Independent Educational Evaluations (IEE)

What is an IEE?

At times, you may disagree with how your school district has conducted your child’s evaluation or the outcome of the assessment. If this is the case, you have the right to request an IEE from your school district. Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs) are evaluations conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the school district responsible for your child’s education. They are paid for at public expense. As former school-based professionals, we have a deep understanding of how frustrating and lengthy this process can become. Due to our extensive experience in the schools, we are uniquely positioned to support parents through this process to gain access to appropriate services at school.

Who Might Need an IEE?

If you have already gone through the special education evaluation process (ETR), and disagree with your child’s evaluation, you may need to request an IEE from your school district. Once you have requested the IEE from your district and they have agreed to encumber the cost of the evaluation, we are able to conduct appropriate assessment based on your concerns. Once the IEE report has been written, it will be provided to you and the district to consider with your school’s evaluation team.

What Will the Assessment Look Like?

We will review your child’s ETR to ensure that we are providing appropriate assessment during the IEE process. IEEs can vary greatly depending on your concerns with the previous evaluation.

The average wait time for your first appointment is typically 6-10 weeks after we receive signed paperwork from you and the district. Appointments are only scheduled upon receipt of signed practice documents.

IEEs may include any of the assessments that would normally be part of a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation, including:

  • Record Review

  • Interviews with the parent and child or client

  • Classroom Observations

  • Cognitive Ability Assessments (IQ)

  • Academic Achievement Assessment

    • Basic Reading Skills

    • Reading Fluency

    • Reading Comprehension

    • Math Calculation

    • Math Problem Solving

    • Spelling

    • Written Expression

    • Phonological Awareness

    • Rapid Automatic Naming

    • Oral Language Skills

  • Social/Emotional Assessments

    • Inattention

    • Impulsivity

    • Executive Functioning

    • Mental Health (Related to Learning)

    • Social Skills (Related to Learning)

  • Parent/Client Feedback Session

How Long Will It Take to Receive Assessment Results?

Once you’ve completed your final testing session and all associated paperwork has been returned, the feedback session will be scheduled approximately three weeks from that point. During that time, the assessments are scored, data is compiled, and a thorough report is written.

What Happens After the Evaluation is Completed?

After your evaluation is completed and you have attended the feedback session, you and the district will be provided with a copy of the report. The school district may or may not invite the independent evaluator to the school team’s meeting; however, that doesn’t preclude the evaluator from attending.

Should the district agree to invite the evaluator to a team meeting, they will be responsible for payment. If the evaluator is invited by the family, the cost would be billed directly to the parent. Our meeting attendance fees are $125 per hour, including travel time if necessary.

According to the Ohio Department of Education’s Special Education Model Policies and Procedures, if a parent obtains an independent educational evaluation at public expense or shares with the District an evaluation obtained at private expense, the District considers that evaluation, if it meets District criteria, in any decision made with respect to the provision of FAPE to the child.