Indiana’s special education laws live in a rulebook called Article 7, the state’s implementation of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Under Article 7, public schools must identify, evaluate, and serve students with disabilities, complete an initial evaluation within 50 instructional days of a parent’s written consent, and provide every eligible student a free appropriate public education at no cost to the family.1Legal Information Institute. Indiana Administrative Code 511 IAC 7-40-5 – Conducting an Initial Educational Evaluation Everything else in the process, from eligibility to the IEP to discipline, follows from those baseline duties.
Who Qualifies
Two things have to be true for a student to qualify. The student must have a recognized disability, and that disability must create a need for specially designed instruction. A diagnosis by itself is not enough. A child with ADHD who is doing fine academically with ordinary classroom support would not qualify, because the disability isn’t driving a need for services beyond general education.2Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 34 CFR 300.8 – Child With a Disability
Article 7 recognizes 13 disability categories:3Indiana Department of Education. Article 7 Thirteen Disability Categories
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Blind or Low Vision
- Deaf or Hard of Hearing
- Deaf-Blind
- Developmental Delay
- Emotional Disability
- Intellectual Disability
- Language or Speech Impairment
- Multiple Disabilities
- Other Health Impairment
- Orthopedic Impairment
- Specific Learning Disability
- Traumatic Brain Injury
A student can be found eligible under more than one category. Developmental Delay is available only through age nine, so younger children whose profile doesn’t yet fit a specific category can still receive services while things become clearer.
How the Evaluation Works
The process starts with a referral. A parent, teacher, or other school staff member can refer a student suspected of having a disability. The school cannot begin testing without the parent’s written consent, and that consent starts the clock.
Once the school has consent, it has 50 instructional days to complete the evaluation and convene a Case Conference Committee (CCC) to discuss the results.1Legal Information Institute. Indiana Administrative Code 511 IAC 7-40-5 – Conducting an Initial Educational Evaluation The 50-day rule does not apply when a child is moving from Part C early intervention to Part B preschool services (the deadline there is the child’s third birthday), when a parent repeatedly fails to make the student available for testing, or when the student transfers districts mid-evaluation.
A multidisciplinary team runs the evaluation and must use a variety of assessment tools; Article 7 prohibits relying on any single test. The team looks at academic achievement, cognitive ability, behavior, physical condition, and anything else relevant to the suspected disability. Assessments must be given in the student’s primary language or mode of communication and must be free from cultural bias.
After testing, the CCC decides whether the student meets eligibility criteria. The committee includes the student’s parents, at least one general education teacher, at least one special education teacher, and a school representative who can commit resources. Parents are full members, not observers.
Eligibility is not permanent. The school must reevaluate at least every three years, and either the school or the parent can request one sooner if the student’s needs seem to have changed.
What the IEP Must Contain
Once a student is found eligible, the CCC has 30 calendar days to develop an Individualized Education Program. After that, the committee reviews and revises the IEP at least once a year, and a current IEP must be in effect at the start of each school year for any student already receiving services.
An IEP is not just a list of goals. Indiana requires it to describe the student’s current academic and functional performance, set measurable annual goals, specify the special education and related services the student will receive, and explain any accommodations or modifications to the general curriculum.4Legal Information Institute. Indiana Administrative Code 511 IAC 7-42-6 – Developing an Individualized Education Program Related services can include speech therapy, occupational therapy, counseling, transportation, and anything else the student needs to benefit from instruction.
The IEP also decides where the student is educated. Indiana follows the least restrictive environment principle: students with disabilities must be educated alongside their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate. Separate classrooms or specialized schools are options only when the disability makes general education unsatisfactory even with supplementary aids and services.5Legal Information Institute. Indiana Administrative Code 511 IAC 7-42-10 – Least Restrictive Environment and Delivery of Special Education and Related Services The student should attend the school they would attend if not disabled unless the IEP requires otherwise, and even then the placement should be as close to the home school as possible.
Behavior Plans
When a student’s behavior interferes with learning, the CCC may require a Functional Behavioral Assessment and a Behavioral Intervention Plan. The BIP becomes part of the IEP and must describe the pattern of behavior, the purpose the behavior serves, the positive strategies and supports the school will use, and, where applicable, replacement skills the student will be taught.6Legal Information Institute. Indiana Administrative Code 511 IAC 7-32-10 – Behavioral Intervention Plan Defined
What FAPE Actually Means
Every eligible student is entitled to a free appropriate public education, known as FAPE. Indiana’s definition tracks the federal standard and adds one important detail: FAPE in Indiana specifically includes the award of credits and a diploma for completing academic requirements on the same basis as non-disabled students.7Legal Information Institute. Indiana Administrative Code 511 IAC 7-32-40 – Free Appropriate Public Education or FAPE Defined All services are provided at public expense and in conformity with the student’s IEP.
FAPE does not mean the best possible education. The U.S. Supreme Court has said the standard is an educational program reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances. That distinction is at the heart of most disputes: parents pushing for more intensive support and schools arguing their current program is enough usually end up debating where “appropriate” falls.
Parent Rights
Article 7’s procedural safeguards give parents real power at every step. Schools must obtain written parental consent before conducting an initial evaluation, before providing special education services for the first time, and before any reevaluation that involves new testing. If a parent refuses consent for an initial evaluation, the school cannot override that refusal through a due process hearing.
