5. Independent Evaluations

Every effort shall be made by District staff to ensure the evaluation process is positive and productive in identifying and planning for the needs of students referred for special education services.  

If a parent disagrees with the findings and recommendations of an evaluation conducted by the District, the parent may request and obtain an independent evaluation at District expense.

• If a parent informs a staff member orally, or in writing, of a request for  an Independent Educational Evaluation of their disagreement with the evaluation and recommendations, the staff member must inform the Student Services Director. If the request was made in writing, must be placed on file in the Student Services office.  If a request is made orally, the staff member shall document in the parent contact log.

  • • The IEP team, including Student Services Director, will confer with staff and determine whether an IEE will be approved.  The case manager will provide Prior Written Notice of the decision to parents.

• If the District agrees with the request for an IEE, the District and parent will plan for the following:

  • • The identification of the evaluator(s);

    • The evaluation questions to be answered;

    • The release of the evaluation report to the District;

    • The scheduling of a meeting to review the findings and recommendations of the IEE;

    • The cost of the evaluation

• An Independent Educational Evaluation obtained at the District’s expense must be considered by the District in any decision made with respect to the provision of a free, appropriate education to the student and may be presented as evidence at a hearing regarding the student.

• Parents have the right to select the independent evaluator(s) from the list provided by the District or to select from other sources of information that meet the criteria for a qualified examiner.  The District may restrict parents to selecting from among persons on a list, so long as the student’s needs can be appropriately evaluated by the persons on the list and the list exhausts the availability of qualified persons within the specified geographic area.The District must, however, provide parents the opportunity to prove unique circumstances that justify the selection of an evaluator not on the District’s list.

• When an IEE is conducted at public expense, the criterion under which the evaluation is obtained, including the location of the evaluation and the qualifications of the examiner must be the same as the criteria used by the District when it initiates an evaluation. 

• An IEE is only provided in the areas previously evaluated by the district in which the parent disagrees. If the parent requests that other areas are evaluated, the district retains the option to evaluate first in that area. 

• If the District disagrees with the parent’s request for an independent evaluation, the District may pursue a due process hearing to show that the District’s evaluation is appropriate.  A hearing officer may request that an IEE be conducted as part of the hearing, and the District shall pay the cost of the evaluation.  If the hearing officer’s decision is that the District’s evaluation is appropriate, the parent still has the right to an independent evaluation, but not at District expense.