What Questions Do You Want Answered? A Parent’s Guide to Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs)

When your child is struggling in school, it can be difficult to know what information you need—or even what questions you should be asking. You may know that your child is having difficulty reading, completing work, managing emotions, making friends, paying attention, or keeping up with classroom expectations. But knowing what is happening is only the beginning. A more important question may be: Why is this happening, and what information would help us better understand what my child needs?

A School-Based Evaluation Perspective

This article focuses specifically on school-based evaluation needs and Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs). School-based evaluations are conducted within the requirements of special education law and are designed to determine whether a student meets criteria for a disability and, when appropriate, identify the student's educational needs and the supports necessary for the student to receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

Private evaluations can have a different purpose and may explore broader clinical, developmental, psychological, academic, behavioral, or functional questions. For example, a private psychological evaluation may focus primarily on clarifying a diagnosis, while a school-based evaluation is focused on how a student's disability or suspected disability affects their educational functioning. The two types of evaluations may overlap, but they are not necessarily interchangeable. Neither is inherently "better"; they may simply be designed to answer different questions.

What Is an IEE?

An Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the public agency responsible for educating the student. Under IDEA, parents have the right to obtain an IEE, subject to the requirements in the law. When a parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the public agency, the parent has the right to request an IEE at public expense.

When a parent requests an IEE at public expense, the school district must, without unnecessary delay, either provide the IEE at public expense or file a due process complaint to demonstrate that its evaluation was appropriate. A district may ask why a parent disagrees with its evaluation, but it may not require the parent to provide an explanation or unreasonably delay the process. Parents are entitled to one IEE at public expense each time the public agency conducts an evaluation with which the parent disagrees.

Parents may also choose to obtain an independent evaluation at their own expense. If that evaluation is shared with the school district and meets the district's criteria, the results must be considered in decisions regarding the provision of FAPE.

It is important to understand that an IEE does not have to be about proving that the school was wrong. An independent evaluation may confirm existing findings, provide additional information, or offer another perspective on a student's educational needs. Ideally, it adds another piece to the overall picture.

For more information, parents can review the original IDEA regulation regarding IEEs, 34 CFR §300.502: Independent Educational Evaluation: U.S. Department of Education — IDEA §300.502

Start With the Question—Not the Test

Before requesting an evaluation, I encourage parents to start with the question rather than the test. What are you concerned about? What do you want to understand? What information do you feel is missing? And what decision would the evaluation help you make?

For example, you might wonder why your child continues to struggle academically despite appropriate instruction, whether attention or executive functioning is affecting learning, whether emotional factors are contributing to school difficulties, why challenging behaviors are occurring, or what supports your child will need as they move toward adulthood.

Different Evaluations Answer Different Questions

A psychoeducational evaluation may examine cognitive abilities, academic achievement, processing, and learning patterns to better understand academic strengths and weaknesses. A psychological evaluation may examine emotional, behavioral, developmental, or diagnostic concerns and how those concerns affect a student's functioning at school. A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) focuses on understanding why challenging behavior occurs by examining patterns surrounding the behavior and identifying its likely function. For older students, a Functional Vocational Evaluation (FVE) can provide information about vocational strengths, interests, skills, limitations, and support needs as part of transition planning.

Sometimes the most important evaluation isn't a psychological or educational evaluation at all. A speech-language pathologist can evaluate communication, language, and social communication skills. An occupational therapist can evaluate fine-motor, visual-motor, sensory-motor, and functional school skills. A physical therapist can evaluate gross-motor skills, mobility, balance, strength, and physical access to the school environment. Depending on a student's needs, other specialized evaluations, such as assistive technology or orientation and mobility evaluations, may also be appropriate.

The goal is not to collect as many evaluations as possible. In fact, more testing isn't always better. The goal is to identify the right evaluation to answer the right question. A useful place to start is by asking yourself: What am I seeing? When does the difficulty occur? What has already been tried? What do I already know about my child's strengths and needs? And, most importantly, what don't I understand yet?

An IEE or private evaluation can provide another perspective and may offer information that complements what the school already knows about your child.

Ultimately, an evaluation should do more than provide scores or an eligibility decision. It should help you understand your child's strengths, identify areas of difficulty, and determine what supports may help them succeed.

So before asking, “What test does my child need?” start with a different question: “What do we need to understand about my child that we don't understand yet?”

This article is intended for general educational purposes and is not legal advice. IEE procedures may also be affected by state and local requirements.

If you have additional questions, feel free to reach out to us at 281-829-1599.

For more information you can also read this related Blog Post: Private Evaluations vs. School Evaluations