INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION

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INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION

Authorities: 34 CFR Part 300

	FEDERAL AND STATE REQUIREMENTS
Practice	The PARENT of the child with a disability has the right to obtain an independent educational evaluation (IEE) of the child, subject to the provisions of this framework: Citations: 300.502(a)(1)
Practice	IEE means an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the local educational agency (LEA), which is responsible for the education of the child. Citations: 300.502(a)(3)(i)
Document	When the parent requests an IEE, the LEA must provide: Citations: 300.502(a)(2)
Document	Information about where an IEE may be obtained; and Citations: 300.502(a)(2)
Document	The LEA CRITERIA for an IEE. Citations: 300.502(a)(2)
	IEE AT PUBLIC EXPENSE
Practice	A parent has the right to an IEE at public expense if the parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the LEA: Citations: 300.502(b)(1)
Practice	Public expense means that the LEA either pays for the full cost of the evaluation or ensures that the evaluation is otherwise provided at no cost to the parent consistent with the provisions of the USE OF IDEA PART B FORMULA AMOUNTS IN GENERAL framework. Citations: 300.502(a)(3)(ii)
Practice	A parent is limited to only one IEE at public expense each time the LEA conducts an evaluation with which the parent disagrees. Citations: 300.502(b)(5)
	CONDITIONS
Practice	If a parent requests an IEE at public expense, the LEA must, without unnecessary delay, either: Citations: 300.502(b)(2)
Practice	File a due process complaint to request a hearing to show that its evaluation is appropriate; or Citations: 300.502(b)(2)(i) 300.507
Practice	Ensure that an IEE is provided at public expense, unless the LEA demonstrates in a due process hearing that the evaluation obtained by the parent does not meet LEA CRITERIA. Citations: 300.502(b)(2)(ii) 300.511
Practice	The LEA may ask for the parent's reason why the parent objects to the public evaluation; however, the LEA may not: Citations: 300.502(b)(4)
Practice	Require the parent to provide an explanation; and Citations: 300.502(b)(4)
Practice	Unreasonably delay either providing the IEE at public expense or filing a due process complaint to request a due process hearing to defend the public evaluation. Citations: 300.502(b)(4) 300.507
Practice	If the final decision from a due process hearing officer is that the LEA's evaluation is appropriate, the parent still has a right to an IEE, but not at public expense. Citations: 300.502(b)(3) 300.514
Practice	If a hearing officer requests an IEE as part of a hearing on a due process complaint, the cost of the evaluation must be at public expense. Citations: 300.502(d)
	LEA CRITERIA
Practice	If an IEE is at public expense, the criteria under which the evaluation is obtained must be: Citations: 300.502(e)(1)
Practice	The same as the criteria that the LEA uses when it initiates an evaluation, to the extent those criteria are consistent with the parent's right to an IEE, including: Citations: 300.502(e)(1)
Practice	The location of the evaluation; and Citations: 300.502(e)(1)
Practice	The qualifications of the examiner. Citations: 300.502(e)(1)
Practice	Except for the LEA criteria, the LEA may not impose conditions or timelines related to obtaining an IEE at public expense. Citations: 300.502(e)(2)
	RESULTS OF IEE
Practice	If the parent obtains an IEE at public expense or shares with the LEA an evaluation obtained at private expense, the results of the evaluation: Citations: 300.502(c)
Practice	Must be considered by the LEA, if it meets LEA CRITERIA, in any decision made with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child; and Citations: 300.502(c)(1)
Practice	May be presented by any party as evidence at a hearing on a due process complaint regarding the child. Citations: 300.502(c)(2)

Last Updated : Wed, Apr 26, 2023

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34 Code of Federal Regulations § 300.511 Impartial due process hearing.

(a) General. Whenever a due process complaint is received under §300.507 or §300.532, the parents or the LEA involved in the dispute must have an opportunity for an impartial due process hearing, consistent with the procedures in §§300.507, 300.508, and 300.510.

(b) Agency responsible for conducting the due process hearing. The hearing described in paragraph (a) of this section must be conducted by the SEA or the public agency directly responsible for the education of the child, as determined under State statute, State regulation, or a written policy of the SEA.

(c) Impartial hearing officer.
    (1) At a minimum, a hearing officer—
      (i) Must not be—
         (A) An employee of the SEA or the LEA that is involved in the education or care of the child; or
         (B) A person having a personal or professional interest that conflicts with the person’s objectivity in the hearing;
      (ii) Must possess knowledge of, and the ability to understand, the provisions of the Act, Federal and State regulations pertaining to the Act, and legal interpretations of the Act by Federal and State courts;
      (iii) Must possess the knowledge and ability to conduct hearings in accordance with appropriate, standard legal practice; and
      (iv) Must possess the knowledge and ability to render and write decisions in accordance with appropriate, standard legal practice.
   (2) A person who otherwise qualifies to conduct a hearing under paragraph (c)(1) of this section is not an employee of the agency solely because he or she is paid by the agency to serve as a hearing officer.
   (3) Each public agency must keep a list of the persons who serve as hearing officers. The list must include a statement of the qualifications of each of those persons.

(d) Subject matter of due process hearings. The party requesting the due process hearing may not raise issues at the due process hearing that were not raised in the due process complaint filed under §300.508(b), unless the other party agrees otherwise.

(e) Timeline for requesting a hearing. A parent or agency must request an impartial hearing on their due process complaint within two years of the date the parent or agency knew or should have known about the alleged action that forms the basis of the due process complaint, or if the State has an explicit time limitation for requesting such a due process hearing under this part, in the time allowed by that State law.

(f) Exceptions to the timeline. The timeline described in paragraph (e) of this section does not apply to a parent if the parent was prevented from filing a due process complaint due to—
   (1) Specific misrepresentations by the LEA that it had resolved the problem forming the basis of the due process complaint; or
   (2) The LEA’s withholding of information from the parent that was required under this part to be provided to the parent.

Last Amended: 71 FR 46794, Aug. 14, 2006
Entered: June 9, 2009
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