation on record, tied to one named classroom task. A device does not need to already be at home, or already proven, before the team takes a look. You can send it today: paste it into an email, replace what sits in brackets, and write down the day the school received it; the table below says which day starts each clock.
What the rule says
“Each public agency must ensure that assistive technology devices or assistive technology services, or both … are made available to a child with a disability if required as a part of the child’s … special education”
34 CFR 300.105(a)
Whether the device counts as required is the team’s call to make, and nothing asks you to prove it first.
When to send it
- Handwriting or typing takes so long that your child turns in less than half of what they know.
- A teacher has mentioned a tool once and nothing about trying it has moved since.
- A private report named a specific device or software and the school never scheduled a trial.
What happens after you send it
| What is being counted | By when | How it is counted |
|---|---|---|
| The evaluation is scheduled | Set by your state | IDEA leaves the wait before scheduling to your state, since no federal count covers it.34 CFR 300.503(a) |
| Findings come back | Set by your state | With an IEP already in place this is a reevaluation, and only your state dates its finish.34 CFR 300.303(a)(2) |
| Another reevaluation | 1 year | IDEA allows one reevaluation a year; a second inside that year needs you and the district to agree.34 CFR 300.303(b)(1) |
What the letter has to contain
The task it would change
Naming a brand narrows the team to one product; naming the task lets them test whatever actually closes the gap.
A device is anything that increases, maintains, or improves what your child can already do. 34 CFR 300.5
Where the gap shows up
A vague sense that school is hard gets a vague answer; a named class period gets a specific trial.
The team must consider whether your child needs assistive technology devices and services. 34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(v)
Training that goes with it
A device nobody was shown how to use sits in a drawer while the file still reads as tried.
Assistive technology service includes teaching your child, and the staff, to use it. 34 CFR 300.6(e)-(f)
A clear decision, in writing
A trial that quietly stalls never becomes a decision anyone can act on or challenge later.
If the team decides against it, that refusal has to reach you in writing too. 34 CFR 300.503(a)(2)
The letter
Replace everything in brackets. The rest sends as it stands.
- To
- The special education coordinator, copying the classroom teacher
- Subject
- Looking into assistive technology for [Child’s full name]
Dear [Special Education Coordinator], I am asking that [Child's full name] be evaluated for assistive technology needs. The task this affects is [written work, reading, communication, or another named task], where I have seen: • [What happens now — for example, how long an assignment takes, or how it gets avoided] • [Any tool already tried, in or out of school, and what happened] Please include a trial period with any device the evaluation points to, plus training for [Child's first name] and for the staff who will support its use. If the team decides an evaluation is not needed, please send that answer in writing along with the reasoning. I am attaching [work samples, a private report, or teacher notes]. Thank you for your time, [Your name] [Email] · [Best contact number] [Today's date]
If no answer comes back
Note the day you sent this, then wait out whatever count your state allows before you write back.
- Answer on the thread you already sent, so the two dates sit side by side.
- Confirm in writing whether the request ever reached the evaluation team, or stalled earlier.
- Call your state’s family resource center, and ask about filing a complaint locally.
A no owes you prior written notice: the decision, the reason for it, and the records behind it (34 CFR 300.503).
This is a template, not legal advice: it does not replace your state’s procedures, or advice from someone qualified to read your file.
Have the pages you are writing about read back to you, free.
The review reads every page you upload, names the 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
- Assistive technology devices and services (34 CFR 300.105)The duty quoted above.
- Definitions of device and service (34 CFR 300.5 and 300.6)What counts, including training.
- Reevaluations (34 CFR 300.303)Your request opens one.
- Prior written notice (34 CFR 300.503)What a no owes you.
Response deadlines are set state by state, and the state pages carry each number with its rule.