I.   PARENT REQUEST FOR INDEPENDENT EVALUATION

1. The parent or legal guardian of the disabled student must present his or her request for an independent educational evaluation in writing to the District's Director of Special Education. If any other District staff member receives a written request for an IEE, such request must be immediately forwarded to the District's Director of Special Education.


2. When the parent or legal guardian of a student with a disability under the IDEA requests an independent educational evaluation, the [Director of Special Education] shall, within 10 business days, provide the parent or legal guardian a copy of this policy and procedure as well as information about where an independent educational evaluation may be obtained and the District's criteria for such evaluations.


3. When the District receives a request from the parent or legal guardian for an independent educational evaluation, the District will, without unreasonable delay and within 15 business days from the receipt of the request inform the parent or legal guardian that (1) the District will pay for the requested evaluation subject to the requirements of this policy; or (2) will initiate due process to defend the District's evaluation.


4. Before making the decision indicated in paragraph 3 above, the Director of Special Education may ask the parent or legal guardian for the reason or reasons why he or she objects to or disagrees with the District's evaluation or any component of that evaluation. However, the parent or legal guardian is not required to provide that reason and the District will not use the request or a lack of parental response to such a request to unreasonably delay its decision regarding whether to provide the requested independent educational evaluation at public expense or to initiate due process to defend the District's evaluation.


5. If the District's decision is to pay for the independent educational evaluation, the Director of Special Education will offer the parent or legal guardian the opportunity to convene the student's multidisciplinary team to develop an evaluation plan to address the areas to be evaluated and the independent evaluators who will assess the student. That plan will comply with the District's criteria for evaluator qualifications, geographic location and costs limitations as specified below in this procedure. Upon written parental consent for the independent evaluation, the District will arrange for completion of the evaluation.


6. Independent evaluators must agree to release the results of their independent evaluations to the District prior to receipt of payment for services. The results of any IEE will be considered by the student's multidisciplinary or IEP team with respect to any decisions involving the provision of a free appropriate public education to the student, as long as the IEE meets the criteria set forth in this procedure.


7. The parent or legal guardian may also proceed to arrange for completion of the independent educational evaluation without the multidisciplinary team meeting as described in Paragraph 5 above. However, the parent or legal guardian will then be responsible for ensuring that the independent educational evaluation, as completed, complies with the requirements of this procedure. Otherwise the District will not be obligated to pay for the cost of the IEE.

II.   PARENT REQUESTS PAYMENT FOR COMPLETED INDEPENDENT EVALUATIONS

1. The parent/legal guardian of a student with a disability under the IDEA may obtain an independent evaluation without notification to the District and then request payment for that evaluation.


2. If the parent is requesting payment for an IEE already completed, the parent must notify the District's [Director of Special Education], in writing, that they are requesting such payment. Upon receipt of that request, the District will provide the parent with a copy of the District's policy and procedures relating to IEEs, and the District may request that the IEE be provided to the District directly from the Agency or individual that completed it, along with an invoice for the amount due.


3. Within 15 business days of the receipt of the request, the District will notify the parent as to whether the District will initiate due process to establish the appropriateness of its own evaluation or pay for the cost of the IEE.


4. If the district decides the pay for the cost of the IEE, the district criteria for the geographic locations of the evaluator(s), the minimum qualifications of evaluator(s), the costs of the evaluation, and the use of approved assessment instruments as indicated in this procedure must be met. If the cost of the IEE exceeds the District's cost limitations, the District will inform the parent that the District will pay that portion of the cost that is within the District's limitations, if the District determines that an appropriate IEE could have been obtained within the cost limitations.


5. If the District initiates a due process hearing pursuant to paragraph 3 above and the final decision of the due process panel is that the District's evaluation is appropriate, the parent or legal guardian still has the right to an independent educational evaluation, but the District will not be required to pay for that evaluation.


6. If the parent or legal guardian obtains an independent evaluation at private expense, the results of that evaluation must be considered by the District, if that privately funded independent evaluation meets the District's criteria for evaluations, with respect to any decisions regarding the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child.

III.   LOCAL LIMITATIONS FOR EVALUATIONS

Approved evaluators must be located within 150 miles of the District's Administrative Offices. Evaluators outside of this area will be approved only on an exception basis and the parent or legal guardian can demonstrate the necessity of using personnel outside the approved geographic area.

IV.   COST LIMITATIONS FOR EVALUATIONS

The total cost of a multidisciplinary independent evaluation will be limited to a total cost of $1,000. Single evaluations will be limited to the cost schedule listed below. These same cost limitations apply to the District when it conducts an evaluation. The maximum charges have been established to allow the District and parents to choose from among qualified professionals in the area and is intended to result only in the elimination of excessive fees. Costs above this amount will not be approved unless the parent or legal guardian can demonstrate that such costs reflect a reasonable and customary rate for such evaluative services within the designated geographic area or that the student's unique circumstance justify an evaluation that exceeds the allowable cost criteria. When Medicaid or other public insurance will cover all or part of the costs of the independent educational evaluation, the District will assume payment only for the portion of the costs not covered by public insurance, provided that the use of that public insurance would not decrease any insurance benefit or otherwise negatively impact the child's or family's insurance coverage. If the child is covered by private insurance, the District may request parental consent to access that private insurance coverage.

V.   MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR EVALUATORS

Evaluators with credentials other than those listed below will not be approved unless the parent or legal guardian can demonstrate the appropriateness of using individuals with other qualifications.

VI.   COST LIMITATIONS FOR EVALUATORS

A comprehensive, independent evaluation will be limited to a total cost of $1,000. Single disciplinary evaluations will be limited to the following schedule: