New Hampshire

The published process

Placement during a dispute

The handbook’s own section heading is "THE CHILDS PLACEMENT WHILE THE DUE PROCESS COMPLAINT AND HEARING ARE PENDING". Its text states: "once a due process complaint is sent to the other party, during the resolution process time period, and while waiting for the decision of any impartial due process hearing or court proceeding, unless you and the State or school district agree otherwise, your child must remain in his or her current educational placement." "If the due process complaint involves an application for initial admission to public school, your child, with your consent, must be placed in the regular public school program until the completion of all such proceedings." — Handbook, THE CHILDS PLACEMENT WHILE THE DUE PROCESS COMPLAINT AND HEARING ARE PENDING.

Independent evaluation at public expense

"You have the right to an independent educational evaluation of your child at public expense if you disagree with an evaluation of your child obtained by your school district, subject to the following conditions:" "If you request an independent educational evaluation of your child at public expense, your school district must, without unnecessary delay, either: (a) File a due process complaint to request a hearing to show that its evaluation of your child is appropriate; or (b) Provide an independent educational evaluation at public expense, unless the school district demonstrates in a hearing that the evaluation of your child that you obtained did not meet the school district's criteria." "You are entitled to only one independent educational evaluation of your child at public expense each time your school district conducts an evaluation of your child with which you disagree." (Handbook, Independent Educational Evaluations) As in several other states captured in this project, no specific number of days is stated for the district’s response — only "without unnecessary delay".

Who may be present, and what record is made

"You have the right to represent yourself at a due process hearing. In addition, any party to a due process hearing (including a hearing relating to disciplinary procedures) has the right to:" "Be accompanied and advised by an attorney and/or persons with special knowledge or training regarding the problems of children with disabilities;" "Be represented at the due process hearing by an attorney or non-attorney;" "Present evidence and confront, cross-examine, and require the attendance of witnesses;" "Obtain a written, or, at your option, electronic, word-for-word record of the hearing; and" "Obtain written, or, at your option, electronic findings of fact and decisions." As a parent, "You must be given the right to:" "Have your child present at the hearing;" "Open the hearing to the public; and" "Have the record of the hearing, the findings of fact and decisions provided to you at no cost." (Handbook, Hearing Rights) Recording of IEP Team meetings, as distinct from a due process hearing’s own record, is not stated in the sources reviewed; the handbook was searched throughout for "record," "tape," and "audio," and every provision found concerns the hearing record or education-records access, not a parent’s ability to record a meeting.

The three rows above answer the questions an experienced adviser raises first, from the state’s own published documents, or record that a question is not answered in them.

Timelines, as stated in the sources

All quoted; none calculated. From the Handbook except where noted.

On filing a state complaint. "NHED must resolve state complaints within 60 calendar days after a complaint is received." "The complaint must allege a violation that occurred not more than one year prior to the date that the complaint is received as described as described above." (Handbook, Minimum State Complaint Procedures; Filing a State Complaint)

On state complaint reconsideration. "Any party to a complaint may, within 20 days of receipt of the commissioner's written decision, make a written request to the commissioner for reconsideration of the decision." (Handbook, Request for Reconsideration and Appeals)

On filing a due process complaint. "The due process complaint must allege a violation that happened not more than two years before you or the school district knew or should have known about the alleged action that forms the basis of the due process complaint." (Handbook, Filing a Due Process Complaint)

On mediation. "A mediation conference shall be conducted within 30 calendar days after receipt of a written request, which may be continued if mutually agreed to by the parties, at which time the parties will determine the issues to be decided and options to explore." (Handbook, Mediation)

On the resolution meeting and period. "Within 15 calendar days of receiving notice of your due process complaint, and before the due process hearing begins, the school district must convene a meeting with you and the relevant member or members of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team who have specific knowledge of the facts identified in your due process complaint." "If the school district has not resolved the due process complaint to your satisfaction within 30 calendar days of the receipt of the due process complaint (during the time period for the resolution process), the due process hearing may occur." (Handbook, Resolution Process)

On the hearing decision. "The State Educational Agency must ensure that not later than 45 calendar days after the expiration of the 30-calendar-day period for resolution meetings or, as described under the sub-heading Adjustments to the 30-calendar-day resolution period, not later than 45 calendar days after the expiration of the adjusted time period:" "A final decision is reached in the hearing; and" "A copy of the decision is sent by certified mailed to each of the parties." (Handbook, Timelines and Convenience of Hearings and Reviews)

On civil action. "The party (you or the school district) bringing the action shall have 120 calendar days from the date of the decision of the hearing officer to file a civil action." (Handbook, Civil Actions, Including the Time Period in Which to File Those Actions) This is longer than the 90-day window seen in most other states captured in this project.

What any of this means for a particular situation is for the agency and its processes to determine.

Change log

Aug 25, 2026 · Page created. Captured first-party: the Special Education Procedural Safeguards Handbook ("Updated December 20, 2024"), fetched in full via a district mirror page after the direct NHED PDF path returned HTTP 403 to both curl and web_fetch. Findings recorded rather than smoothed: (1) New Hampshire names five dispute resolution routes rather than the usual three or four — Neutral Conference, Mediation, IEP Facilitation, State Complaint, and Due Process Complaint — more than any other state captured in this project so far; (2) Neutral Conference is a state-specific, non-federal option with no direct analog quoted in other states’ sources captured; (3) New Hampshire’s civil-action window is 120 calendar days, longer than the 90-day window typical of other states captured in this project; (4) two parent-facing organizations are named directly with contact detail in the handbook itself: Parent Information Center (PIC) and Disabilities Right Center, Inc.; (5) recording of IEP Team meetings is not addressed in the captured source. Capture pending: direct confirmation of the education.nh.gov PDF once its bot-protection is resolved, the state complaint and due process model forms, and the mediator directory page. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-25. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.