Parent Questions & Answers

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If what you seek is an independent educational evaluation, we recommend you request that an IEE be granted, in written hand or via email, to the Director of Special Education. Be sure to include your points of contention with the most recent evaluation/s. You should hear back from the district, in writing via a Prior Written Notice, within 10 days of your request. If you have not received notice, reach out to the designated district contact on your child's case. If you would like additional assistance, please schedule a consultation session with us.

A school district will agree to grant an IEE: 1) if they agree that there may have been limitations in their assessor's evaluation of your student, 2) if they agree that your request is reasonable, or 3) to strive to maintain working relations with the parent. IEEs are granted in the best interest of maintaining an active and appropriate IEP for your child. 

The LEA will offer you a list of evaluators for you to consider. That list may or may not have included our evaluators or company. The suggested IEE list includes assessors that have been vetted as evaluators with the qualifications to offer you a professional evaluation. It is up to the parent to interview and select an evaluator of choice. However, you can select an evaluator that is not on the list so long as they meet contracting criteria. 

A parent must offer the LEA their preferred evaluator's contract information, even if they are not on the list. The actual evaluation cannot commence until after the district has received your IEE evaluator's contact information and made contact with them to ensure that all qualifications are actively met prior to officially generating a contract. If the evaluator is on the IEE list, the evaluation contract may be offered within the week. Otherwise, it can take 3-6 weeks for school board approval. IEE4KIDS, LLC does not initiate evaluations until after a contract has been board approved.

It is the responsibility of each evaluator to offer an unbiased, comprehensive and meaningful evaluation. Independent evaluators are not beholden a school district because of contracting agreements. IEE assessors are responsible for meeting the demands of the evaluation (e.g., assessing the area of concern, providing a written report with recommendations within a reasonable timeframe) and for presenting their report at an IEP meeting. 

Evaluators offer their skills and services to help bring educational benefit to a child. Be sure to interview evaluators so that you feel satisfied with their understanding of disabilities, specialized assessment, school-based interventions, and goal planning. IEE assessors are not to side with either party or to make recommendations for personal benefit. They serve in their capacity to provide comprehensive evaluations that assist the IEP team in developing appropriate education plans. The likelihood for future contract with a school district is dependent on parent request, and not on whether an evaluator is on the district IEE list.

The direct evaluation varies based on client age, needs and cooperation. However, you can count of the following time commitments:

• 4-6 hours of direct testing in office

• 1-2 hours of behavior observation time

• Health, developmental, socioemotional and behavioral questionnaires for parent and school staff 

• Parent / guardian / caretaker interview or feedback of your goals, student needs and historical facts 

• Follow up calls or emails to update the family on the progress of the evaluation

• Comprehensive report with IDEIA recommendations for FAPE, LRE, Educational Benefit, Eligibility, Accommodations, Socioemotional, Memory Development and Family Involvement

After direct testing is completed, the most time-intensive phases of the evaluation process include scoring, interpretation, integration of data, and comprehensive report writing. Once finalized, the report is submitted to the school district or SELPA office, who then distributes it to the IEP team for review and scheduling. If translation is required, the district may first send the report for translation, which can delay the IEP meeting timeline. While our goal is to complete each evaluation within 90 days, some may take 3–4 months due to scheduling conflicts, delayed return of rating scales or questionnaires, school breaks, and special requests for additional assessment. 

Request an Independent Educational Evaluation if any of the following is true:

• If the district evaluation was an initial evaluation and the child did not qualify for service
• Your child is dealing with comorbidity (i.e., a combination of disorders) and the cause of educational delays is unclear
• If the school district's evaluation lacks comprehensiveness (i.e., important areas were not evaluated)
• If the assessment tools used by the school were culturally or linguistically inappropriate
• If the evaluation was conducted under time constraints or with outdated tools
• If the evaluation did not include input from all relevant professionals
• If your child is twice exceptional (i.e., intellectually gifted and with a disability)
• If parent observations and reports have not been taken into consideration by the school
• If school and home behavior are significantly different, and was not investigated
• If significant time has passed since the last investigation and student needs have changed
• If the evaluation failed to identify the root cause of academic or behavioral challenges 
• There is a need to question, differentiate and, possibly, accurately diagnose disorder/s
• If the examiner needs to use a combination of standardized, alternate and neuropsychological batteries to assist in clarifying complex medical needs
• If there is a complex learning issue additionally compounded by a behavioral disorder
• If a neurological disorder has been diagnosed (e.g., Autism Spectrum, TBI, Seizure Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, etc.) that was not addressed or considered
• If the evaluation seeks to verify the accuracy of the district's assessment findings
• If there is need to determine the appropriateness of an educational placement, particularly if transitioning to a new school and the current plan does not reflect the full profile of needs

 Circumstances in which a bilingual evaluation is warranted:

• If the student is an immigrant.
• If the student has been designated by the school as an English Language Learner (ELL).
• If the student participates in annual state assessments of English language proficiency.
• If the family or school believes the student to be English dominant but the mother language is still used at home.
• If a student with disabilities is also an English Language Learner and presents with speech and language delays.
• If a student with disabilities was reclassified as fluent English proficient but is still exposed to the home language.
• If the student participates in dual language immersion programs.
• If there is evidence of significant differences in academic performance between home and school related to language use.
• If the student shows learning difficulties and it is suspected that the language barrier may be interfering with accurate assessment of their abilities.
• If parents are not fluent in English and cannot fully provide information without language support, which affects the evaluation process.
• If the student’s culture and language significantly influence their school performance and must be considered to avoid biased assessment.
   

