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Hearing Letter 16: Request for an Independent Educational Evaluation at Public Expense

When to Use It

Send this when the district has completed an evaluation of your child and you disagree with it, and you want an independent evaluation the district pays for. The right is specific and it carries a mechanism that works in your favor. When you ask for an independent educational evaluation at public expense, the district must, without unnecessary delay, do one of two things: fund the independent evaluation, or file its own due process complaint to prove that its evaluation was appropriate (34 C.F.R. § 300.502(b)). It does not get to simply say no and do nothing. That is why this request has weight even before a hearing: it puts the district to a choice, and if it wants to defend its evaluation, it has to be the one to file.

Name the evaluation you disagree with by type and date, and say plainly that you disagree with it. You do not have to explain why, and the district may ask your reason but may not require it as a condition (34 C.F.R. § 300.502(b)(4)). Under 8 NYCRR § 200.5(g)(1), district criteria may address location and examiner qualifications only insofar as they are consistent with the right to an independent educational evaluation. The district may not add conditions or timelines and, after the request, must fund the evaluation or file without unnecessary delay. The regulation states no statewide dollar cap. Ask for the district’s written criteria and list of qualified examiners before selecting one.

Send it to: the CSE chairperson and the district’s special education office.