Maryland IEP requirements: the 5-business-day rule and the goals that need benchmarks
Maryland’s special education rules live in COMAR 13A.05.01 and Title 8 of the Education Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. Three things there will catch out a SPED teacher who trained anywhere else. Parents get every document — including the draft IEP — five business days before the meeting. Transition planning starts at 14, not 16. And every annual goal needs benchmarks or short-term objectives, not just the goals of students taking alternate assessments. Every deadline below is cited to the regulation itself.
Every Maryland deadline in one table
| What has to happen | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Complete the initial evaluation (from parental consent for assessments) | 60 days | COMAR 13A.05.01.06A(1)(a) |
| Complete the initial evaluation (from the agency receiving a written referral) | 90 days | COMAR 13A.05.01.06A(1)(b) |
| Hold the IEP team meeting to develop the IEP after the evaluation | 30 days | COMAR 13A.05.01.08A(1) |
| Written notice to the parent before an IEP team meeting | At least 10 days in advance | COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(2) |
| Give the parent every document the team will discuss, including the draft IEP | At least 5 business days before the meeting | COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(3)(a); Educ. Art. § 8-405(c) |
| Give the parent the completed IEP after the meeting | Not later than 5 business days after | COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(3)(b) |
| Review and revise the IEP | Periodically, but not less than annually | COMAR 13A.05.01.08B(1) |
| Determine whether the student needs extended school year (ESY) services | At least annually | COMAR 13A.05.01.08B; Educ. Art. § 8-405 |
| Transition services and measurable postsecondary goals in the IEP | First IEP in effect when the student turns 14 | COMAR 13A.05.01.09A(3)(a); Educ. Art. § 21-305 |
| Statement that rights transfer at the age of majority | Not later than 1 year before the student reaches majority | COMAR 13A.05.01.09A(4); Educ. Art. § 8-412.1 |
| Respond to a parent request for an independent educational evaluation at public expense | Within 30 days (approve, or deny and file due process within 30 days of the denial) | COMAR 13A.05.01.14 |
| Schedule a mediation session after a written request | Reasonable efforts within 20 calendar days | COMAR 13A.05.01.15 |
| Eligibility for FAPE | Age 3 through the end of the school year in which the student turns 21 | COMAR 13A.05.01.01 |
Source: Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.05.01, Provision of a Free Appropriate Public Education. Local school systems may set stricter internal deadlines than the state floor — check your district’s procedures before relying on the outside edge of any window here.
The 5-business-day rule is the one that changes your week
COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(3) requires school personnel to give the parent an accessible copy of each assessment, report, data chart, draft individualized education program, or other document the team plans to discuss at least 5 business days before the meeting — and the completed IEP not later than 5 business days after. The regulation implements Education Article § 8-405(c) of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
Read that as a scheduling constraint, because that is what it is. Business days exclude weekends and holidays, so for a Thursday meeting your documents are due the previous Thursday. Working backward from a typical annual review:
- Meeting day. Thursday, the 19th.
- Documents to the parent. Thursday the 12th — five business days earlier. If Monday the 16th is a holiday, the deadline slides to Wednesday the 11th.
- Draft IEP finished. Before that. The draft is named in the regulation, so “we will write it at the meeting” is not a way around the rule when a draft exists. Your real drafting deadline is roughly two weeks ahead of the meeting, not the night before.
- Completed IEP out. Within five business days after — Thursday the 26th at the latest.
The practical consequence for a caseload of 18 students is that Maryland teachers cannot batch drafting into the week of the meetings. The document deadline lands a week before every meeting, which means your annual review calendar has a second set of dates sitting behind the visible one. Building both columns into a single tracker is the fix; our IEP caseload management guide walks through the tracker structure, and the annual IEP review checklist covers what belongs in the draft before it goes out.
One caution about sending a draft: label it a draft, and mean it. Sending a document that reads as finished invites the argument that the team predetermined placement or services before the parent had a chance to participate. The safe version is a working draft with present levels and proposed goals filled in and service and placement decisions visibly open.
Every goal needs benchmarks — this is the transfer-teacher trap
COMAR 13A.05.01.09A(1)(b) requires “measurable academic and functional annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term instructional objectives.” There is no alternate-assessment qualifier in the Maryland text. Federal regulation, by contrast, requires benchmarks or short-term objectives only for children who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards (34 CFR § 300.320(a)(2)(ii)).
