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Independent Educational Evaluations

INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL EVALUATIONS

INTRODUCTION

The Onteora Central School District has established the following procedure for obtaining independent educational evaluations (IEEs) for children with educational disabilities or children who are referred to the Committee on Special Education because they are suspected of having an educational disability and may, therefore, be in need of special education services.

Parents of disabled children have a right under Federal and State regulations to obtain an IEE at public expense when he or she disagrees with an evaluation already conducted by the District. Regulatory standards are outlined in New York State Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Part 200.5(g). Additionally, the Federal Regulations 34CFR 300.502 specify requirements for IEEs.  These documents, in addition to A Parent’s Guide to Special Education in New York State, detail IEE requirements.  These documents are available from the Special Education Office for parent(s) who desire additional information.

The Onteora Central School District has established reasonable reimbursement rates for independent educational evaluators based on the prevailing rates in the surrounding geographic area for independent educational evaluators with required credentials to complete assessments. Absent exceptional circumstances the District will not pay more than the following rates:

EVALUATION TYPE                                                                                     REIMBURSED UP TO

Psychological evaluation                                                                                   $2100.00

Educational evaluation                                                                                      $1200.00

Combined Psychological/Educational Evaluation                                        $2500.00

Speech and Language Evaluation                                                                    $800.00

Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy Evaluation                                   $375.00

Audiological Evaluation                                                                                    $1100.00

Neurological Evaluation                                                                                    $2000.00

Psychiatric Evaluation                                                                                       $1600.00

Neuropsychological Evaluation                                                                       $4000.00

Autism Evaluation                                                                                              $2700.00

Assistive Technology Evaluation                                                                    $3200.00

PROCEDURES TO REQUEST AN INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION

The first step to obtaining an IEE is for the parent(s) to communicate in writing their request for an IEE. If the area of question or concern is one that has not thoroughly been investigated by the evaluation already completed, the District may conduct additional testing before agreeing to an IEE. However, the District shall not unreasonably delay additional testing so as to postpone a decision on a parents(s)’ request for an IEE.  Should disagreement with evaluation results persist the parent(s) may be granted an IEE unless the District disagrees with the parents’ request.  In the event the District does disagree with the parents(s)’ request, the District has the right to initiate an impartial hearing to demonstrate that its evaluation is appropriate.  If the hearing officer determines that the District’s evaluation was appropriate, a parent or guardian shall still have the right to an IEE but the parent(s) shall not be entitled to reimbursement for the IEE at public expense. Upon receipt of a request for an IEE, the PPS Director will forward an acknowledgement letter/email of the request to the parent(s) within ten (10) calendar days.

When an IEE has been approved, the parent(s) may select any professional to complete the evaluation provided that they have the appropriate license or certification credentials and that these are on file with the District. If the parent chooses an evaluator not already approved by the Board of Education, the parent must provide all necessary documentation regarding their evaluator’s license or certification credentials to the PPS Director.  If the documentation indicates the parent’s proposed evaluator possesses the necessary license or certification credentials, the PPS Director will forward the request to the Board of Education to review unless the District disagrees with the parents request and commences an Impartial Hearing to defend its position.  The PPS Director will also provide a list of qualified professionals for IEEs to the parent(s) if available. All approved independent evaluators, must possess a current license or certification from the New York State Education Department. Non-licensed or non-certified evaluators, or those whose credentials do not cover evaluation areas under consideration, cannot be reimbursed for an IEE.

Once approval for an IEE has been obtained and an appropriate evaluator has been selected, the parent(s) may contact the evaluator to begin the assessment process. Parents may provide the PPS Director’s contact information to the evaluator in order to arrange for observations in the classroom, staff interviews or other interaction with school staff as part of the evaluation procedure.

Should the costs of an evaluation provided exceed the allotments above, the responsibility for payment beyond the amounts listed belong solely the parent(s).  A copy of the evaluation report must be received by the District prior to making payment to the evaluator. The bill for reimbursement should indicate a breakdown of costs (e.g., record review, client interview, test administration, scoring and interpretation and report writing). No payment can be issued without these items.

LISTING OF QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS

The Onteora Central School District will permit the parent(s) to select any independent educational evaluator as long as the qualified professional selected by the parent is a certified and/or licensed evaluator in the area of inquiry. The district has a list of qualified professionals who are in private practice or are employees of other public agencies with which parents may secure an IEE. Evaluators on the qualified professional list already have their credentials on file with the District.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The Onteora Central School District has developed these procedures in order to avoid any misunderstandings and ensure that the district is providing IEEs in accordance with State and Federal regulations. Parents can obtain further information about IEEs by contacting the Director of Pupil Personnel Services. Additional information may also be obtained directly from the New York State Education Department regarding IEEs.

 

 

3/28/22