Parents of students eligible for special education, students referred for special education and determined to not be eligible or students determined not to need an evaluation have a right to request an IEE at public expense, each time the district conducts an evaluation of the student. When parents request an IEE the district must decide within 15 calendar days whether or not it agrees to provide it. Any parent request for an independent evaluation should be immediately referred to the special education coordinator. The special education director shall review the request and determine whether or not the request is warranted. If the district denies the request to pay for an IEE, it must file for a due process hearing within 15 calendar days of the parent’s request. The district may request mediation as an option after filing the due process hearing. If the parents withdraw their request for an IEE the due process hearing can be dismissed.

When a parent requests an IEE, the district must provide parents a list of district criteria and evaluators. If the school district initiates a hearing and a decision is made that the district’s evaluation is appropriate, the parent still has the right to an IEE but not a public expense. A parent is only entitled to one IEE at public expense each time the district conducts an evaluation with which the parent disagrees.

If the parent obtains an IEE at either public or private expense, any results of the IEE must be considered by the district if providing FAPE*. The IEE may also be presented as evidence at a hearing regarding the student.

The following criteria are established for the selection of an individual to conduct an IEE at public expense. These criteria are established in order to identify the knowledge, experience and qualifications of individuals selected to conduct the evaluations. Any individual selected to conduct either a district evaluation or an IEE must be:

• Licensed, credentialed or otherwise qualified within the state of Washington or state of residence/practice to perform an evaluation in the specific professional discipline for which an independent evaluation is sought
• Knowledgeable and experienced in evaluating children with similar disabilities
• Geographically located within the state of Washington (districts may wish to specifically expand the criteria to include practitioners in other states/British Columbia); and
• Available to the district at a maximum fee which does not exceed by more than 25% the prevailing average for similar evaluations within the state of Washington
• Exceptions to the criteria will be granted only when it can be shown that the unique circumstances of the child or the disability make it impossible to identify anyone within the State of Washington who holds the appropriate credentials or experience necessary to conduct the evaluation; or
• Require a specialized evaluator whose fee exceeds the prevailing average by more than 25%; or
• Include factors which would warrant an exception in order to obtain an appropriate evaluation

*See the Special Education Terms & Definitions page for more information.

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