So an IEP goal that passes review in Pennsylvania or Virginia can be incomplete the moment it crosses into Maryland. Here is the same goal both ways — both invented for illustration, not drawn from a real student:
| Federal minimum (sample) | Maryland version (sample) |
|---|---|
| Given a third-grade passage, [Student] will read aloud at 90 words correct per minute with 95% accuracy across 3 consecutive probes by 05/2027. | Same annual goal, plus: Benchmark 1 (Nov): 68 wcpm, 95% accuracy, 3 consecutive probes. Benchmark 2 (Feb): 78 wcpm, 95% accuracy, 3 consecutive probes. Benchmark 3 (Apr): 85 wcpm, 95% accuracy, 3 consecutive probes. |
Two rules keep benchmarks from becoming busywork. First, space them to your reporting periods so each benchmark is a number you already collect — a benchmark you cannot report on is a compliance liability, not a plan. Second, make the increments defensible: if the annual goal is a 40-point gain and the first benchmark asks for 30 of it by November, the team is going to have to explain that in the spring. Our guide to writing measurable IEP goals covers the four-part structure each goal and benchmark needs, and baseline data for IEP goals covers where the starting number comes from.
The two evaluation clocks
Maryland does not run one evaluation timeline. COMAR 13A.05.01.06A(1) requires the initial evaluation to be complete within 60 days of parental consent for assessments and within 90 days of the public agency receiving a written referral. Both apply. The referral clock starts first and is the one teams lose track of, because it begins before consent exists — before the paperwork is chased, before the parent meeting is scheduled, before the school psychologist has a slot.
Practically: the day a written referral arrives, write both dates on the folder. If consent is not signed within 30 days of the referral, the 60-day consent clock now expires after the 90-day referral clock, and the referral date becomes your controlling deadline. Two exceptions exist and they are narrow — a parent who repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the student for assessments, or a student who enrolls in a different public agency mid-evaluation, and the second only counts when the new agency is making sufficient progress and the parent and agency agree on a completion date (COMAR 13A.05.01.06A(2)–(3)). After eligibility, the team has 30 days to meet and develop the IEP (COMAR 13A.05.01.08A(1)). Our special education referral process guide walks the whole sequence from teacher concern to eligibility.
Where Maryland adds to federal law
| Topic | Federal floor | Maryland |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting notice | “Early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend” — no fixed number (34 CFR § 300.322(a)(1)) | At least 10 days in advance, except for expedited meetings (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(2)) |
| Documents before the meeting | No pre-meeting document requirement | Every assessment, report, data chart, and draft IEP at least 5 business days before (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(3)(a)) |
| Finished IEP to the parent | A copy at no cost, no deadline stated (34 CFR § 300.322(f)) | Not later than 5 business days after the meeting (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(3)(b)) |
| Benchmarks / short-term objectives | Required only for students taking alternate assessments (34 CFR § 300.320(a)(2)(ii)) | Required on annual goals for every student (COMAR 13A.05.01.09A(1)(b)) |
| Transition planning begins | First IEP in effect at age 16 (34 CFR § 300.320(b)) | First IEP in effect at age 14 (COMAR 13A.05.01.09A(3)(a)) |
| Initial evaluation clock | 60 days from parental consent (34 CFR § 300.301(c)(1)) | 60 days from consent and 90 days from written referral (COMAR 13A.05.01.06A(1)) |
Transition planning starts at 14
Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the student turns 14 — and younger if appropriate — the IEP must include measurable postsecondary goals based on age-appropriate transition assessments in training, education, employment, and where appropriate independent living; the transition services and course of study needed to reach them; and a statement of the agency’s and any participating agency’s responsibilities or linkages before the student leaves the secondary setting (COMAR 13A.05.01.09A(3)(a), consistent with Education Article § 21-305). It is updated annually.
The notice rules step up in two stages. From 14, the written notice must state that a purpose of the meeting is consideration of postsecondary goals and transition services and that the student will be invited (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(5)). From 16, the notice must also identify any other agencies that may be invited to send a representative (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(6)). If a participating agency does not deliver a transition service written into the IEP, the public agency responsible for the student’s education must promptly convene a meeting to identify alternative strategies and revise the IEP if necessary — the obligation does not lapse because an outside agency dropped it.
A separate one-year clock runs at the other end: not later than one year before the student reaches the age of majority, the IEP must state that the student has been informed of the rights that will transfer (COMAR 13A.05.01.09A(4), Education Article § 8-412.1). Our transition IEP goals guide has sample postsecondary goals in all three domains.
Meetings, notice, and going ahead without a parent
Maryland’s 10-day notice (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(2)) is a floor with named exceptions: expedited meetings to address disciplinary issues, to determine the placement of a student not currently receiving educational services, or to meet other urgent needs to ensure FAPE. The notice content requirements track federal law and add specifics — purpose, time, date, and location; who will attend; that parents may invite others; and that whoever invites an individual decides whether that person has knowledge or special expertise (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(4)).
