An independent educational evaluation, and the letter that asks for one
An independent educational evaluation is testing by a qualified examiner from outside the school system, and this request asks the district to cover its cost. Once the school’s own report is in your hands you may ask, and you owe nobody an explanation for disagreeing. You can send it today: paste it into an email, replace what sits in brackets, and write down the day the school received it; the table below says which day starts each clock.
What the rule says
“A parent has the right to an independent educational evaluation at public expense if the parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the public agency …”
34 CFR 300.502(b)(1)
Disagreeing is the whole qualification, and nobody grades your reason before the district answers.
When to send it
- The evaluation report came back finding no eligibility, and it tested nothing you had raised.
- Testing ran in November and the report reads as though it were written about another child.
- A private psychologist found something the school’s report never mentions, and the team shrugged at it.
What happens after you send it
| What is being counted | By when | How it is counted |
|---|---|---|
| The district picks a route | Set by your state | IDEA says without unnecessary delay and leaves the actual count to your state.34 CFR 300.502(b)(2) |
| A hearing decision | 45 days | Counting begins when the resolution period closes, not on the day of filing.34 CFR 300.515(a) |
What the letter has to contain
The disputed report, by date
A request floating free of a date lands as a general complaint about testing in this district.
The right attaches to an evaluation the public agency obtained. 34 CFR 300.502(b)(1)
The words at public expense
Ask only for an evaluation and you may get back a list of places to pay yourself.
Public expense means the agency pays the full cost or provides it free. 34 CFR 300.502(a)(3)(ii)
The district criteria
Criteria decide who may test and where. Unasked for, they surface after you have booked somebody.
They match the criteria the agency applies to its own evaluations. 34 CFR 300.502(e)(1)
Which of two answers
Left open, the request can sit for a term while nobody has actually refused anything.
The agency either funds the evaluation or files to defend its own. 34 CFR 300.502(b)(2)
The letter
Replace everything in brackets. The rest sends as it stands.
- To
- The evaluator who signed the report, with the district office copied
- Subject
- Request for an independent educational evaluation at public expense — [Child’s full name]
Dear [Special education director], I have read the district’s evaluation of [Child’s full name], which is dated [Report date]. I disagree with it, and I am requesting an independent educational evaluation at public expense under 34 CFR 300.502. The areas I disagree about are [for example: cognitive testing, reading, speech and language, occupational therapy, behavior]. Please send the district’s written criteria for independent evaluations, including examiner qualifications and any limit on where the evaluation may take place. Please also tell me which of these the district intends: to fund the independent evaluation, or to file for a hearing to defend its own. I would like that choice in writing. Thank you, [Your name] [Mailing address] [Email] · [Phone number] [Today’s date]
If no answer comes back
Whatever number your state attaches to a reply starts the day the director opens this; write again when it closes.
- Repeat the request in one line and ask which route the district chose.
- Send it to the superintendent’s office as well, on the same thread.
- Keep the school’s report and your reply together; that pair is the record.
A no owes you prior written notice: the decision, the reason for it, and the records behind it (34 CFR 300.503).
This is a template, not legal advice: it does not replace your state’s procedures, or advice from someone qualified to read your file.
Have the pages you are writing about read back to you, free.
The review reads every page you upload, names the wording that is vague or missing, and gives you its page number.
Review my IEP — freeFree, no card. It reads your pages and contacts no one.
Where this comes from
- Independent educational evaluation (34 CFR 300.502)The rule quoted here.
- Hearing timelines (34 CFR 300.515)The federal clock above.
- Impartial due process hearing (34 CFR 300.511)Where a defense goes.
- Prior written notice (34 CFR 300.503)What a no owes you.
Response deadlines are set state by state, and the state pages carry each number with its rule.