Evaluations
Asking for an evaluation, and what comes next
What to put in the request, how long the school has to answer, and who sits at the eligibility meeting.
Yvonne Bledsoe7 min read
Education law clinic for parents in Flint
When the school says no, you don’t have to answer alone
Harkness Legal Clinic helps parents with an evaluation request, an IEP or 504 plan, or a suspension notice. It is free for families who qualify. Start with a guide tonight, or send us the letter.
186
plans drafted or rewritten41
petitions and complaints filed93
school meetings attended58
evaluations requested in writing
Counted from the clinic’s files. A count of paperwork, not a prediction for any child’s case.
- Free for families who qualifyOne short call checks income and the issue
- Guides you can read tonightNo sign-up, no email address needed
- We read the file firstBefore we tell you anything about it
Costs: there is no fee to families who qualify. If an outside cost could come up, such as a private evaluation, we explain it in writing and you decide before anything is spent.
Guides
Read this first, then decide whether to call
Plain-language guides from the lawyers here, with nothing to sign up for. None of them replaces advice about your own child’s file.
DisciplineSent home from school: the first day
Questions to ask when the call comes, what to write down, and the paperwork a suspension should leave behind.
Kalinda Wendt6 min read
The clinicHow a case here works, step by step
From the first message to the last meeting: what we ask for, what we do, and when you decide.
Harkness Legal Clinic4 min read
What we handle
Four things we do for parents most weeks
Each one starts with the paperwork you already have. Pick the one closest to your letter.
Evaluations and eligibility
Getting the school to test your child, reading the results, and disagreeing with them in writing.
Evaluations
IEPs and placement
Goals that match the data, services written in minutes, and a say in where your child is taught.
IEPs
Suspensions and expulsions
What a school owes you before and after sending your child home, and how to prepare for a hearing.
Discipline
504 plans
Written supports for a child with a health need or disability who doesn’t need an IEP.
504 plans
Watch first
From a written request to the eligibility meeting, in nine minutes
A lawyer from the clinic walks through what happens after you ask the school to evaluate your child, who sits at the table, and the three things worth saying out loud.
Asking the school for an evaluation, explained by a clinic lawyer
Questions
Before you call: the questions we hear first
Is it really free?
For families who qualify, yes. There is no fee for the clinic’s time. If an outside cost could come up, such as a private evaluation, we tell you in writing first and you decide.
How do you decide who qualifies?
We compare household income with a yearly guideline and check whether the problem is one we take. A short call answers both. If we can’t help, we try to point you to someone who can.
Do I need a lawyer for an IEP meeting?
Most parents go without one. A lawyer helps most when the school has said no to something in writing, when a disagreement has run past a meeting or two, or when discipline is involved.
Will you come to the meeting?
Sometimes. Often we prepare you beforehand and read the draft afterward, because the school hears from you every year. When a meeting looks likely to go badly, a lawyer comes along.
What should I send first?
Whatever worried you: the notice, the latest plan, an evaluation report, a report card. A phone photo is fine. We read all of it before we talk.
What if there’s a date on the letter?
Tell us the date when you write. Some deadlines are short: a hearing can be days away and an appeal only a few weeks.
Two lines is enough to start
Tell us what the school said and the date on the letter. Someone at the clinic reads it and tells you whether we can help.