IEPs and 504 Plans: How to Get School Support for Your Child

This page describes the US system. Provision differs in other countries.

What is the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan?

An IEP sets out special education — specially designed instruction — with related services.⁠⁷ A 504 plan sets out the education, aids and services a student needs for their needs to be met as adequately as other students'.⁠⁸

A child who needs specially designed instruction, such as specialist reading instruction, is who IDEA's special education is for.⁠⁷ A child who can access the same curriculum as everyone else but needs extra time, preferential seating, or movement breaks may be served by a 504 plan.

Both rest on federal law: IDEA and Section 504.⁠^3,4

Do you need a diagnosis to get an IEP or a 504 plan?

Eligibility is decided through the school's evaluation. A group of qualified professionals and you decide whether your child has a disability under IDEA and what their educational needs are.⁠⁷ A private diagnosis can support your case. Don't wait for a diagnostic appointment to start this process.

Schools have a legal obligation to identify children who may need services. Under IDEA's Child Find requirement, districts must identify, locate and evaluate children with suspected disabilities — including those who are advancing from grade to grade but may still need special education.⁠⁷ This obligation exists whether or not you ask.

How to request an IEP or 504 evaluation in writing

Put it in writing.

Federal law lets you request an evaluation at any time, and the district must then either seek your consent to evaluate or explain in writing why it will not. A written request puts that on the record with a date; a conversation with a teacher leaves nothing to point back to. The evaluation timeline runs from your consent, not from the request: 60 days under federal rules, unless your state sets its own.⁠¹

Where to send it: the school principal and the district's special education director. Email works, and it gives you a timestamp — but keep a copy either way.

What happens next: the school responds, and if it agrees to evaluate, asks for your written consent. The clock starts when you give consent, not when you send the request.⁠^1,7 Sign and return it promptly.

Then 60 days, unless your state sets its own timeframe. That's the federal rule from consent to completed evaluation, so check your own state's timeline.⁠⁷

Note the terminology varies by state. Ask what the evaluation is called in yours so you're using the same vocabulary as the district.

Sample letter requesting a special education evaluation

Three things that make a request stronger:

Describe the impact, not just a label. "He hasn't eaten lunch in two months because he can't tolerate the cafeteria" says more than "he has sensory issues."

Name the areas you want assessed. The evaluation must cover all areas related to the suspected disability,⁠⁷ so name the ones you are concerned about.

Ask for procedural safeguards in writing. You're entitled to a copy of the procedural safeguards notice when you request an evaluation.⁠⁷

What does a special education evaluation involve?

For an IEP, the evaluation must use trained and knowledgeable personnel and assess all areas related to the suspected disability.⁠⁷ Depending on your concerns it may include cognitive assessment, academic achievement testing, speech and language assessment, occupational or physical therapy assessment, social-emotional and behavioral assessment, and classroom observation.

For a 504, the school must draw on information from a variety of sources — such as aptitude and achievement tests, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social or cultural background, and adaptive behavior — and document it.⁠⁸

You can and should contribute. Provide reports from outside professionals, your own written observations, and anything documenting the difficulty. Information you provide is part of the evaluation.⁠⁷

What happens at the IEP or 504 plan meeting?

If your child is found eligible, a team meets to develop the plan. You are a member of that team, not an observer.⁠⁷

An IEP team includes you, a regular education teacher, a special education teacher, someone who can interpret the evaluation results, and a district representative. Your child may attend whenever appropriate, and must be invited when the meeting is to consider postsecondary goals and transition services.⁠⁷

• Ask for any draft in advance, so you can read it before the meeting.
• Bring someone. A partner, a friend, or an advocate.
• Ask for anything unclear to be explained. Special education runs on acronyms, and nobody should be signing something they don't understand.
• You can ask for time to read it. Your written consent is needed before special education services are first provided.⁠⁷
• Follow up in writing confirming what was agreed.

Your rights as a parent under IDEA

Under IDEA, these are formal and enforceable:

Prior written notice — the school must tell you in writing, a reasonable time before it proposes or refuses to change identification, evaluation, or placement, with its reasons⁠⁷

Access to records — you may inspect and review your child's education records⁠⁷

Independent educational evaluation (IEE) — if you disagree with the school's evaluation, you can request an independent one at public expense, subject to conditions⁠⁷

Participation — you're a member of the team⁠⁷

Consent — the school needs your written consent for initial evaluation and initial placement⁠⁷

Dispute resolution — mediation, state complaint, and due process hearing⁠⁷

Under Section 504, the safeguards are set out in less detail. They include notice, a chance to examine relevant records, an impartial hearing with participation by parents and representation by counsel, and a review procedure, and a 504 placement decision is made by a group of people knowledgeable about the child.⁠⁸

What to do if the school refuses your request

A refusal is not the end, and it must be in writing.⁠⁷

Ask for prior written notice. The school must explain in writing why it's refusing, what information it relied on, and what other options it considered.⁠⁷

• Request an independent educational evaluation if you disagree with the school's assessment⁠⁷
• File a state complaint with your state education agency⁠⁷
• Request mediation — voluntary for both sides⁠⁷
• Request a due process hearing — the formal route⁠⁷
• Contact your state's Parent Training and Information Center. Federal law funds at least one in every state.⁠⁹

Keep everything in writing. Dates, copies, and a short note after every phone call confirming what was said.

Accommodations and services an IEP or 504 plan can include

Accommodations — available under either plan.⁠^7,8 Extended time · preferential seating · movement breaks · written as well as verbal instructions · reduced copying from the board · notes or slides provided · assistive technology including text-to-speech and speech-to-text · a quiet space for tests · shortened assignments where volume isn't the point · permission to leave class early to avoid corridors · a discreet break card

Related services — part of an IEP, and also available under Section 504.⁠^7,8 Speech-language pathology · occupational therapy · physical therapy · counseling · specialized transport

Specialized instruction — the core of an IEP.⁠⁷ Structured literacy for dyslexia · modified curriculum · explicit instruction in specific skills · small-group or one-to-one teaching. See the learning differences hub for what each domain involves.