Schools must also provide prior written notice whenever they propose or refuse to change a student’s identification, evaluation, educational placement, or the provision of FAPE. The notice must explain what the school wants to do or won’t do, why, what data it relied on, and what other options it considered and rejected. This is one of the most commonly violated procedural requirements. Read every notice you receive carefully.
Parents have the right to inspect and review all educational records related to their child, attend and participate in every CCC meeting, and bring anyone with knowledge or expertise about the child to those meetings. The school must schedule meetings at a mutually agreeable time and give enough notice for parents to arrange attendance.
Independent Educational Evaluations
If you disagree with the school’s evaluation, you have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense. The school must then either fund the outside evaluation or file a due process complaint to prove its own evaluation was adequate. It cannot simply say no.8Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 34 CFR 300.502 – Independent Educational Evaluation
You are entitled to one publicly funded IEE each time the school conducts an evaluation you disagree with. The school may ask why you object, but it cannot require an explanation and cannot unreasonably delay funding the evaluation or filing for a hearing. If a hearing officer eventually finds the school’s evaluation was appropriate, you can still get an outside evaluation on your own dime. Comprehensive private evaluations typically run between $1,800 and $6,000 depending on the type of assessment and the evaluator.
Discipline and the 10-Day Rule
Students with disabilities have specific protections when schools impose discipline, and the pivot point is 10 school days. A school can suspend or remove a student with a disability for up to 10 cumulative instructional days in a school year under the same rules that apply to any student, without providing special education services during the removal.9Legal Information Institute. Indiana Administrative Code 511 IAC 7-44-1 – Removals and Services in General After those 10 days, the school must continue providing educational services during any further removals. Any part of a day counts as a full day of removal, and a bus suspension counts as a removal day when transportation is part of the IEP, unless the school arranges alternative transportation.
When a removal exceeds 10 consecutive school days, or when shorter removals add up to a pattern that amounts to a change of placement, the school must hold a manifestation determination review within 10 school days of the removal decision. The review team, which includes the parents and relevant IEP team members, decides two questions: whether the behavior was caused by or had a direct and substantial relationship to the disability, and whether it resulted from the school’s failure to implement the IEP.10eCFR. 34 CFR 300.530 – Authority of School Personnel
If the answer to either question is yes, the behavior is a manifestation of the disability. The student generally must return to the previous placement unless the parent and school agree otherwise, and the school must conduct a functional behavioral assessment (if it hasn’t already) or review and revise the existing BIP. If the behavior is not a manifestation, the school can apply the same consequences it would to any student, but it still has to provide educational services so the student can keep working on IEP goals.
Transition Planning
Indiana requires a transition-focused IEP to be in place when a student enters ninth grade or turns 14, whichever comes first. The CCC can start earlier when it makes sense. Transition planning covers three areas: employment, education and training after high school, and independent living skills.11Indiana Department of Education. Mastering Transition IEPs for Student Success
Each transition IEP must include age-appropriate assessments, postsecondary goals based on those assessments, transition activities and services, and annual goals that connect to the student’s post-school trajectory. The pieces should link: if the assessment says a student wants to become an electrician, the education goal should point toward a vocational program, and the annual goals should build skills that move the student in that direction.
When You Disagree With the School
Disagreements over evaluations, services, or placement are common, and Indiana offers three formal ways to resolve them. Picking the right one matters.
Mediation
Mediation is voluntary for both sides. A neutral mediator runs a conversation aimed at reaching an agreement without a formal hearing. When mediation is used to resolve a complaint, it must be completed within 20 calendar days.12Indiana Department of Education. Special Education Mediation 511 IAC 7-45-2 Any agreement is legally binding and enforceable in court. Mediation works best when the disagreement is narrow and both sides are genuinely willing to negotiate.
State Complaints
Anyone can file a formal complaint with the Indiana Department of Education alleging that a school is violating Article 7 or IDEA. The complaint must be filed within one year of the alleged violation and must identify the student, the school, the specific requirements being violated, and the facts supporting the allegation.13Indiana Department of Education. Special Education Complaint 511 IAC 7-45-1 A copy must go to both the IDOE and the school district. The IDOE investigates and issues a written report within 40 calendar days. Either side can request reconsideration within 10 days of that report, and a final decision comes within 60 calendar days of the original filing date.
State complaints are effective for systemic problems: a school that consistently misses IEP deadlines, or one that doesn’t deliver services written into students’ plans. The IDOE can order corrective action, including compensatory services for missed instruction.
Due Process Hearings
A due process hearing is the most formal option. Either a parent or a school can file, and the case is decided by an independent hearing officer whose ruling is binding. Timing depends on who files. When a parent files, a 30-day resolution period comes first, during which the school must convene a meeting to try to resolve the dispute. The 45-day clock for the hearing and decision starts after that resolution period ends, or after both sides waive it, or after the resolution meeting produces an agreement.14Legal Information Institute. Indiana Administrative Code 511 IAC 7-45-7 – Conducting the Hearing When a school files, the 45 days run from the date the parent receives the request.
During any due process proceeding, the student stays in the current educational placement. This is the “stay-put” rule. The school cannot unilaterally move the student to a different setting while the dispute is pending, and the parent cannot be pressured into accepting a change.15Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 34 CFR 300.518 – Child’s Status During Proceedings Either party can appeal the hearing officer’s decision in state or federal court.