Michigan Independent Educational Evaluation: How to Get One at District Expense

The school's evaluation says your child doesn't qualify for special education, or the results don't match what you're seeing at home. Maybe the MET only tested for one thing and missed the picture entirely. You don't have to accept that evaluation. Michigan law gives you the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense — and the district has exactly seven calendar days to respond.

What an IEE Is and When Parents Request One

An Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is a comprehensive educational assessment conducted by a qualified evaluator who is not employed by the school district. Under MARSE Rule 340.1723c, if a parent disagrees with the school's evaluation, they have the right to request an IEE at public expense — meaning the district pays for it.

Parents most often request IEEs in these situations:

• The Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) found the child ineligible for special education and the parent believes the assessment was incomplete or used inappropriate methods
• The evaluation identified a disability but the parent believes the testing underestimated the child's needs or missed a co-occurring condition
• The district evaluated only for specific learning disability but the parent believes there is autism, emotional impairment, or another condition the team declined to assess
• The MET report contains factual errors or relies on observations that don't reflect the child's actual performance

An IEE at public expense is the parent's right, not a favor the district can grant or deny at discretion.

The District's 7-Day Response Deadline

This is the specific procedural leverage MARSE creates that most parents don't know: once you submit a written IEE request, the public agency has exactly seven calendar days to either:

1. Provide written notice that it will fund the independent evaluation and give you information about criteria for independent evaluators, or
2. Initiate a due process hearing under MARSE R 340.1724f to prove its own evaluation was appropriate

Seven calendar days. Not school days — calendar days. If the district does neither within that window, it is in procedural non-compliance, and that failure can form the basis of an MDE state complaint.

In practice, districts often respond within the deadline but attempt to control the process by providing a narrow list of "approved" independent evaluators, citing criteria like geographic requirements or cost caps. These criteria must be consistent with what the district typically provides for evaluations and must be explained to the parent in writing. A district cannot use criteria designed to make the IEE practically impossible to obtain.

What to Include in Your IEE Request Letter

The IEE request does not need to be lengthy. It needs to be in writing, clearly state that you disagree with the district's evaluation, and explicitly invoke MARSE R 340.1723c and your right to an IEE at public expense. Address it to the special education director, not just the building principal.

Keep a copy of the letter and document how it was delivered — email with a read receipt, or hand-delivered with a dated signature. The seven-day clock starts when the agency receives the request, and disputes about timing are common.

You do not need to explain in detail why you disagree with the evaluation to trigger the right. A simple statement that you disagree is sufficient. You can provide more context if you want the independent evaluator to understand your concerns, but it is not required to initiate the process.

What the IEE Can Cover

An IEE can encompass any area included in the district's evaluation or any area the district failed to assess that the parent believes is relevant to the student's educational needs. This means if the district only tested for SLD and the parent suspects ASD, the IEE request can be framed around the assessments that were missing, not just the ones that were conducted.

MARSE R 340.1721 establishes which professional disciplines are required for evaluations of specific disabilities. For example, a Cognitive Impairment evaluation requires a school psychologist, and an Emotional Impairment evaluation requires both a school social worker and a psychologist or psychiatrist. If the district's MET was not constituted correctly for the suspected disability, that is both grounds for an IEE request and a potential state complaint.

Using IEE Results in the IEPC

The IEP team — the IEPC in Michigan terminology — must consider the results of an IEE at public expense in any decision about the child's educational programming. "Consider" does not mean "adopt." But the team must address the findings, explain how the PLAAFP (Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance) and goals reflect or respond to those findings, and document any areas where it disagrees with the IEE and why.

If the IEE finds significant needs the district's evaluation missed, and the IEPC subsequently fails to incorporate those findings into a meaningful IEP, that is evidence of a FAPE failure. The IEE report, the IEPC meeting notes, and the resulting IEP together tell the story of whether the district acted on the independent findings or dismissed them.

Michigan parents should also know that under MARSE, districts extend special education services through age 26 — not 21 as in most states. For older students, an IEE that properly documents current functional levels can unlock services that were improperly discontinued years earlier.

If the District Challenges the IEE Request

If the district initiates a due process hearing to defend its evaluation, it must prove its assessment was appropriate under MARSE and IDEA standards. The district bears the burden of proof in this specific proceeding. If an ALJ finds the district's evaluation was appropriate, the parent may still obtain an IEE at their own expense, and the team must still consider it.

Challenging an IEE request by filing for due process is an escalation the district may use strategically to delay. Document the timeline. If the district files for due process beyond the seven-day window, raise the procedural violation in your response.

For the written IEE request template, IEPC meeting scripts for reviewing evaluation findings, and MDE state complaint guidance, the Michigan IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook covers each step in a format designed for direct parent use.

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