INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL
EVALUATION (IEE)
What is an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE)?
An Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is a comprehensive assessment that is typically requested by a school district, an attorney, or a parent requesting an assessment at public expense. An IEE is done by a person who does not work for the child's school district, public charter school, or intermediate unit (IU). IEEs include review of all relevant records, including: comprehensive review of all educational records that are made available at the time of the evaluation; interviews with all relevant parties, including: parents, student, teacher(s), and outside agencies; multiple observations within the testing environment and multiple observations within the educational setting; standardized and/or curriculum-based assessments; rating scales are distributed and collected from all relevant sources, which may include: parents, student, and teachers; participation in all relevant IEP meetings (maximum 2 hours). Any additional time required to participate in additional IEP meetings or a due process hearing will be billed at a negotiated hourly rate.
In comparison to a psycho-educational assessment, an IEE usually requires an extensive amount of time reviewing school records, travel, and interaction with IEP teams, attorneys, and attendance in Due Process hearings.
Important facts about IEEs:
An IEE is provided at public expense, meaning it is provided at no cost to the parent, so long as expected procedures are followed.
Many districts or SELPAs have documented procedures for requesting an IEE.
Many districts or SELPAs have lists of qualified Independent Evaluators available upon request, though these lists likely don't include every qualified evaluator in the area.
The ultimate selection of the Independent Examiner rests with the parent(s), not the district.
A district must consider the results of an IEE, but is not required to accept the findings.