Committee hears competing views on bill to give parents evaluation reports five school days before IEP meetings
Summary
House Bill 2557 would require districts to provide parents a copy of evaluation reports at least five school days before eligibility meetings. Parents and advocacy groups backed the change; OSPI and school psychologists warned of implementation challenges and potential strain on existing 35-school-day evaluation timelines.
A contentious public hearing on House Bill 2557 drew support from parent advocates and PTA leaders and caution from OSPI and practitioner groups over timelines and workforce capacity.
Megan Moragachi, counsel to the committee, briefed the bill: for any initial evaluation or reevaluation used to determine eligibility for special-education services, the school district must provide the parent or guardian with a copy of the evaluation report no later than five school days before the eligibility meeting. Parents could voluntarily waive the timeline in writing. If the district cannot provide the report within that timeline, the district must reschedule the meeting unless the parent provides a written waiver; failure to provide the report without a waiver is treated as a procedural violation and may be cited in administrative proceedings.
Tanya May, assistant superintendent for special education at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, said OSPI supports the bill’s family-engagement goals but recommended technical changes (referencing a draft or completed rather than a finalized report) and warned that, as drafted, the bill effectively shortens the existing 35-school-day evaluation timeline by five school days — a challenge for rural districts relying on itinerant providers. Several school psychologists (including Lawrence Tiritilli and Amy Canava) and service providers told the committee they face high caseloads and that codifying a five-day requirement could reduce time to complete comprehensive evaluations or delay service implementation in some cases.
Parent and PTA witnesses (Beth Kogan; Lisa Guthrie) described real-world examples in which parents received reports minutes before meetings and said five school days would allow time to digest the materials and prepare questions. Representative Rob Chase, the bill’s prime sponsor, said the intent is to ensure parents can meaningfully participate in eligibility meetings and said he was open to drafting changes to address provider concerns.
The chair suspended the hearing to move to other business and said the committee would resume if time allowed. The record shows substantial stakeholder disagreement about operational impacts and funding, and several witnesses asked the legislature to consider resources to implement the change without undermining evaluation quality.
