Complaint Summary
Date Findings Report Sent
August 31, 2026
Case Number
27-0016
School District
Old Saybrook (single student)
Person filing complaint
Parent
Grade Level
Elementary
Allegation(s)
Issue 1: The Parent alleged that the District failed to conduct and review a three-year reevaluation within a reasonable period of time, as required by 34 C.F.R. § 300.303 and its "reasonable time" standard.
Issue 2: The Parent alleged that the District failed to ensure that an IEP based on current evaluative data would be in effect for the Student at the start of the 2026–27 school year, as required by 34 CFR § 300.323(a).
An allegation may not address a violation that is expected in the future, but has not yet taken place. Only allegations of actions or events that have taken place may be investigated as violations. The Parent alleged that the described violation will take place at a future date. Therefore, this does not represent a potential violation of special education regulations and cannot be investigated. No further action was taken related to this allegation.
Issue 3: The Parent alleged that the District did not have sufficient data on which to base the refusals of the Parent’s requests to change the Student’s identification (i.e., primary disability), change the Student’s educational placement (i.e., service delivery by an Orton Gillingham certified instructor), and initiate an educational placement (i.e., compensatory education from an Orton Gillingham certified instructor) as itemized in the May 20, 2026, Prior Written Notices (PWNs). This allegation is based on the Parent’s assertion that such refusals could not be appropriately determined without the reevaluation data (which had been consented to in March 2026, but had not yet been completed at the time of the PPT Meeting in May 2026) to establish the Student’s educational needs. (34 CFR § 300.306(c))
Conclusion(s)
Issue 1: In the complaint, the Parent refers to a ‘reasonable time’ standard. A “reasonable time standard”, is not included or defined in the applicable federal regulation (34 CFR § 300.303). The regulation sets fixed frequency limits for reevaluations. Such required frequencies are: ‘not more than once per year’ and ‘at least once every three years’.
The Student’s next three-year reevaluation is documented on the IEP as being due by November 11, 2027. The District acknowledges that at the Student’s March 10, 2026, PPT meeting, the District agreed to begin that reevaluation early. It has been established through the investigation that there is no documentation in the Student’s education records to verify what the timing of completing the Student’s three-year evaluation early was to be. However, the District’s explanation of the timing in their response to this complaint investigation indicates that the District began the reevaluation procedures after the March 10, 2026, PPT meeting and continued through the end of the 2025-2026 school year. At that time, all portions of the reevaluation had not yet been completed. A plan to complete the remaining assessment during the Summer of 2026, was proposed, however, this was unable to be completed due to staff/Student availability. The District plans to complete the remaining assessment in September 2026, and review the reevaluation results at a PPT meeting in November 2026. If this timing is adhered to, the Student’s three-year reevaluation will be conducted approximately one year early.
While it is evident that an agreement to complete the three-year reevaluation early took place, there is no documentation that would condition the early completion of such reevaluation by a certain date. As such, there is no requirement that the District must have completed the reevaluation by the end of the 2025-2026 school year or at the time of the filing of this complaint. For that aspect of this allegation, the District is not out of compliance with special education regulations. Further, in the absence of any documentation in the Student’s education records defining a certain early date of completion, the Student’s official three-year reevaluation deadline remains as November 11, 2027. It is concluded that the District is not out of compliance with 34 CFR § 300.303. No corrective actions were issued.
Issue 3: 34 CFR § 300.306(c) states in interpreting evaluation data for the purpose of determining if a child is a child with a disability and the educational needs of the child, the District must (i) draw upon information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, parent input, and teacher recommendations, as well as information about the child’s physical condition, social or cultural background, and adaptive behavior; and (ii) ensure that information obtained from all these sources is documented and carefully considered.
It has previously been established though Issue 1 that the District was not required to have completed the Student’s three-year reevaluation prior to November 11, 2027, but did agree to complete it ‘early’. At the same PPT meeting, the Parent proposed to change the Student’s identification and educational placement, which the District refused. The District was not at any fault in that updated reevaluation data was not available for use in considering the Parent’s proposals. In responding to the Parent’s proposals, the PPT was only required to consider available data from a variety of sources, which they did. It is concluded that the District is not out of compliance with 34 CFR § 300.306(c). No corrective actions were issued.
Corrective Action(s)
None