No. An initial assessment may not be done without your written approval unless the district seeks and wins a due process hearing to compel assessment. However, if a parent/guardian/other education rights holder fails to respond to a district’s request to reassess a student already in special education, the district can assess without the parent/guardian/other education rights holder’s consent. The district must demonstrate that it has reasonably sought consent from the parent/guardian/other education rights holder and they have failed to respond.^[1] The school district does not need parental consent in order to review existing records as part of a reassessment.

If you receive a written request for assessment from your school district, do not ignore this request. Be sure to respond back to your district even if it’s to tell them you are just considering their request.

1. 34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.300(c)(2); Cal. Ed. Code Secs. 56321(c)(2), 56506(e).[↩]