How to Force Kentucky Schools to Pay for an Independent Educational Evaluation

The district conducted an evaluation and concluded your child doesn't qualify for services — or qualifies for far less than you believe they need. Their psychologist used tests you've never heard of, spent two sessions with your child, and produced a report with conclusions that don't match what your pediatrician, your child's therapist, or your own daily experience shows you.

In Kentucky, you don't have to accept that evaluation. You have a legally enforceable right to an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense — and the district's only options when you request one are to pay for it or take you to a due process hearing. There is no third option.

The Legal Basis: 707 KAR 1:340

Your IEE rights in Kentucky are grounded in both federal IDEA and state regulations under 707 KAR 1:340. The regulation is explicit: when a parent disagrees with an evaluation conducted by the Local Education Agency (LEA), the parent is entitled to an independent educational evaluation at public expense unless the LEA initiates a due process hearing and prevails.

You do not need to prove the district's evaluation was wrong. You do not need expert testimony, a competing report, or a specific technical objection. You need to disagree with the results and submit a written request.

What to Write: Your IEE Request Letter

Send a letter to the Director of Special Education at your child's district. Keep it simple. The letter should:

1. State that you disagree with the district's evaluation (name the date and the type of evaluation)
2. State that you are requesting an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense pursuant to 707 KAR 1:340
3. Request that the district provide its evaluator criteria (required qualifications, geographic area, and cost standards) and a list of approved evaluators

You are not required to explain why you disagree. The district cannot ask you to justify your objection before responding. Once they receive your written request, the clock starts.

What the District Must Do Next

After receiving your IEE request, the district has two legal options only:

Option 1: Agree to fund the IEE. They provide you with their criteria for independent evaluators and any approved evaluator lists. You select any qualified evaluator who meets those criteria — you are not required to choose from their preferred list, only to meet the objective criteria they've established. The district pays the evaluator directly or reimburses you.

Option 2: File for due process to defend their evaluation. If the district believes its evaluation was appropriate, it can request a due process hearing to prove that to a hearing officer. In that hearing, the burden is on the district — they must affirmatively demonstrate their evaluation was adequate, not you prove it was deficient.

What the district cannot do: deny the request, ask you to wait while they seek board approval, delay indefinitely, or offer a re-evaluation as a substitute for an IEE. If they do any of these, document their non-response in writing and file a state complaint with KDE's Office of Special Education and Early Learning (OSEEL), which must investigate within 60 days.

Rural Kentucky: When the District Says No Qualified Evaluators Exist Nearby

This is the most common stall tactic used in rural Eastern and Western Kentucky counties. Districts set geographic criteria for their evaluators, and when no qualified independent evaluator meets those criteria locally, they tell parents the IEE can't be provided.

The law doesn't support that position. If the district's own criteria make an IEE practically impossible to obtain, those criteria are too restrictive. The district must either expand the geographic criteria, fund travel, or make other arrangements. Your statutory right to an IEE at public expense cannot be nullified by the district's evaluator criteria. If the criteria are being used as a barrier rather than a legitimate quality standard, document this explicitly in your response and reference it in any subsequent state complaint.

What Happens After the IEE

Once the evaluation is complete, request an ARC meeting in writing, citing the completed IEE as new information requiring review. The ARC is legally required to consider — not adopt, but consider — the IEE findings. If the IEE reaches different conclusions than the district's evaluation, the ARC must address that discrepancy and explain their reasoning in the Conference Summary and any Prior Written Notice.

If the ARC still refuses to change the IEP or eligibility determination after reviewing the IEE, you now have independent expert documentation for a state complaint or due process hearing. The IEE becomes your primary evidence in any subsequent proceeding.

When the District Wins the Due Process Hearing

If the district challenges your IEE request and prevails at due process — the hearing officer rules that their evaluation was appropriate — you retain the right to obtain an IEE at your own expense. A privately funded IEE carries the same "must consider" requirement at future ARC meetings. You just won't receive public reimbursement.

Many parents find the due process challenge outcome irrelevant in practice: the fact that the district must take you to a hearing, prepare evidence, and defend their evaluation often prompts settlement offers. Districts frequently offer to fund a revised evaluation or provide additional services rather than go through the hearing process.

Using a Privately Funded IEE

You can also fund an IEE privately at any time without going through the public expense request process. Advantages: you choose any evaluator without being constrained by district criteria; you control the scope and timeline. Costs for a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation in Kentucky typically run $1,500–$3,000 or more. The same "must consider" standard applies at ARC meetings.

The Kentucky IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook includes a complete IEE request letter template pre-loaded with 707 KAR citations, a guide to reviewing the district's evaluator criteria for compliance, and a checklist for presenting IEE results effectively in the ARC meeting. When the district's evaluation is wrong, you have the legal tools to force an independent second opinion. Use them.

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