Parent Rights · Evaluation

Independent Educational Evaluation: Your Right to a Second Opinion at School Expense

If you disagree with a school’s evaluation of your child, you have the right under IDEA to request an independent evaluation, in many cases, at the school’s expense. Most parents have never heard of this right. Here’s how it works.

What Is an Independent Educational Evaluation?

An Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is an evaluation of a child with a disability conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the school district that is responsible for your child’s education. Under IDEA, parents have a right to obtain an IEE at public expense if they disagree with an evaluation conducted by the school.

“Disagree with the evaluation” doesn’t mean the school evaluated your child and found something wrong, it means you believe the school’s evaluation was incomplete, inaccurate, or failed to identify your child’s actual needs. Common triggers for IEE requests include:

• The school evaluation found no disability when you believe one exists
• The evaluation didn’t assess all areas you believe are relevant
• The scores or conclusions don’t match what you observe at home or what private providers have found
• The evaluation was superficial, limited observations, minimal testing, no parent input incorporated
• The school’s eligibility determination doesn’t match your understanding of your child’s needs

How to Request an IEE at School Expense

The process is straightforward:

1. Send a written request to the school district stating that you disagree with the school’s evaluation and are requesting an independent educational evaluation at public expense. You do not have to explain why you disagree in detail, just state that you do.
2. The school has two options in response: (a) provide the IEE at public expense, or (b) initiate a due process hearing to defend the adequacy of its evaluation.
3. If the school agrees to fund the IEE, they must provide you with information about where you can obtain it and what criteria apply, but they cannot require you to use a specific evaluator.

Put your IEE request in writing. Keep a copy. Note the date the school received it.

The School’s Response

After receiving your IEE request, the school must either:

• Agree to fund the IEE without delay and provide you with information about eligible evaluators and any applicable criteria (location, qualifications), or
• File for due process to defend the adequacy of their evaluation. The school has the burden of proving its evaluation was appropriate at the hearing. If the school loses, it must still fund the IEE.

A school that simply ignores your IEE request or tells you verbally that they won’t fund one is not in compliance with IDEA. Follow up in writing and escalate to a state complaint if needed.

What the IEE Can and Cannot Do

The IEE results must be considered by the school, but the school is not required to agree with them. “Considered” means the IEP team reviews the findings and includes them in its decision-making. The school can ultimately disagree with an IEE’s conclusions, but it must have a reasoned basis for doing so.

In practice, a well-conducted IEE from a credentialed outside evaluator carries significant weight. Schools are much less likely to dismiss findings from an independent evaluation than to simply offer the same conclusions their own staff reached. If the IEE finds a disability or a level of need that the school evaluation missed, that creates a strong basis for revising the IEP or eligibility determination.

Cost and Criteria for IEEs at School Expense

Schools may set reasonable criteria for IEEs funded at public expense, specifically, criteria related to the qualifications of the evaluator and the location of the evaluation (typically within a reasonable geographic area). However:

• The criteria cannot be so restrictive that they effectively prevent parents from obtaining an IEE
• Schools cannot require you to use a specific evaluator
• The cost must be covered at public expense if the criteria are met, schools cannot cap reimbursement at an unreasonably low figure

If you disagree with the school’s criteria or they are used to limit your options, you can challenge those criteria as well.

Using IEE Results in the IEP Process

An IEE that identifies disability, quantifies needs, or recommends specific services is a powerful tool in IEP negotiations. Here’s how to use it:

• Request an IEP meeting specifically to review the IEE results, the school must hold this meeting
• Provide the full written report to the school in advance of the meeting
• Prepare specific requests based on the IEE’s recommendations, not just “consider this report” but “we’re requesting X service at Y frequency based on the IEE recommendation on page 12”
• If the school disagrees with the IEE, request a written explanation of why, that explanation is itself a useful document

When to Get a Private Evaluation Instead

If you want an evaluation but don’t necessarily disagree with the school’s last evaluation, or if the school hasn’t evaluated your child yet, a private evaluation at your own expense is a different tool. Private evaluations from neuropsychologists, developmental pediatricians, or BCBAs can provide diagnostic clarity, detailed recommendations, and documentation to support an IEP request. These are submitted to the school as outside evaluation data; the school must consider them but is not bound by them.

For significant disputes where a diagnosis or level of need is being contested, the IEE-at-school-expense route is often more powerful because it creates a formal, funded evaluation that the school must address on the record.