Independent Educational Evaluation in Kansas: How to Get One at Public Expense

The school's evaluation came back, and something doesn't sit right. The scores don't match what you see at home. The evaluator didn't observe your child in class. The eligibility decision feels wrong. You have a legal option most parents don't know about: the right to an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense.

Here's exactly how it works in Kansas.

What an Independent Educational Evaluation Is

An Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is a comprehensive assessment of your child conducted by a qualified evaluator who has no employment relationship with the school district. Under K.A.R. 91-40-12, Kansas parents are entitled to request an IEE at public expense — meaning the school district pays for it — whenever they disagree with the evaluation conducted by the school.

"Disagree" can mean many things: you believe the evaluation missed areas of suspected disability, the methodology was inadequate, the evaluator spent insufficient time with your child, the conclusions don't match your child's actual functioning, or the scores were used to deny eligibility in a way that doesn't align with what you observe.

You don't need to prove the school's evaluation was wrong to exercise this right. You just need to disagree with it.

The Legal Trigger: What Happens When You Request an IEE

Under IDEA and K.A.R. 91-40-12, when a parent requests an IEE at public expense, the school district faces a binary, time-sensitive legal choice:

Option 1: Agree to fund the IEE without unnecessary delay, provide you with information about evaluators who meet the district's criteria, and proceed.

Option 2: File for a due process hearing to prove that its own evaluation was appropriate and comprehensive. If the hearing officer agrees with the district, you lose the right to a publicly funded IEE (though you can still obtain one at your own expense). If the hearing officer agrees with you, the district must fund the IEE.

Schools cannot stall. Kansas law does not permit districts to simply sit on an IEE request. If a district doesn't act promptly, document everything — dates of your written request, any responses, and any delays — because delay without action can itself be a procedural violation.

You are entitled to one IEE at public expense each time the district conducts an evaluation with which you disagree. This is not a one-time lifetime right — it resets each time the district conducts a new evaluation.

Who Can Conduct the IEE

The independent evaluator must meet the same state and local qualifications required of the district's own examiners. In Kansas, that means:

• Licensed in the relevant discipline (licensed psychologist, certified speech-language pathologist, licensed occupational therapist, etc.)
• Meeting the same credentialing standards KSDE requires for district personnel

The district may provide you with a list of evaluators who meet its criteria and a cost range for the evaluation. However, you are not required to choose from that list — the evaluator just has to meet the qualifications. If you have a specific evaluator in mind (a neuropsychologist you trust, for example), they can conduct the IEE as long as they meet the credential standards.

One practical note: the district can also set reasonable cost parameters for the IEE. If the evaluator you choose charges significantly more than the range the district considers typical, they may dispute the cost. Document your rationale for choosing your evaluator.

What Areas Can Be Independently Evaluated

The IEE must assess the same areas the district's evaluation covered, and can also expand into areas you believe the district missed. Common IEE components include:

• Psychoeducational evaluation: Cognitive functioning, academic achievement, processing abilities
• Speech-language assessment: Expressive/receptive language, articulation, pragmatic communication
• Occupational therapy evaluation: Sensory processing, fine motor skills, activities of daily living
• Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA): When behavioral concerns drove the original evaluation
• Neuropsychological evaluation: More comprehensive cognitive and neurological profiling, often relevant for autism and traumatic brain injury

In Kansas, evaluations must cover all areas of suspected disability under K.A.R. 91-40-11. If you believe the district's evaluation narrowly focused on one area while ignoring others your child clearly struggles with, the IEE is your opportunity to get a complete picture.

Navigating Interlocal Cooperatives

In many Kansas districts — particularly rural ones — the district's evaluation was conducted by cooperative staff: diagnosticians, psychologists, and therapists employed by an interlocal cooperative rather than the local USD. This is important for IEE purposes for two reasons.

First, when requesting records to share with your independent evaluator, you need to request them from both the local school building and the interlocal cooperative's central office. Key testing protocols, raw scoring data, and evaluator session notes may be held at the cooperative's office, not at your child's school.

Second, if you're disputing the evaluation, the cooperative director may be a relevant party — not just the local building principal. Direct your written IEE request to the district's special education director (or equivalent), and copy the cooperative director if cooperative staff conducted the evaluation.

Using the IEE Results

Once the IEE is completed, the IEP team must consider the results. "Consider" is the operative word — the team doesn't have to adopt every recommendation from the independent evaluator, but they must genuinely engage with the findings and explain in writing why they're accepting or rejecting specific recommendations.

If the IEE confirms your child's eligibility and the district had previously denied services, the IEE results are powerful evidence for overturning that decision. If the IEE identifies additional areas of need the district missed, it creates the basis for expanding IEP services.

If the team dismisses the IEE results without substantive engagement, that dismissal can form the basis for a state complaint or due process hearing.

If You Can't Afford a Private IEE

While the publicly funded IEE is your strongest option, if the district files for due process to defend its evaluation and wins, you're back to funding an evaluation yourself. Private psychoeducational evaluations in the Kansas City metro area typically run $2,000–$4,000. Neuropsychological evaluations can run significantly higher.

If cost is a barrier, several options exist:

• Disability Rights Center of Kansas (DRC): (877) 776-1541 — provides legal advocacy and may assist with dispute navigation
• Families Together, Inc.: (800) 264-6343 — the state's federally designated Parent Training and Information Center; can help you understand your rights and navigate the IEE request process
• University of Kansas clinic programs, which sometimes offer reduced-cost evaluations through training programs

The Kansas IEP & 504 Blueprint includes the exact letter template for requesting an IEE at public expense, the Kansas-specific regulatory language to cite, and a step-by-step guide to what happens after you submit it.

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