If neither parent can attend, the agency must use other methods including individual, video conference, or teleconference calls (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(7), consistent with 34 CFR § 300.328). A meeting may go ahead without the parent only if the agency was unable to convince them to attend and has a record of its attempts — detailed logs of calls made or attempted and their results, copies of correspondence and any responses, or records of visits to the home or workplace (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(8)). Two voicemails and a hope is not a record. Our IEP meeting notice requirements guide covers what the notice must say and how to document attempts, and how to run an IEP meeting covers the meeting itself.
After the annual meeting for a school year, the parent and the public agency may agree to amend or modify the IEP in writing without convening the team (COMAR 13A.05.01.08B(4), consistent with 34 CFR § 300.324(a)(4)) — see IEP amendment without a meeting. And the agency must take whatever action is necessary for the parent to understand the proceedings, including arranging an interpreter for a parent who is deaf or whose native language is not English (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(9)).
Frequently asked questions
How long does Maryland have to complete an initial evaluation?
Maryland runs two clocks at once. The IEP team must complete an initial evaluation within 60 days of parental consent for assessments, and within 90 days of the public agency receiving a written referral (COMAR 13A.05.01.06A(1)). Whichever date arrives first is your real deadline. Because the 90-day referral clock starts before consent is ever signed, a district that takes six weeks to get a consent form signed has already burned most of its window. The timeline does not apply if the parent repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the student for assessments, or if the student enrolls in a different public agency before the evaluation is complete — and that second exception only applies if the new agency is making sufficient progress and the parent and agency agree on a specific completion date (COMAR 13A.05.01.06A(2)–(3)).
What is Maryland's 5-business-day rule?
Under COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(3), which implements Education Article § 8-405(c) of the Annotated Code of Maryland, school personnel must give the parent an accessible copy of each assessment, report, data chart, draft IEP, or other document the team plans to discuss at least 5 business days before the scheduled meeting — and must give the parent the completed IEP not later than 5 business days after the meeting. Most states have no pre-meeting document rule at all. In Maryland it is a regulation, it names the draft IEP explicitly, and it counts business days, not calendar days.
How much notice does Maryland require for an IEP meeting?
Reasonable notice is at least 10 days in advance of the meeting (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(2)). Federal law only requires notice 'early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend' (34 CFR § 300.322(a)(1)) with no fixed number, so Maryland's 10 days is a state-added floor. It does not apply to expedited meetings held to address disciplinary issues, to determine the placement of a student not currently receiving educational services, or to meet other urgent needs of the student to ensure FAPE.
At what age does transition planning start in Maryland?
Age 14 — two years earlier than the federal floor. Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the student turns 14, and younger if appropriate, the IEP must include measurable postsecondary goals based on age-appropriate transition assessments, the transition services and course of study needed to reach them, and a statement of agency responsibilities or linkages (COMAR 13A.05.01.09A(3)(a), consistent with Education Article § 21-305). Federal law sets that trigger at 16 (34 CFR § 300.320(b)). The meeting notice must also say that transition is a purpose of the meeting and that the student will be invited, starting at 14 (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(5)); identifying other agencies that may be invited begins at 16 (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D(6)).
Does Maryland require benchmarks or short-term objectives on IEP goals?
Yes, for every student. COMAR 13A.05.01.09A(1)(b) requires 'measurable academic and functional annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term instructional objectives.' Federal regulation requires benchmarks or short-term objectives only for children with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards (34 CFR § 300.320(a)(2)(ii)). So a goal that would be compliant in most states — a single measurable annual goal with no interim steps — is incomplete in Maryland. This is the single most common gap when a teacher moves into Maryland from another state.
Until what age is a student eligible for special education in Maryland?
Maryland assures FAPE for students with disabilities from age 3 through the end of the school year in which the student turns 21 (COMAR 13A.05.01.01 and 13A.05.01.03B(78)). Note the phrasing: eligibility runs to the end of that school year, not to the birthday, so a student who turns 21 in October is generally served through the end of that school year.
What happens when a student with an IEP transfers into a Maryland school?
The receiving public agency, in consultation with the parents, must provide FAPE including services comparable to those in the previous IEP until it acts (COMAR 13A.05.01.09E). For a transfer within Maryland the agency either adopts the previous IEP or develops a new one; for a transfer from another state the agency must conduct an evaluation if it determines one is necessary before developing a new IEP. The federal baseline is 34 CFR § 300.323(e)–(f). Comparable services start on day one of enrollment — not after the paperwork arrives.
Related guides
- Virginia IEP requirements — the neighbor state, with a different evaluation clock and a different transition age.
- Pennsylvania IEP requirements — another mid-Atlantic system with its own state-added timelines.
- IEP compliance checklist — the document-level review to run before any Maryland IEP goes out.
This guide summarizes Maryland regulation for educators and is not legal advice. COMAR is amended periodically — confirm any deadline against the current text of COMAR 13A.05.01 and your local school system’s procedures before relying on it.