School support before age 3: early intervention

Special education with an IEP can start at age 3. Under three, a different system applies. Under IDEA, the obligation to make a free appropriate public education available begins no later than a child’s third birthday; before that, early intervention under Part C serves infants and toddlers, with services set out in an IFSP (individualized family service plan).⁠⁶

Every state runs an early intervention program under IDEA Part C. You can refer your own child — no doctor's referral — and the evaluation is free regardless of income or insurance; some states charge sliding fees for services.⁠² Search "[your state] early intervention."

At age three, a child moving from early intervention to preschool special education should have an IEP, or in some states an IFSP, in place by the third birthday, and the school district takes part in planning that transition with you.⁠⁶

RelatedDelayed motor milestonesGlobal developmental delayStart here

Frequently Asked Questions

RelatedPreschool development and requesting an evaluationSample letter requesting a school evaluation

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. OSEP Memo 11-07: A Response to Intervention (RTI) Process Cannot Be Used to Delay-Deny an Evaluation for Eligibility under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). January 21, 2011 (copy published by the Tennessee Department of Education). Checked October 6, 2026.
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   The regulations “allow a parent to request an initial evaluation at any time”; a district that agrees must give notice and obtain consent, and one that refuses “must provide written notice to parents explaining why”; the evaluation is due “within 60 days of receiving parental consent” or within the State’s own timeframe (34 CFR §300.301(c)).
2. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part C regulations, 34 CFR Part 303 (eCFR). Parents are primary referral sources: §303.303(c). Checked October 6, 2026.
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   Evaluation and assessment, service coordination and the IFSP “must be carried out at public expense, and for which no fees may be charged to parents”; a State may set a “schedule of sliding or cost participation fees that may be charged to the parent for early intervention services,” and a family the State finds unable to pay receives all Part C services at no cost: §303.521.
3. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq. Checked August 19, 2026.
4. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §794. Checked August 19, 2026.
5. US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Protecting students with disabilities: frequently asked questions about Section 504. Checked August 19, 2026.
6. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B and Part C regulations, 34 CFR Parts 300 and 303 (eCFR). A free appropriate public education “must be available to all children residing in the State between the ages of 3 and 21, inclusive”; the obligation “begins no later than the child’s third birthday”, with “An IEP or an IFSP” in effect by that date: §300.101. Checked October 30, 2026.
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   For a child leaving early intervention, by the third birthday “an IEP or, if consistent with § 300.323(b) and section 636(d) of the Act, an IFSP, has been developed and is being implemented”, and each affected school district takes part in transition planning conferences: §300.124. An infant or toddler with a disability is “an individual under three years of age who needs early intervention services”: §303.21; the IFSP is “a written plan for providing early intervention services to an infant or toddler with a disability”: §303.20.
7. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B regulations, 34 CFR Part 300 (eCFR). Eligibility: one of the conditions listed in §300.8 “and who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services”, with thirteen defined conditions; special education is “specially designed instruction” (§300.39); related services include speech-language pathology, physical and occupational therapy, counseling and transportation (§300.34). Checked October 30, 2026.
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   Child find includes children “suspected of being a child with a disability ... even though they are advancing from grade to grade” (§300.111). The initial evaluation “Must be conducted within 60 days of receiving parental consent for the evaluation; or ... If the State establishes a timeframe ... within that timeframe” (§300.301); consent is required for the initial evaluation and before the initial provision of services (§300.300); the child is assessed “in all areas related to the suspected disability” by “trained and knowledgeable personnel” (§300.304), drawing on “Evaluations and information provided by the parents” (§300.305); eligibility is determined by “a group of qualified professionals and the parent of the child” (§300.306); reevaluation “at least once every 3 years” (§300.303). The IEP contains “measurable annual goals” and how progress is reported (§300.320); the team includes the parents, a regular and a special education teacher, a district representative, someone who can interpret evaluation results and, “Whenever appropriate, the child”, who must be invited when postsecondary goals are considered (§300.321); the IEP is reviewed “not less than annually” (§300.324). Safeguards: records (§300.501), independent evaluation at public expense if the parent disagrees (§300.502), prior written notice of a proposal or refusal with its reasons and “other options” considered (§300.503), the procedural safeguards notice (§300.504), mediation that is “voluntary on the part of the parties” (§300.506), due process (§300.507) and state complaints (§300.153).
8. Section 504 regulations, 34 CFR Part 104 (eCFR). A person with a disability has “a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities” (§104.3); an appropriate education is “regular or special education and related aids and services” designed to meet individual needs “as adequately as the needs of nonhandicapped persons are met”, and implementing an IEP is “one means of meeting” that standard (§104.33); evaluation and placement draw “upon information from a variety of sources”, the placement decision is made “by a group of persons, including persons knowledgeable about the child”, with procedures for “periodic reevaluation” (§104.35); procedural safeguards include “notice, an opportunity for the parents or guardian of the person to examine relevant records, an impartial hearing ... and a review procedure” (§104.36). Checked October 30, 2026.
9. Parent training and information centers. 20 U.S.C. §1471. law.cornell.edu. Checked October 30, 2026. The Secretary shall “make not less than 1 award to a parent organization in each State for a parent training and information center.”

Medical disclaimer. This page is for general educational purposes and describes the US system. It is not legal advice. Requirements vary by state, and your state's Parent Training and Information Center can provide free guidance specific to where you live.