Your child's evaluation report arrives and something is wrong. Perhaps the testing was done on a day your child was ill. Perhaps the report says something about your child you do not recognize. You are not stuck with it. The law gives you a way to ask for a second opinion, and in some cases to have the school pay for it.
This guide explains what an independent educational evaluation is, when you can ask for one at the school's expense, and how to put the request in writing. It is general information, not legal advice, and some details differ by state.
What an IEE is
An independent educational evaluation, usually called an IEE, is an evaluation of your child by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the public agency responsible for your child's education. "At public expense" means that the school pays the full cost of the evaluation, or makes sure it is provided to you at no cost.
The federal rule gives parents the right to obtain an IEE. The right to have the school pay is narrower, and it depends on one thing: that you disagree with an evaluation the school itself did.
When the school has to pay or respond
If you disagree with a school evaluation and ask for an IEE at public expense, the school has two choices. It must, without unnecessary delay, do one of two things.
| Choice | What it means |
|---|---|
| Ensure an IEE is provided at public expense | The school pays the evaluator or arranges the evaluation at no cost to you |
| File a due process complaint | The school asks a hearing officer to decide that its own evaluation was appropriate |
If the school files and the hearing officer agrees that its evaluation was appropriate, you can still get an IEE, but not at public expense. You can ask for only one IEE at public expense for each school evaluation you disagree with.
The rule does not set a number of days. "Without unnecessary delay" is the standard. Some states set their own deadlines, and one California guide suggests about fifteen school days as a reasonable wait in that state, since districts there have a fifteen-day clock for other evaluation steps. Check your state's guidance for your own number.
You do not have to explain
The rule says the school may ask why you object to its evaluation. But it may not require you to explain, and it may not use your answer, or your silence, to delay the IEE or its own request for a hearing. You can say, in one line, that you disagree with the evaluation and want an IEE at public expense. If you want to add a reason, you can, but you do not have to.
Put it in writing
Write a short letter or email to your child's case manager or the special education director. Keep a copy, and note the date you sent it. One advocacy guide points out that a district is not required to fund an IEE until it has received notice of your disagreement and your request, so a dated message matters.
Choosing an evaluator
The evaluator must be qualified and must not work for your school district. If the school pays, the rule says the criteria for location and examiner qualifications must be the same as the criteria the school uses when it does its own evaluations, as far as that fits with your right to an IEE. Apart from that, the school may not impose other conditions or timelines on getting an IEE at public expense. You are entitled, on request, to be told where an IEE can be obtained and what the school's criteria are.
Ask for those criteria in writing, and compare them with the evaluators you are considering. If the school's list is very short, or its price limits make the evaluation hard to obtain, say so in writing and ask how the school applies its criteria.
If you already paid
Some parents get a private evaluation first. You are free to do that. Under the rule, if you share a privately obtained evaluation with the school, the school must consider it in decisions about your child's free appropriate public education, as long as it meets the school's criteria. The rule also lets either side use it as evidence at a due process hearing.
Asking the school to repay you is a separate step. If you can, ask in writing before you pay. One California guide warns that a district there is not obligated to reimburse an evaluation you paid for before you asked it to fund one, and other states may treat this differently.
What happens to the results
An IEE is information, not a verdict. The school has to consider it. It does not have to agree with every conclusion, and the IEP team decides what changes, if any, follow. Bring the report to an IEP meeting, ask the evaluator to attend if you can, and use questions to ask at an IEP meeting to turn the findings into specific requests. To make sense of the numbers, see how to read an evaluation report.
If the school does not respond
Silence is not a lawful answer. If the school neither pays nor files for a hearing, write again, cite 34 CFR 300.502, and ask for a date. If there is still no action, you can ask your state education agency to look into it through a state complaint, which is described in what to do if you disagree with the IEP. If the school refuses a request in a way that changes your child's evaluation or services, it should give you a written notice. See what is prior written notice.
A short checklist
- Say in writing that you disagree with a specific school evaluation.
- Ask for an IEE at public expense.
- Ask for the school's list of evaluators and its criteria.
- Keep dated copies of every message.
- Choose a qualified evaluator who does not work for the district.
- Share the report at an IEP meeting and ask for specific changes.
Unfamiliar words are in the glossary.