Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE): Your Right to a Second Opinion

If you disagree with the school's evaluation of your child, you have the legal right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) — an assessment by a qualified examiner not employed by the district. The school must either fund the IEE or file for due process to defend its own evaluation. This right is protected under IDEA at 34 CFR 300.502.

It is not. You have the legal right to a second opinion. It is called an Independent Educational Evaluation — and the school district may have to pay for it.

What Is an Independent Educational Evaluation?

An Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is an evaluation conducted by a qualified professional who does not work for your child's school district. It is your right under federal law — specifically the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 34 CFR 300.502.

The purpose of an IEE is straightforward: to get an outside expert's assessment of your child's needs when you believe the school's evaluation was incomplete, inaccurate, or inadequate. The evaluator looks at your child independently — without the institutional pressures that sometimes influence school-based evaluations.

An IEE can cover any area the school evaluated (or should have evaluated): cognitive ability, academic achievement, speech and language, occupational therapy, behavior, social-emotional functioning, assistive technology, or any other area of suspected disability.

When to Request an IEE

You can request an IEE at public expense whenever you disagree with an evaluation the school district conducted. You do not need to prove the school's evaluation was wrong. You do not need the school's permission. You just need to disagree.

Common situations where parents request an IEE:

• The school's evaluation found your child does not qualify for special education, but you believe they do. (See How to Request an IEP Evaluation for context on the initial evaluation process.)
• The evaluation identified a disability but missed other areas of need — for example, testing for learning disabilities but not for speech and language issues or executive functioning.
• The evaluation was outdated or rushed — testing was done quickly, used limited instruments, or relied on old data.
• The evaluation results do not match what you see at home or what other professionals have observed.
• You believe the evaluation was biased or culturally inappropriate for your child.
• The school conducted a reevaluation and you disagree with the new results — for example, concluding your child no longer qualifies for services.

Your Right to IEE at Public Expense

This is where the IEE gets its teeth. Under 34 CFR 300.502(b), when you request an IEE at public expense, the school district has exactly two options:

1. Fund the IEE. The district pays for the evaluation, including all evaluator fees, testing materials, and associated costs.
2. File for a due process hearing. The district goes before a hearing officer to prove that its own evaluation was appropriate. If the hearing officer agrees the school's evaluation was appropriate, the district does not have to pay for the IEE (though you can still get one at your own expense).

There is no third option. The district cannot simply say "no." They cannot ignore your request. They cannot delay indefinitely. They must act — either by funding the IEE or by filing due process to defend their evaluation.

Feature	District Evaluation	Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE)
Who conducts it	School district staff	Qualified professional not employed by the district
Who pays	District	District (at public expense) or parent (privately)
Who chooses the evaluator	District	Parent (within district criteria)
Potential for institutional bias	Higher — evaluator works for the system	Lower — evaluator is independent
Scope	District decides areas to evaluate	Evaluator assesses areas of concern identified by parent and clinical judgment
Must IEP team consider it	Yes	Yes — required under 34 CFR 300.502(c)
Can trigger additional services	Yes	Yes — often identifies needs the district missed

What the School Can (and Can't) Do

When you request an IEE, the school has some legitimate rights — but those rights have hard limits. Here is where the line falls:

The school CAN:

• Ask why you disagree with their evaluation — but you are not required to answer (34 CFR 300.502(b)(4)).
• Provide you with its IEE criteria — including qualifications the evaluator must have (licensure, certifications), geographic location, and cost limits. These criteria must be the same as what the district uses for its own evaluations.
• File for due process to defend its evaluation rather than pay for the IEE.
• Set reasonable cost parameters — but "reasonable" means comparable to what the district pays for its own evaluations, not artificially low.

The school CANNOT:

• Choose the evaluator for you. The parent selects the evaluator, not the district.
• Impose unreasonably restrictive criteria that effectively prevent you from finding a qualified evaluator — for example, limiting evaluators to a 10-mile radius in a rural area, or requiring a very narrow specialty that few professionals possess.
• Require you to explain your disagreement before acting on your request.
• Delay indefinitely. The district must respond without unnecessary delay.
• Ignore the IEE results. Under 34 CFR 300.502(c), the results of any IEE obtained at public expense or private expense must be considered by the IEP team in any decision about your child's education and may be presented as evidence at a due process hearing.

How to Choose an Evaluator

Choosing the right evaluator is one of the most important decisions you will make in the IEE process. Here is what to look for:

Qualifications

• Licensed and credentialed in the relevant area (e.g., licensed psychologist for psychoeducational evaluations, licensed speech-language pathologist for speech/language evaluations).
• Experience with school-age children and the specific areas of concern (e.g., autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, emotional-behavioral disorders).
• Familiar with IDEA and IEP processes. An evaluator who writes a brilliant clinical report but does not understand how IEP teams use evaluation data will not be as effective as one who writes recommendations in IEP-actionable language.

Practical considerations

• Ask about their experience with IEEs specifically. Have they conducted IEEs before? Have they attended IEP meetings to present their findings? Have their recommendations been adopted by IEP teams?
• Ask about their report format. The best IEE reports include specific, measurable recommendations that translate directly into IEP goals, services, and accommodations.
• Ask about timeline. How long will the evaluation take? When will the report be ready? Some evaluators have wait lists of several months.
• Confirm they meet the district's criteria. Request the district's IEE criteria in writing before selecting an evaluator, so you can verify your chosen evaluator qualifies.

