Requesting an Independent Educational Evaluation + Letter

Parents/guardians are important members of a child’s educational team, and thus, they have many parental rights in the educational system. One of these rights is being able to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). An IEE is an evaluation that is conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the school district. Parents/guardians may choose to request an IEE if they:

• Disagree with the results of the school’s evaluation and recommendations
• Believe that the evaluation conducted was incomplete or inaccurate 

In all cases, parents/guardians have the right to independently seek out and pay for an IEE. If parents/guardians share these evaluation results with the school, they become a part of the student’s educational record. While the district must consider the IEE results, they do not have to agree with them. Completing an IEE does not guarantee that recommendations made by the independent evaluator will be incorporated into a child’s educational plan as these decisions are made by the child’s school team.   

In some cases, the school district may pay for the independent evaluation. This might occur if:

• The school district determines that it does not have the personnel or resources needed to complete the evaluation that has been determined necessary by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team
• An IEE is ordered by a hearing officer as a result of a due process hearing. 

Knowledge and training in evidence-based evaluation of selective mutism in schools may vary significantly across districts. Therefore, it is important to have conversations early on in the evaluation process with the school-based evaluation team to discuss factors that may impact the evaluation process and results. For instance, it may be important to discuss the value of warm-up time prior to beginning a testing session, or the ways in which SM may impact a student’s performance during standardized testing procedures (e.g., sufficient wait time for verbal responses; nonverbal versus verbal assessment methods, etc). By engaging in proactive partnerships with your child’s school team in this way, it can help to ensure that all parties are on the same page about the student’s needs and supports, both during and after the evaluation process. 

Parents/guardians serve as invaluable advocates for their child’s education. Therefore, if you feel that the district’s evaluation is insufficient and fails to meet your child’s needs, you have the right to request an IEE. Requests for IEEs must be submitted in writing; this helps to protect both your and your child’s rights, as well as helps you to keep a documented paper trail. Written requests for IEEs are typically submitted to the building principal, the district director of special education, or a member of the evaluation team (e.g., school psychologist, school social worker). 

There are many websites that provide free, detailed explanations of this IEE process. Here is one reputable website: www.WrightsLaw.com. Below is a sample letter which you can edit to your needs. You are allowed to represent yourself in these matters but may also engage the services of an attorney specializing in educational law.

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Sample Letter

Your Name
Street Address
City, State, Zip Code
Daytime telephone number

Date

Name of Person to Whom You Are Writing
Title
Street Address
City, State, Zip Code

Re: (student’s name)
Date of birth: (Student’s date of birth)
Student Case No. (if there is one)

Dear (name),

My child, (child’s name) is in the ( _ ) grade, at (name of school), in (teacher’s name) class. (Child’s name) was evaluated for special education services in (month/year). I am writing to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense, for the following reasons:

(BRIEFLY list your reason(s):

Be very specific. For example, “I disagree with the evaluation results because . . .” “The evaluation should have included . . .” “Further evaluation should have been done in the areas of . . .”

I would like this Independent Educational Evaluation to be done as quickly as possible so that we can better address my child’s needs. Please respond as soon as possible and send me copies of the District’s guidelines for this process. My daytime telephone number is (give your phone number). We have identified (name/contact information) as the professional we would like to conduct this IEE. This professional has prior experience evaluating students with SM and social anxiety and is interested in working with us.

Sincerely,

Your name

cc: your child’s principal
the person you have identified to work with on the IEE
your child’s teacher and other appropriate parties