Importance of Bilingual Evaluation:

The acquisition of a second language can place an individual at a disadvantage, as they must learn two languages simultaneously. Dual language learners often have a more limited English vocabulary, which in turn affects their comprehension and ability to learn. In these situations, it is essential to provide proper supports for second language development in order to ensure academic success and adequate language acquisition.

IEP teams are legally required to offer a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), which includes making recommendations that consider the linguistic and cultural needs of English language learners.

We confidently offer you our experience and expertise in Educational Neuropsychology and with the educational system. Our evaluators offer their insight as school-based and clinical practitioners. Their experience of the education system is an asset to your educational evaluation because they understand first-hand the mindset of Special Education in the schools and of your experience as an involved parent who advocates for their child in public schools. 

Mr. di Salvatore is involved in the administration of all evaluations, and leads all communication with school district personnel and parents. His multilingual and multidisciplinary team offers a collaborative, data-driven approach to the identification of disorders and the development of recommendations for remediation. 

As an interventionist of over 30 years, Mr. di Salvatore understands the programs and materials available to students within the school setting. Many of the school's interventions are evidence-based and have been proven to remediate learning disabilities and deficits. With consistency, frequency and structure, successful implementation for remediation is possible. Often, there is no need to recommend expensive, outside services that require more of the parent's time and sacrifice to implement. However, if necessary, recommendations for specialized programs will be made.

The test setting is structured to allow a student to feel comfortable and at ease while testing. Young children with disabilities often struggle with behavioral modulation or motivation, so assistance from a parent may be necessary. Wherever possible, however, we try to test without the parent being immediately present so as to not influence the child's behavior or invalidate test outcomes. We have an evaluation proctor who is also a mandated reporter to observe all evaluations for the parent and child's added comfort and security. Generally, children ages 5 years and older are able to test independently. If a child is unable to test without a parent, the parent will be invited to quietly sit in the same room, but away from the immediate testing table. Parents are welcomed to sit in the room adjacent to our conference room to complete questionnaires. Conference room doors are left open and unlocked. Know that we strive to make the assessment process convenient and secure for you and your child. Please keep in mind that test sessions feel longer to waiting parents than they do to working children. 

For clients with mobility limitations but who are able to complete some assessments in office, a first floor conference room is available. ADA-approved mobility ramps are available. For clients with extreme physical or medical needs, we make special arrangements to evaluate in the home setting. If the school district completed their last evaluation in the home, a home assessment may be arranged. With clients whose families lack adequate transportation or when work schedules conflict, with advanced notice, arrangements may be possible for an alternate location closer to the family's residence. Rest assured that testing and observations within school district boundaries does not conflict with the assessment process nor does it influence the evaluation in any way.  

It is the school district’s legal responsibility to provide parents with a translated version of the IEE report in their native language, in a timely manner, if the report is used in decision-making. This is required under 34 C.F.R. § 300.503(c) and § 300.306(a)(1) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which mandate that evaluation results and IEP-related information be provided in a language understandable to the parent. 

Suggestion for Remediation:

Send an email or a letter to the Director of Special Education stating, “I respectfully request that a written translation of the Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) report for (CHILD’S NAME) be provided to me in my primary language, as this document will be used by the IEP team to make important educational decisions about my child. As established in 34 C.F.R. § 300.503(c) and § 300.306(a)(1) of the IDEA law, I have the right to receive this information in a comprehensible format and in my language. I would appreciate written confirmation of the estimated date by which I will receive this translation. Thank you.” 

IEE evaluation findings are typically presented during an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting. At IEE4KIDS, we strongly recommend and prioritize virtual participation for these meetings. Virtual presentations allow us to maximize the time we spend assessing students in person across multiple counties, ensuring that in-person time is dedicated to high-quality, unhurried, focused evaluation sessions. Additionally, virtual meetings offer flexibility for families and school teams and reduce delays that can occur due to scheduling conflicts. That said, if no scheduling conflicts or pre-existing appointments prevent in-person attendance, the evaluator will make every effort to attend the IEP meeting in person. Whether presented virtually or in person, the evaluator will provide a clear explanation of the findings, answer questions, and offer evidence-based recommendations that support the student’s access to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

The IEE evaluator’s involvement typically ends once the assessment report is submitted to the school district and presented at the IEP meeting. At that point, the evaluator will attend the meeting to explain the findings and answer questions, if posed. After the IEP team has reviewed and considered the evaluation, the formal role of the IEE evaluator concludes. Any further involvement, such as follow-up consultations or participation in additional meetings, would require a separate agreement or contract.

Under IDEA (34 C.F.R. § 300.502(c)), school districts are required to consider the results of an IEE "if it meets agency criteria," even if they are not obligated to agree with every recommendation. “Consider” means the findings must be discussed and weighed during the IEP process—but ultimately, the team may choose not to incorporate certain suggestions.

That said, you are not without options:

• Request Prior Written Notice (PWN): The district must explain in writing why they are refusing to implement recommendations and the basis for their decision.
• Request a follow-up IEP meeting: Clarify concerns, ask for specific justifications, and discuss alternatives.
• File a state complaint or request mediation or due process: If you believe the district is not honoring your child’s right to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), you have the right to initiate formal dispute resolution under procedural safeguards.
   

Remember, an IEE remains a powerful advocacy tool. Even if not all recommendations are accepted, it becomes part of your child’s educational record and can continue to support future decisions and dur process outcomes.