My dd's SD has told me that I can only request an IEE in an area they have already specifically assessed themselves. I have been told by some people that this is incorrect. I cannot find a statute that clearly states this. I know IDEA limits the parents to one IEE per time the SD assess, but I cannot find anything limiting the scope of the IEE to something specifically tested by the school district. Can anyone clarify this for me?
Yes, that is true. You can request that they assess your child in a particular area and THEN ask for an IEE. OR you can give them a 10 day notice that you are going to get a particular eval at your own expense and THEN seek reimbursement from them. That gives them 10 days to respond with an offer to do it themselves. Also, with IDEA 2004, we parents are now allowed to ask for IEEs only once during a school year. That is, only once after each occasion that the school does evals. For example, if they do lots of evals and report them at an IEP meeting, you have only one chance to ask for IEEs for any of those evals that you want. However, if they do 1 eval and report it at an IEP meeting and the, a few months later do a different eval, that is considered a different occasion, eventhough it's during the same school year, and you are allowed to ask for an IEE then.
The school district has first crack at evaluating, but they must evaluate "in all areas of suspected disability," so if you want them to evaluate something they haven't, you can certainly ask. And it's likely you'll win reimbursement if they refuse. But nothing is guaranteed, of course. In any event, they have to "consider" your outside eval. However, there is nothing that forces a school district to automatically follow the recommendations of any eval, even their own.