To get an IEP in Michigan, you send the school district a written request for a special education evaluation. The district then has 10 school days to respond with notice and a consent form, and once you sign that consent, 30 school days to complete the evaluation, decide whether your child is eligible, and offer services. The process runs on two overlapping sets of rules: the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE).1Michigan Department of Education. Special Education Laws and Regulations
Start With a Written Request
Everything begins with a letter or email. Address it to the school principal or the district’s director of special education. Name your child, give their grade, and describe in plain terms what you’re seeing: falling behind in reading, trouble with peers, behavior problems in class, missed developmental milestones. Attach any outside evaluations, therapy reports, or medical records you already have.
Why writing matters: a hallway conversation with a teacher triggers no legal deadlines. A written request does. Send it by certified mail or email so you can prove when the district received it. That date is the one that starts the clock.
What Happens After You Submit the Request
The district has 10 school days to respond with notice and a request for your written consent to evaluate. School days exclude weekends, holidays, and breaks, so a request filed in late May may not produce a response until September.
Once you sign and return the consent, the district has 30 school days to complete the evaluation and either offer a free appropriate public education (FAPE) or determine your child is not eligible.2Michigan Department of Education. Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE) The clock starts the day the district receives your signed consent, not the day you mail it.
The evaluation itself opens with a Review of Existing Evaluation Data (REED), where the team looks at what the district already has — report cards, teacher observations, prior testing — and decides what new assessments are needed. A Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team then does the testing. The team typically includes school psychologists, social workers, and specialists relevant to the suspected disability. They gather data on your child’s cognitive, academic, and social functioning and produce a written report, which must be shared with you before or at the eligibility meeting.
If the district drags past these timelines, you have grounds to file a state complaint.
Who Qualifies for an IEP in Michigan
Two things have to be true. Your child has a disability in one of Michigan’s 13 recognized categories, and that disability creates a need for specially designed instruction. A medical diagnosis alone is not enough. A child diagnosed with ADHD only qualifies if the evaluation shows the attention difficulties are actually preventing progress in the general education curriculum.
On age, Michigan is more generous than federal law. Under MARSE Rule 340.1702, a student is eligible as long as they are no older than 25 on September 1 of the enrollment year and have not graduated from high school. A student who turns 26 after September 1 can finish out that school year.2Michigan Department of Education. Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE) IDEA in most states only guarantees services through age 21.
The 13 eligibility categories, defined in MARSE Rules 340.1705 through 340.1717, are cognitive impairment, emotional impairment, deaf or hard of hearing, visual impairment including blindness, physical impairment, other health impairment, speech and language impairment, early childhood developmental delay, specific learning disability, severe multiple impairment, autism spectrum disorder, traumatic brain injury, and deaf-blindness.2Michigan Department of Education. Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE) A child does not need to fit neatly into one box. The “other health impairment” category covers conditions like ADHD, epilepsy, and diabetes when they affect school performance, and “early childhood developmental delay” exists for younger children whose challenges don’t yet point to a single diagnosis.
The IEP Meeting
If the evaluation confirms eligibility, the team moves straight into writing the IEP. Federal law requires specific people at the table: you as the parent, a general education teacher, a special education teacher, and a district representative with authority to commit resources.3Michigan Department of Education. Individualized Education Program Team Roles and Responsibilities Your child can attend, and for older students that participation becomes increasingly important.
The document itself has to contain several pieces. The Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance is a snapshot of where your child stands, including strengths and weaknesses. From there, the team writes measurable annual goals for each area of need. Those goals are the primary tool you’ll use to track whether the plan is working. The IEP also specifies services: how many minutes per week of specialized instruction, whether the instruction happens in the general education classroom or a separate setting, and any related services like speech therapy or occupational therapy.
Within 7 school days after the meeting, the district must give you a formal written offer of FAPE that identifies where and when services will begin.
Consenting to Start Services
The district cannot start providing services until you give informed written consent. You have 10 school days after receiving the offer of FAPE to review the document and sign.2Michigan Department of Education. Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE) Use the full window. Read every goal, every service minute, every placement decision. If something is wrong, don’t sign. The district is legally barred from starting services without your signature.
Once you do sign, the school has to deliver exactly what the IEP promises, as written.
If the School Refuses to Evaluate
Districts don’t have to agree to every request, but they can’t ignore one. Federal law requires Prior Written Notice any time a district refuses to evaluate your child.4eCFR. 34 CFR 300.503 Prior Notice by the Public Agency That notice must explain why the district is declining, describe what information it relied on, and tell you about your rights to challenge the refusal.5Michigan Department of Education. Understanding the Requirements of Prior Written Notice Districts sometimes decline because they believe the child’s struggles can be handled through general education supports like Response to Intervention.
Read the explanation carefully. You can push back through mediation or a due process complaint, and you can also request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at the district’s expense if you disagree with the school’s own evaluation.6U.S. Department of Education. IDEA Sec. 300.502 Independent Educational Evaluation When you request an IEE, the district has two choices: pay for it or file a due process complaint to prove its own evaluation was adequate. The district cannot require you to explain why you disagree.
If You Later Disagree With the IEP
Michigan offers several ways to resolve disputes short of court.
Mediation is voluntary and free, led by a trained neutral mediator. You can request it at any time without filing a formal complaint first, and any agreement you reach becomes a legally binding written document.7Michigan Department of Education. Due Process Complaints Michigan’s Special Education Mediation Services provides the mediators.
A state complaint is a written filing with the Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Special Education alleging that the district violated IDEA, MARSE, or failed to implement the IEP.8Michigan Department of Education. Special Education State Complaints Procedures and Model Forms The complaint must be signed, describe the violation with supporting facts, and involve conduct within the past year. Send a copy to the district at the same time you file with the state. The Office of Special Education investigates and must issue a written decision within 60 days.
A due process complaint is the most formal option. After you file, the district has 15 days to hold a resolution meeting.9U.S. Department of Education. IDEA Sec. 300.510 Resolution Process If nothing is resolved within 30 days, the case goes to a hearing before an administrative law judge, who issues a binding decision.
If Your Child Doesn’t Qualify for an IEP
Not every struggling child qualifies. If the evaluation team finds a disability but concludes your child doesn’t need specially designed instruction, a Section 504 plan may be the right alternative. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act covers any student with a disability — defined more broadly than under IDEA — and provides accommodations like extended test time, preferential seating, or modified assignments within the general education classroom. An IEP provides specialized instruction and related services with stronger procedural protections, including discipline safeguards. If the district denies IEP eligibility, ask specifically whether a 504 evaluation is appropriate.
Keeping the IEP Current
An IEP is reviewed by the team at least once a year to check whether your child is meeting the annual goals and whether services need adjusting.10U.S. Department of Education. IDEA Sec. 300.324 Development, Review, and Revision of IEP You can also request a review at any time if the current plan isn’t working. You don’t have to wait for the annual meeting.
A full reevaluation of eligibility happens at least every three years, unless you and the district agree it isn’t necessary.11eCFR. 34 CFR 300.303 Reevaluations Reevaluations can happen sooner if a teacher or parent requests one, but no more than once per year without mutual agreement.