An IEE is a second opinion. If your child has an IEP — or was found ineligible for special education — and you disagree with the district's evaluation, you have the right to request an evaluation from a qualified, impartial professional outside the district. That person, whether they're conducting a psychoeducational evaluation, a speech assessment, or another type, goes in and assesses the specific areas you felt were insufficient or simply not addressed by the district's evaluation.

The district funds the evaluation. If they don't fund the entire cost, it isn't an IEE — it's a private evaluation. And it's a rare chance for parents to truly be in the driver's seat, to get real answers about their child's processing that can translate directly into a stronger IEP.

The straightforward answer: you request an IEE when you genuinely disagree with an evaluation the district has conducted. In practice, disputes often arise around placement, eligibility categories, or the denial of services like a 1:1 aide.

Here's a nuance that matters: when districts review an IEE request, they're looking for disagreement with their evaluation specifically — not simply a service denial. For example, if the district conducted a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and, based on their findings, didn't recommend a 1:1 aide, your IEE request should be tied to the adequacy or conclusions of that FBA — not just the denied aide.

No, you don't have to choose from the district's list. Under federal law (34 CFR § 300.502), you have the right to request an IEE from a qualified professional of your choosing. The district can push back if they believe your chosen evaluator's cost, location, or credentials are unreasonable — so it's worth getting their requirements and cost limits in writing early, before a provider agrees to take your case.

As for whether to trust the list: honestly, being on it means very little in either direction. I know this firsthand — I'm currently on the approved lists of seven school districts I've never heard of, some over a hundred miles away. And there are local districts I've been trying to get onto for years with no luck. The list reflects paperwork, not quality.

Being listed simply means a provider submitted credentials and agreed to the district's fee schedule. Many lists go years without being updated — some providers may no longer be practicing at all. And providers not on any list aren't automatically better. A private evaluator with no district affiliation can still have a history of misconduct if you haven't researched them thoroughly.

There's no single right answer to any of these — you're looking for someone who feels impartial, experienced, collaborative, and like a genuine fit for your child. Here's what to ask:

• Do you have any current or past relationships with our district?
• How many IEEs have you completed this year? For our specific district?
• What's your philosophy on gaining "buy-in" from the school district?
• Do you attend the full IEP meeting to present your findings?
• Do you write and propose IEP goals for the team?
• What happens if the district disputes your recommendations?
• How much of your practice is dedicated to IEEs specifically?
• How do you ensure your recommendations are practical within a public school setting?
• How long will the full assessment take from start to finish?
• What are the typical outcomes you've seen from your IEEs?

Once your IEE is approved and you choose me as your evaluator, you are done with the money conversation. The district contracts and pays me directly — you never write a check, manage an invoice, or sit in the middle of any fee negotiation. That is my job, and I take it off your plate completely. I also have every bit of paperwork ready to go at all times — TB clearance, fingerprints, certificates of insurance — so I am never the holdup on onboarding.

My psychoeducational evaluation fee is $7,000. This may vary up or down by up to 25% depending on case complexity. I will let you know in advance if your case requires an additional fee, and I communicate all of this directly to the district — so there are no surprises on your end. My FBA starts at $5,500. I never charge districts for travel time.

My $7,000 psychoeducational fee is set in alignment with both the GLAAS (Greater Los Angeles Assessment Services) rate schedule and LAUSD's rate — two of the most widely recognized benchmarks in the region. If a district in LA County is not meeting that rate, their cap is likely under market value. My FBA fees are set above the standard GLAAS rate, and intentionally so. That cap was designed for BCBA-only practitioners completing a basic behavioral assessment. My training, credentials, and experience are well in excess of that scope, and my FBAs reflect it: they are holistic, fully integrative, and built to be implemented — with follow-up plans written directly into the IEP, not handed to a family as a standalone report. Hundreds of districts have been willing to shoulder the additional cost because they end up with an FBA that is of real utility to them.

One important rule that protects you: the district must fund the entire cost of your IEE. If they only cover part of it, it is no longer an IEE — it becomes a private evaluation, with very different legal standing. You should never pay any portion of an IEE fee, and no evaluator should ever suggest that arrangement.

Please don't. This is the single most costly mistake families make, and it almost never works in your favor. There's an important legal distinction: an IEE is something you and the district agree on together (or a judge orders). A self-initiated private evaluation — one you arrange without prior district agreement — is something the district has almost no legal obligation to reimburse.

The frustration of waiting is completely valid. But the solution is pushing through the approval process, not around it. Reimbursement only happens if you had the district's written pre-approval, reached a specific agreement with them, or a legal decision required it.

Unfortunately, they may have a legal leg to stand on. California Ed. Code (34 CFR § 300.502(e)(1)) allows districts to impose reasonable geographic limitations on an IEE examiner — typically around a 60-mile radius — to control costs and ensure local accessibility. Even if you're willing to travel or cover travel costs, the law generally favors the district on this.

That said, districts aren't forbidden from approving evaluators outside their typical area, and they must approve exceptions for "unique circumstances." Families in rural areas have an easier case; suburban and urban families face a higher bar.

There are effectively no firm legal deadlines for an IEE to be completed. Because independent evaluators aren't district employees, the district can't impose timelines on them the way they can with their own staff. Add to that board approval delays, communication gaps, and staff shortages — and timelines can stretch in ways that feel completely out of your control.

One thing I do pride myself on, coming from my years as a SELPA Program Specialist and SELPA CALPADS operator, is getting people to cooperate and actually meet a deadline. I keep families informed about what is happening now, tomorrow, and next week — so the assessment doesn't drag on indefinitely. Because I don't maintain a waitlist, I'm almost always able to start within two weeks of the contract being approved by the district.

Yes — but only if they take a specific next step. A district cannot simply deny an IEE request and walk away, even if they document the denial in a Prior Written Notice (PWN). They have an affirmative legal obligation: they must either fund the IEE or initiate a due process hearing to defend the adequacy of their own evaluation. Documenting a denial without doing either doesn't satisfy their legal responsibility.

This matters: if you request an IEE and it is denied, the legal burden falls on the district to prove their assessment was sufficient — not on you to prove it wasn't.

This is one of the most important things to understand — and one of the most misunderstood. Under federal law (34 CFR § 300.502(c)(1)), IEP teams are only required to consider IEE results. Not implement them. In practice, "considering" can be satisfied by a district simply saying "we reviewed it" — without integrating a single recommendation into the IEP.

This is exactly why choosing the right evaluator matters so much. A purely clinical report, no matter how thorough, often won't translate into actionable IEP goals or services the district will actually implement. The best evaluators know how to "speak IEP" — they integrate findings into the school's framework, foster a collaborative environment, and build buy-in from all sides before the meeting even begins.

The evaluation is only as valuable as what it produces at the IEP table.

No — and I want to explain why, because it's not about generating business. I genuinely believe in the power of a second opinion from someone who can come in from the outside with fresh eyes and a rare opportunity to actually make a difference in your child's program. That only works if my recommendations are beyond reproach.

If a district had any reason to doubt that my findings came from clinical precision alone — rather than a prior relationship with a family — it devalues the entire process. I'm happy to talk with you once your IEE is approved. If you need support getting to that point, these resources are a great place to start:

• LA Public Counsel – Special Education Advocacy
• Wrightslaw
• California Parent Rights & Procedural Safeguards
• COPAA – Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates