Maryland Special Education Requirements
What special education requirements does Maryland have beyond federal law?
Maryland has several special education requirements that go beyond or differ from the federal IDEA baseline. Key Maryland-specific provisions include: (1) Transition planning beginning at age 14 rather than the federal minimum of 16 (COMAR 13A.05.01.09A(3); Md. Code Ann., Ed. § 8-405); (2) Maryland's evaluation timeline of 60 calendar days from written consent (COMAR 13A.05.01.06A) — consistent with but explicitly codified in state regulation, not left to federal default; (3) ESY eligibility must be considered at every annual IEP review (COMAR 13A.05.01.08B) — a standing agenda requirement; (4) Maryland uses 'Emotional Disability' rather than the federal 'Emotional Disturbance' (COMAR 13A.05.01.03(5)); (5) Maryland is an all-party consent state for audio recording — all IEP meeting participants must consent before recording (Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-402); (6) Seclusion is prohibited in all public agencies as of July 1, 2022; physical restraint regulations under COMAR 13A.08.04 and Md. Code Ann., Ed. §§ 7-1101–7-1107, including a 24-hour notification requirement and IEP team review within 10 business days of an unplanned incident; (7) IEP facilitation as a distinct pre-dispute resolution option; (8) The Expanded School Behavioral Health (ESBH) program that funds mental health clinicians in schools (Md. Code Ann., Health-Gen. § 7.5-301); (9) Maryland Medicaid School Programs that allow LEAs to bill Medicaid for eligible services with parental consent (Md. Code Ann., Ed. § 8-418); (10) Parents must receive evaluation reports and draft IEP at least 5 business days before eligibility meetings (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D).
What Maryland Requires
Transition planning begins at age 14 — two years earlier than the federal minimum of 16 (COMAR 13A.05.01.09A(3); Md. Code Ann., Ed. § 8-405).
Maryland is an all-party consent state for recording IEP meetings — all participants must agree before recording (Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-402).
ESY eligibility must be considered at every annual IEP review as a required agenda item (COMAR 13A.05.01.08B).
Maryland uses 'Emotional Disability' instead of the federal 'Emotional Disturbance' (COMAR 13A.05.01.03(5)).
Seclusion is prohibited in all public agencies (effective July 1, 2022); physical restraint regulated under COMAR 13A.08.04 with 24-hour parent notification and IEP team review within 10 business days of unplanned incident (Md. Code Ann., Ed. §§ 7-1101–7-1107; COMAR 13A.08.04).
IEP facilitation is a standalone pre-dispute option separate from mediation (COMAR 13A.05.01.15).
Parents must receive evaluation reports and draft IEP at least 5 business days before eligibility meetings (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D).
Key Timelines
60 calendar days from written parental consent for evaluation completion (COMAR 13A.05.01.06A).
30 calendar days after eligibility for IEP development (COMAR 13A.05.01.08A).
Transition planning begins at age 14 (COMAR 13A.05.01.09A(3)).
24 hours: parent notification after restraint incident (COMAR 13A.08.04).
5 business days before eligibility meeting: evaluation report and draft IEP to parents (COMAR 13A.05.01.07D).
FAPE through age 21 (Md. Code Ann., Ed. § 8-403).