Where to find evaluators

• Your state's Parent Training and Information (PTI) center — they often maintain lists of evaluators experienced with IEEs.
• University-based clinics — academic medical centers and university psychology programs often conduct IEEs.
• Private practice professionals — psychologists, neuropsychologists, speech-language pathologists, and occupational therapists who specialize in school-age children.
• Other parents — parent advocacy groups and support networks in your area can recommend evaluators who have a track record of thorough, school-useful evaluations.

What an IEE Should Cover

A thorough IEE goes beyond what many school evaluations cover. Here is what to expect and advocate for:

• Comprehensive testing — using multiple validated instruments, not just one or two measures. The evaluation should include standardized tests, observations, interviews (with parents, teachers, and the child), and review of records.
• All areas of suspected disability — not just the areas the school tested. If you suspect needs in areas the school did not evaluate (e.g., executive functioning, sensory processing, social-emotional development), the IEE should address them. (See Understanding Present Levels (PLAAFP) for context on how evaluation data feeds into the IEP.)
• Classroom observation — a good IEE evaluator will observe your child in the school setting, not just in a clinical office. This provides ecological validity that office-only testing cannot.
• Review of existing records — the evaluator should review prior evaluations, IEPs, progress reports, and relevant medical or clinical records.
• Specific, actionable recommendations — the report should not just identify problems. It should recommend specific services, service frequencies, accommodations, goals, and placement considerations that the IEP team can act on.

Using IEE Results at the IEP Meeting

Getting the IEE done is only half the battle. The other half is making sure the results actually influence your child's IEP. Here is how:

1. Submit the report to the school before the meeting

Send the IEE report to the IEP team at least several days before the meeting. This gives the team time to review it. If they see it for the first time at the meeting, they are more likely to dismiss it as "we need time to review" — which can delay action.

2. Invite the evaluator to the IEP meeting

If possible, ask the IEE evaluator to attend the IEP meeting (in person or by phone/video). Having the evaluator present to explain their findings, answer questions, and respond to the school's objections is significantly more powerful than the report alone.

3. Walk through the recommendations one by one

At the meeting, go through each IEE recommendation and ask the team to either accept it or explain — in writing — why they disagree. For each recommendation the team rejects, request Prior Written Notice documenting the refusal and the school's reasoning.

4. The school must "consider" the IEE

Under 34 CFR 300.502(c), the IEP team is legally required to consider the IEE results. "Consider" does not mean "agree with" — but it means more than glancing at the report. The team must substantively engage with the findings. If the team dismisses the IEE without explaining why, that is a potential procedural violation.

5. Use disagreements as leverage

If the school disagrees with IEE recommendations, that creates a documented conflict between two sets of professional opinions. This is exactly the kind of dispute that mediation and due process are designed to resolve. The school's evaluation says one thing; the IEE says another. A hearing officer may need to decide which is more credible. (Learn about your IEP rights and dispute resolution options.)

How to Request an IEE (Sample Language)

Always request an IEE in writing. Here is sample language you can adapt to your situation:

Dear [Special Education Director / Case Manager],

I am writing to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense for my child, [Child's Name], pursuant to 34 CFR 300.502(b).

I disagree with the evaluation conducted by the district on [approximate date or evaluation name — e.g., "the psychoeducational evaluation completed in October 2025" or "the triennial reevaluation completed on March 15, 2026"].

Please provide me with the district's criteria for IEEs, including any requirements for evaluator qualifications, geographic area, and cost parameters, so that I can select an appropriate evaluator.

As you are aware, under 34 CFR 300.502(b), the district must either fund this IEE at public expense or file for a due process hearing to demonstrate that its evaluation is appropriate. Please respond to this request without unnecessary delay.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

[Your name]
[Date]
[Your child's name and date of birth]

Your IEE Checklist

Use this checklist to navigate the IEE process from start to finish:

• Identify the evaluation you disagree with. Which district evaluation are you challenging? The initial evaluation? A reevaluation? A targeted assessment in a specific area?
• Send a written request for an IEE at public expense. Use the sample letter above. Cite 34 CFR 300.502(b). Send by email for a timestamp.
• Request the district's IEE criteria in writing. Ask for evaluator qualifications, geographic requirements, and cost limits.
• Review the criteria for reasonableness. Criteria must match what the district uses for its own evaluations. If the criteria seem designed to limit your options, push back in writing.
• Select a qualified evaluator. Check licensure, experience with IEEs, familiarity with IDEA, and ability to write school-actionable reports.
• Provide the evaluator with your concerns. Share specific observations, prior evaluation reports, IEPs, progress data, and any information about what the school evaluation missed.
• Request a classroom observation as part of the IEE if appropriate.
• Review the IEE report carefully before submitting it to the school. Confirm it addresses your concerns and includes specific, actionable recommendations.
• Submit the report to the IEP team before the meeting. Give the team time to review it — do not spring it on them the day of.
• Invite the evaluator to the IEP meeting if possible.
• Walk through each recommendation at the meeting. For any recommendation the team rejects, request Prior Written Notice explaining why.
• Document everything. Keep copies of your request letter, the district's response, the IEE report, and all IEP meeting notes. If the district violates your rights, this paper trail is your evidence.

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Sources

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) — U.S. Department of Education
• 34 CFR 300.502 — Independent Educational Evaluation — Code of Federal Regulations
• 34 CFR 300.304 — Evaluation Procedures — Code of Federal Regulations
• 34 CFR 300.305 — Additional Requirements for Evaluations and Reevaluations — Code of Federal Regulations
• 34 CFR 300.17 — Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) — Code of Federal Regulations