Yes

The legal context

Under federal and Indiana law, if school staff suspects a student may have a learning disability because they’re not making adequate progress, the school is supposed to initiate a request for an evaluation and obtain parental consent.

Parents can also request an IEP evaluation. They must make it verbally or in writing to teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, building principals and other school administrators. 

Once the parent makes their request, the school has 10 instructional days to provide the parent with written notice that says whether they will conduct the evaluation.

In its notice to parents, the school also must:

• Describe the evaluation procedure and assessments used.
• Include reasons for the decision. 

If the school agrees to conduct the evaluation, it must notify parents of:

• The timeline for the evaluation and the convening of a case conference committee meeting. (A case conference committee is the group of people, including the parents and school staff, who are responsible for making the educational decisions for a student with a suspected or identified disability.)
• An explanation of how the parent can get a copy of the evaluation results prior to the case conference committee meeting or a meeting with someone who can explain the results of the evaluation. 
• Their rights under the law and how to obtain assistance with understanding their rights. 

If the school refuses to conduct the evaluation, it must notify parents of:

• An explanation of the parent’s right to contest the agency’s decision by requesting mediation or a due process hearing.
• A statement that the parent of a student with a disability has protection under the procedural safeguard provision.
• A list of sources for parents to contact for assistance in understanding Indiana special education law.

If a student is deemed eligible for an IEP, the case conference committee must meet at least once every year to discuss the child’s IEP. And the student’s case conference committee must reevaluate them for special education services at least once every three years — unless the parent and the school agree that reevaluation isn’t necessary. The school is supposed to notify parents of a reevaluation and obtain their consent. A parent can also request (verbally or in writing) that their child be reevaluated sooner.