Wyoming
- Dispute routes stated in the sources
- Mediation, the state complaint, and the due process hearing, all administered through the Wyoming Department of Education. "Any individual or organization may file a State complaint alleging a violation of any Part B requirement by a school district, the Wyoming Department of Education, or any other public agency. Only you or a school district may file a request for due process on any matter relating to a proposal or a refusal to initiate or change the identification, evaluation or educational placement, or the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) of your child." — Notice of Procedural Safeguards, May 2025. "The school district must make mediation available to allow you and the school district to resolve disagreements involving any matter under Part B of the IDEA, including matters arising prior to the filing of a request for a due process hearing."
- Offices in these sources
- "Wyoming Department of Education" — "Special Education Programs Division" — "122 W. 25th St., Ste. E200 | Cheyenne, WY 82002" — "P: 307-777-3530 | F: 307-777-6234 | edu.wyoming.gov".
The notice repeats the contact where it invites questions: "Should you have questions about your rights or this document, please contact your local school district or public agency where your child attends or the Wyoming Department of Education, Special Education Programs Division at 122 W. 25th St., Ste. E200, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, (307) 777-3530."
On service of a state complaint: "The party filing the State complaint must forward a copy of the complaint to the school district or other public agency serving the child at the same time the party files the complaint with the Wyoming Department of Education." - Parent centers in these sources
- The notice carries its own "Where to Go for Help" page. Under "Wyoming Parent Advocacy Organizations": "Parent Information Center/Parent Education Network" — "307-684-2277" — wpic.org; and "UPLIFT" — "307-274-8861" — upliftwy.org. Under "Wyoming Low or No-Cost Legal Service Providers": "Equal Justice of Wyoming – 877-432-9955", "University of Wyoming Family and Child Legal Advocacy Clinic – 307-766-6416", "University of Wyoming Legal Services Clinic – 307-766-6416", "Wyoming Children’s Law Center – 307-632-3614", and "Wyoming State Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service – 307-632-9061".
- Sources last checked
- Aug 25, 2026
Reproduced from the state's own pages and documents quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of which one governs any situation.
This page assembles what Wyoming publishes about resolving special education disputes: the routes, what the published procedures state, and where the original documents live. The single source of substance is the Notice of Procedural Safeguards, dated May 2025 and issued by the Department's Special Education Programs Division. Two things about Wyoming's notice are worth noticing. It prints a "Where to Go for Help" page at the front, naming two parent advocacy organizations and five low- or no-cost legal providers with their phone numbers — a directory most states' notices do not carry. And on representation at a hearing it declines to state a rule of its own, saying instead that "whether parties have the right to be represented by non-attorneys at due process hearings is determined by Wyoming law". District-level practice may add procedural detail this page does not carry. Confirm applicability with the agency itself. All dates on this page are quoted from the sources, not a deadline calculation performed for you.
The routes, as the state describes them
Mediation. "The school district must make mediation available to allow you and the school district to resolve disagreements involving any matter under Part B of the IDEA, including matters arising prior to the filing of a request for a due process hearing. Thus, mediation is available to resolve disputes under Part B of the IDEA, whether or not you have filed a due process hearing request." (Notice, 34 C.F.R. §300.506) The stated requirements: the process "Is voluntary on your part and the school district’s part;", "Is not used to deny or delay your right to a due process hearing, or to deny any other rights you have under Part B of the IDEA; and", "Is conducted by a qualified and impartial mediator who is trained in effective mediation techniques." On mediator selection and cost: "The State must have a list of people who are qualified mediators and know the laws and regulations relating to the provision of special education and related services. The Wyoming Department of Education must select mediators on a random, rotational, or other impartial basis. The State is responsible for the cost of the mediation process, including the costs of meetings. Each meeting in the mediation process must be scheduled in a timely manner and held at a place that is convenient for you and the school district."
State complaint. "Any individual or organization may file a State complaint alleging a violation of any Part B requirement by a school district, the Wyoming Department of Education, or any other public agency." On service: "The party filing the State complaint must forward a copy of the complaint to the school district or other public agency serving the child at the same time the party files the complaint with the Wyoming Department of Education."
Due process hearing. "Only you or a school district may file a request for due process on any matter relating to a proposal or a refusal to initiate or change the identification, evaluation or educational placement, or the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) of your child."
On the difference in clocks between the two formal routes: "While staff of the Wyoming Department of Education generally must resolve a State complaint within a 60-calendar-day timeline, unless the timeline is properly extended, an impartial due process hearing officer must hear a due process hearing (if not resolved through a resolution meeting or through mediation) and issue a written decision within 45 calendar days after the end of the resolution period, unless the hearing officer grants a specific extension of the timeline at your request or the school district’s request."
