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SDLA Compliance Resource

Provide a Proposed Special Education Assessment Plan Within 15 Calendar Days

A referral-response clock for documenting receipt, identifying every area of suspected disability, issuing prior written notice and safeguards, and producing an understandable plan.

  • Special Education
  • Assessment
  • Timeline
Date(s)Within 15 calendar days of receiving a referral for assessment, excluding qualifying school vacations; special year-end rules apply
Applies toLEAs receiving a written referral for special education assessment

In Plain Language: Date-stamp the written referral. Within the California timeline, give the parent either a proposed assessment plan with required notices or an appropriate written response explaining a refusal. The plan must cover all suspected disability areas and be understandable.

Why this matters

Informal intervention systems cannot erase a parent's assessment referral or leave the start date uncertain.

Joint ownership

Clock owner: special education administrator. Plan owner: school psychologist/case coordinator. Partners: parent, teachers, health/related-service staff, language specialists, and records staff.

Operational workflow

  1. 1. Document referral content, source, and received date; assist in reducing an oral request to writing without delay.
  2. 2. Review existing information and identify every suspected area—not only the concern named by the referrer.
  3. 3. Build the plan with assessment types, responsible professionals, safeguards, native-language/access arrangements, and prior written notice.
  4. 4. Deliver by the calculated deadline and preserve proof; open the separate parent decision-period control.

Clock map

Day 0: Written referral received and date-stamped.
By day 15: Proposed plan and required notices delivered, subject to statutory exclusions.
After receipt: Parent receives at least 15 calendar days to decide.

Evidence to retain

  • Written referral and receipt timestamp
  • Deadline calculation including exclusions
  • Suspected-area and assessor crosswalk
  • Assessment plan, PWN, safeguards, and translation/access evidence
  • Delivery proof and consent follow-up

Official guidance and help

Source review completed August 30, 2026. Verify current federal and California law, court or OAH instructions, local SELPA procedures, individual circumstances, and the exact service and records state before acting.