You Can Choose Your Child’s IEE Evaluator: Even Off the District’s List
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The short version
If you disagree with the school district’s evaluation of your child, you can ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense. You, the parent, choose who performs it. The district’s list of evaluators is a starting point for finding names, not a limit on who you may pick.
What an IEE is
An IEE is an evaluation by a qualified examiner who is not employed by your child’s school district. When the legal conditions are met, the district pays for it. It is different from a private evaluation you pay for yourself, because the district must consider an IEE’s results when it makes decisions about your child. It is also different from a records review, where an expert reads existing paperwork without examining your child.
Who picks the evaluator
You do. Federal regulation 34 CFR 300.502 says that when you ask, the district must tell you where an IEE may be obtained and what criteria apply to evaluators. That information duty is what a district evaluator list is for. The regulation does not give the district the choice of examiner. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) said this directly in its Letter to Parker, February 20, 2004: the parent, not the district, has the right to choose the evaluator. One plain note on sources: the Letter to Parker is federal guidance, not a regulation, and OSEP policy letters are informal and not legally binding. We present it as the federal agency’s interpretation of the regulation, alongside the regulation itself, never as the law by itself.
What a district list really is
A list is an information tool. It is useful for finding names, and for seeing the district’s expectations on location and cost. It is not a fence. A qualified evaluator who is not on the list must be allowed, as long as that evaluator meets the criteria the law permits the district to use.
The criteria a district may lawfully use
Under 34 CFR 300.502(e), district criteria for an IEE are limited to two things: the location of the evaluation, and the qualifications of the examiner. Those criteria must be the same criteria the district uses when it runs its own evaluations, to the extent consistent with your right to an IEE. Beyond those criteria, a district may not impose conditions or timelines on obtaining an IEE at public expense. Being on a list is neither a location nor a qualification, so list membership cannot be a condition. Ask for the criteria in writing. A district cannot reasonably enforce criteria it will not produce.
Proposing an off-list evaluator, step by step
- Ask the district, in writing, for its IEE criteria and its evaluator list.
- Choose your evaluator and confirm, in writing where you can, that the evaluator meets the district’s stated criteria on qualifications and location.
- Put your proposal in writing: the evaluator’s name, qualifications, location, and fee, with one line tying each point to the district’s own criteria.
- Keep the district’s reply with your records, whatever it says.
A model sentence you can adapt: “I am requesting an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense because I disagree with the district’s evaluation. I propose [evaluator name], who meets the district’s criteria for examiner qualifications and location. Please confirm funding, or let me know the district’s next step, in writing.”
Unique circumstances
Sometimes the right evaluator falls outside the stated criteria: for example, the only specialist qualified in a suspected disability area, or a fee above the district’s usual cap. The Letter to Parker is clear that a district must allow a parent to show that unique circumstances justify an evaluator outside the criteria. Make that showing in writing, in plain terms: what your child needs, why this evaluator fits, and why the listed options do not.
If the district says no
The district has two lawful moves when you request an IEE at public expense: fund it, or file a due process complaint to show its own evaluation was appropriate (34 CFR 300.502(b)(2)). A flat no, a long silence, or a rule that you must pick from the list is not one of the lawful moves. If the district refuses your request, it owes you Prior Written Notice under 34 CFR 300.503, explaining the refusal, the reasons, the options it considered, and the data it relied on. Ask for that notice in writing, and keep it.
The honest fine print
- In a later letter, August 13, 2010, OSEP applied the same criteria rules and said a district may require use of its list where the list covers all qualified examiners in the geographic area and your child’s needs can be met on it, as long as the unique circumstances route stays open. Districts raise this letter often. Most cannot show their list is truly exhaustive, and the unique circumstances door stays open either way. Know the letter exists so its argument never surprises you.
- State rules vary. The federal floor is national, but states and districts add their own procedures, forms, and timelines. Check your state education agency’s guidance as well.
- You are entitled to only one IEE at public expense for each district evaluation you disagree with (34 CFR 300.502(b)(5)). Do not sign anything that treats a partial review as your one full IEE.
- This page is general information to help families prepare and ask better questions. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for an advocate or an attorney.
Sources
- 34 CFR 300.502, Independent Educational Evaluations
- 34 CFR 300.503, Prior Written Notice
- OSEP Letter to Parker, February 20, 2004
- OSEP letter of August 13, 2010
- 71 Fed. Reg. 46689 to 46690 (2006 commentary)
- Wrightslaw summary for parents who want to read further: https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/test.eval.choice.osep.htm