The published process
- Placement during a dispute
- "Except as provided under Procedures for Discipling Children with Disabilities, once a request for a due process hearing 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." — Notice, 34 C.F.R. §300.518; the misspelling "Discipling" is the source's own and is preserved; retrieved Aug 25, 2026
- Independent evaluation at public expense
- "You have the right to an independent educational evaluation of your child at public expense if you disagree" with the district's evaluation, subject to the conditions the notice lists. The first: "If you request an independent educational evaluation of your child at public expense, your school" district must without unnecessary delay either file a due process complaint to show "that its evaluation of your child is appropriate; or (b) Provide an independent educational evaluation at" public expense, as that condition continues. On what the district owes on request: "If you request an independent educational evaluation, the school district must provide you with information about where you may obtain an independent educational evaluation and about the school district’s criteria that apply to independent educational evaluations." And the definition: "Independent educational evaluation means an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not" employed by the district. — Notice, 34 C.F.R. §300.502; retrieved Aug 25, 2026
- Who may be present, and what record is made
- "Any party to a due process hearing (including a hearing relating to disciplinary procedures) has the right to:" — "Be accompanied and advised by a lawyer and/or persons with special knowledge or training regarding the problems of children with disabilities, except that whether parties have the right to be represented by non-attorneys at due process hearings is determined by Wyoming law;", "Present evidence and confront, cross-examine, and require the attendance of witnesses;", "Prohibit the introduction of any evidence at the hearing that has not been disclosed to that party at" — a running footer interrupts the sentence in the source's text layer — "least five business days before the hearing;", "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." Parents additionally: "Parental rights at hearings You must be given the right to:" — "Have your child present;", "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." — Notice, retrieved Aug 25, 2026. Recording of IEP meetings, as distinct from hearings: not stated in the sources reviewed (the May 2025 notice was searched); district policies may address it.
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 Notice of Procedural Safeguards (May 2025).
On filing a state complaint: "The complaint must allege a violation that occurred not more than one year prior to the date that the complaint is received."
On the complaint decision: the state's procedures "Permit an extension of the 60 calendar-day time limit only if: (a) exceptional circumstances exist with" respect to a particular complaint, or where the parties agree to extend for mediation, as the notice states; and staff "generally must resolve a State complaint within a 60-calendar-day timeline, unless the timeline is properly extended".
On requesting a due process hearing: "The due process hearing request must allege a violation that happened not more than two years before you" or the district knew or should have known of the alleged action, as the notice states.
On sufficiency: the receiving party may notify the hearing officer "and the other party in writing, within 15 calendar days of receiving the request for a due process hearing, that" the request does not meet the content requirements.
On the resolution process: "Within 15 calendar days of receiving notice of your request for a due process hearing, and before the due" process hearing begins, the district must convene the resolution meeting. Where the request is amended, "the timelines for the resolution meeting (within 15 calendar days of receiving the complaint) and the time period for resolution (within 30 calendar days of receiving the request for a due process hearing) start again" on the date the amended request is filed. And: "If the school district fails to hold the resolution meeting within 15 calendar days of receiving notice of your" request, the notice states what follows.
On the hearing decision: "The Wyoming Department of Education must ensure that not later than 45 calendar days after the expiration" of the resolution period a final decision is reached, as the timelines section states, and an impartial hearing officer must "issue a written decision within 45 calendar days after the end of the resolution period, unless the hearing officer grants a specific extension of the timeline at your request or the school district’s request."
On disclosure of evidence: "At least five business days prior to a due process hearing, you and the school district must disclose to each" other all evaluations completed by that date and the recommendations based on them.
On expedited (discipline) hearings: the notice states the matter proceeds where it is not resolved to the "satisfaction of both parties within 15 calendar days of receipt of the request for due process hearing."
On civil action: "The party (you or the school district) bringing the action shall have 90 calendar days after the decision is mailed to you."
On records access: the notice states records must be provided "more than 45 calendar days after you have made a request." in no case later, as that provision reads.
What any of this means for a particular situation is for the agency and its processes to determine.
Source map
| Document | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of Procedural Safeguards (PDF) | edu.wyoming.gov | May 2025; retrieved Aug 25, 2026 |
| Notice of Procedural Safeguards, second published path | edu.wyoming.gov | same document published at a second path; recorded, not separately captured |
| Dispute Resolution (WDE) | edu.wyoming.gov | located in this review; capture pending |
| Parent Information Center Quick Guide (PDF) | edu.wyoming.gov | located in this review; capture pending |
| State complaint, mediation, and due process request forms | referenced in the notice | capture pending |
| Policy and Procedure Manual for Special Education | located in this review at edu.wyoming.gov | capture pending |
| Parent Information Center / Parent Education Network | wpic.org | contact as printed in the notice, May 2025 |
| UPLIFT | upliftwy.org | contact as printed in the notice, May 2025 |
| Non-English versions of the notice | not located in this pass | capture pending |
Change log
Aug 25, 2026 · Page created. Captured first-party: the full text layer of the Notice of Procedural Safeguards (May 2025), appended mechanically and captured Aug 25, 2026. Findings recorded rather than smoothed: (1) the notice carries a "Where to Go for Help" directory at the front, naming two parent advocacy organizations and five low- or no-cost legal providers with phone numbers — a listing most states' notices do not include; (2) on representation at a hearing the notice states no rule of its own, providing instead that "whether parties have the right to be represented by non-attorneys at due process hearings is determined by Wyoming law"; (3) the same document is published at two paths on the department's site, one under 2025/06 and one under 2025/09, and both are recorded; (4) the notice's placement provision misspells its own cross-reference as "Procedures for Discipling Children with Disabilities", and that is preserved verbatim; (5) recording of IEP meetings is not addressed in the source reviewed, and that absence is recorded rather than filled; (6) the page rests on a single captured source — the WDE dispute resolution page, the Parent Information Center Quick Guide, and the request forms are listed as capture pending; (7) running footers interrupt sentences in the PDF text layer, so one quotation in the hearing-rights row is split at the break rather than bridged. Capture pending: the WDE Dispute Resolution page, the Parent Information Center Quick Guide, the request forms, the Policy and Procedure Manual, and any non-English versions of the notice. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-25. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.