Quick answer: If the school’s evaluation of your child does not match what you are seeing, you have the right to ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) from an outside evaluator. In many cases, that evaluation has to be paid for by the school district.
An IEE is one of the strongest tools a Florida parent has when eligibility, services, or placement decisions do not feel right. It brings a second, independent look at your child’s needs, and the team has to consider it.
Key takeaways
- You have a right to request an IEE at public expense when you disagree with an evaluation done by the district.
- The district can agree to pay, or it can file for a hearing to defend its evaluation. It cannot simply refuse.
- The IEP team is required to consider the IEE results, even if they do not automatically adopt every recommendation.
- An IEE can be done in any area the school evaluated, including psychological, speech, occupational therapy, behavior, academic, or assistive technology.
- Getting the request in writing is what protects your rights.
What an IEE is (and is not)
An Independent Educational Evaluation is an evaluation of your child done by a qualified professional who does not work for the school district. The evaluator can be a psychologist, a speech-language pathologist, an occupational therapist, a behavior analyst, or any other specialist in the area being evaluated. The point of an IEE is independence. A second, outside look at whether the school’s evaluation captured your child accurately.
An IEE is not a way to pick the answer you want. It is a way to get a second opinion from someone who is not inside the district’s system. Sometimes the IEE agrees with the school. Sometimes it identifies things the school missed. Either way, the team has to consider what it says.
When to request an IEE
Parents usually start thinking about an IEE when the school’s evaluation and their lived experience do not match. Common examples include:
- The school tested for a learning disability and said your child does not qualify, but you are watching your child struggle every night.
- The school said behavior is not connected to a disability, but the pattern at home tells a different story.
- The evaluation relies on short classroom observation when you know your child presents very differently on a hard day.
- The report lists scores without explaining what they mean for the plan.
- The evaluation skipped an area you asked about, like anxiety, executive function, or sensory processing.
If any of those sound familiar, an IEE may be worth requesting. It does not have to be adversarial. In many cases it is simply a way to get more information on the table before the team makes a placement or eligibility decision.
How to request an IEE in Florida
Put the request in writing. Email is fine. The request should say clearly that you disagree with the district’s evaluation in a specific area and that you are requesting an IEE at public expense under IDEA.
You do not have to explain your disagreement in detail, and Florida districts are not allowed to require you to justify it at length before they respond. The district has two options once you request:
- Agree to the IEE and provide criteria, including which evaluators qualify and any cost or location limits.
- File a due process hearing to show its own evaluation was appropriate.
If the district does neither in a reasonable timeframe, it is generally considered out of compliance. A written paper trail is what makes this visible. Keep every email, every letter, and every note.
What the district can and cannot require
The district can set reasonable criteria about who can do the IEE, including:
- Qualifications of the evaluator
- Location of the evaluation
- Maximum allowable cost in line with similar local evaluations
Those criteria have to match what the district uses for its own evaluators. The district cannot use its criteria to make the IEE impossible to access. If the rate cap is too low or the evaluator pool is too narrow to find someone qualified, that is worth flagging in writing.
How an IEE connects to eligibility and services
Once the IEE is done, the school has to consider it. That does not mean the team has to agree with every conclusion. It means the results have to be discussed and factored into the plan. If the IEE identifies needs the school evaluation missed, the team should revisit goals, services, and supports based on that new information.
This comes up a lot in eligibility cases. If you are not sure what an eligibility meeting is or how it fits into the bigger process, the guide on the eligibility meeting walks through it. An IEE can also help when the question is whether your child needs an IEP or a 504 plan, a topic the post on IEP vs. 504 plan in Florida covers in plain language.
What parents should ask before choosing an evaluator
- How much experience do you have with children like mine?
- Will your report include specific, usable recommendations the IEP team can act on?
- Will you attend the IEP meeting to explain your findings?
- Do you accept district rates, or is there a gap I need to know about?
- How long will the full process take from intake to final report?
A good IEE is one that gives the team usable information. A report full of scores without recommendations is much harder for the team to act on.
Common mistakes parents make
- Requesting verbally. Always in writing.
- Requesting before reading the school’s evaluation. Read it first so your disagreement is clear.
- Assuming the school will pay for anything. The district sets cost and qualification criteria within reason.
- Waiting too long. The sooner after the school’s evaluation, the stronger your position.
- Expecting the IEE to end the conversation. The team still has to consider it at a meeting.
FAQ
How long does the district have to respond to my IEE request?
There is no fixed federal timeline, but the response must be “without unnecessary delay.” In Florida, districts are expected to act promptly. If weeks go by with no written response, that is a problem worth documenting.
Can I use an evaluator I already had work with my child privately?
Sometimes. It depends on district criteria and whether the evaluator meets qualifications. Ask in writing before you assume.
What if I want an IEE in an area the school did not evaluate?
The IEE right attaches to areas the school actually evaluated. If the school never evaluated an area you think matters, you can request that the school do that evaluation first. If they refuse, that refusal itself can be the starting point for an IEE conversation.
Does the IEE have to change the IEP?
No. The team must consider the results, but the team is not required to adopt every recommendation. New information does often lead to changes, but the outcome depends on the full discussion.
Not sure if an IEE is the right next step?
If the school’s evaluation does not match what you see at home, we can help you read the report, decide whether an IEE makes sense, and draft the request in writing.
We work with Florida families through evaluation, eligibility, and IEP decisions every week.
Educational information only. Not legal advice.