Independent Educational Evaluation in North Dakota: Your Rights and How to Use Them

The school evaluated your child and concluded they don't qualify for special education — or they do qualify, but the findings seem to underestimate how much support your child actually needs. You disagree. What happens next depends on whether you know about the Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE).

An IEE is an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the school district. Under federal IDEA law and North Dakota Century Code 15.1-32, you have the explicit right to request an IEE at public expense — meaning the school district pays for it. This right is one of the most powerful tools available to parents in the special education system, and it's one of the least understood.

What Triggers the Right to an IEE

Your right to request an IEE at public expense is activated the moment you disagree with the school district's evaluation. The disagreement can be about any aspect of the evaluation: the testing instruments used, the conclusions reached about eligibility, the disability category, or the severity of the impact on your child's education.

You don't need to prove the school was wrong. You only need to state that you disagree with their evaluation results.

What the School Is Required to Do

Once you submit a written request for an IEE at public expense, the school district has exactly two options under federal law — and no others:

Option 1: Agree to fund the IEE promptly, without placing unreasonable conditions on the process.

Option 2: File a due process complaint within a reasonable time to defend the appropriateness of their own evaluation before an Administrative Law Judge.

The school cannot say "we'll think about it," delay indefinitely, or try to schedule another internal evaluation to buy time. They cannot refuse to fund an IEE without immediately initiating due process. If they initiate due process and the ALJ determines their evaluation was appropriate, you no longer have the right to an IEE at public expense — but you still have the right to obtain an IEE at your own expense and present it to the IEP team.

What the School Can Require

North Dakota districts can set reasonable criteria for IEEs, including:

• Credentials: The independent evaluator must hold the same professional qualifications required of district evaluators (licensed psychologist, certified speech-language pathologist, etc.)
• Geographic criteria: The district can require the evaluator to be within a "reasonable" geographic area. In rural North Dakota, this is a critical issue — see the section below on evaluator availability.
• Cost criteria: The district can set a cost range that aligns with what they pay for comparable evaluations.

What the school cannot do: require you to use a specific evaluator, place conditions that make the IEE impossible to complete, or use cost criteria to exclude every qualified evaluator in the region.

Why IEEs Matter in North Dakota

North Dakota school evaluations are conducted by district staff — often overextended school psychologists who serve multiple schools across vast rural territories. A school psychologist in a rural REA may conduct evaluations for students across several counties, with limited time for each case.

This creates situations where evaluations are genuinely insufficient. They may rely too heavily on teacher ratings and classroom observation, use limited testing instruments, fail to assess all areas of suspected disability, or miss co-occurring conditions (such as ADHD alongside a reading disability, or autism alongside an anxiety disorder).

An independent evaluator — particularly one specializing in the specific disability area — brings a fresh perspective, typically uses a broader battery of assessments, and has no institutional relationship with the district that might consciously or unconsciously influence conclusions.

The IEP team is legally required to consider IEE findings. They don't have to adopt every recommendation, but they must formally review the results before making eligibility or placement decisions.

Where to Find IEE Evaluators in North Dakota

Finding a qualified evaluator is one of the most significant practical challenges in a rural state. Independent evaluators are concentrated in North Dakota's urban corridors. Families in rural districts face substantial travel. Here are established providers:

Fargo-Moorhead area:

• Dakota Family Services (Fargo): Comprehensive psychological testing including autism, ADHD, executive functioning, and intellectual disability assessments. Psychometrists and clinical psychologists on staff.
• Elevate Psychological Consulting Services: Explicitly advertises IEE advocacy and specialized testing.
• Various Psychology Today-listed clinicians specializing in learning disabilities and neurodevelopmental assessments.

Minot area:

• Dakota Family Services (Minot location): Same services as Fargo, including neuropsychological and educational assessments.
• True North Integrative Clinic: Multidisciplinary evaluations combining psychological testing with occupational and speech therapy.

Bismarck-Mandan area:

• Dr. Theresa Magelky (Solutions Behavioral Healthcare): Specialized cognitive and intellectual impairment testing.
• Independent practitioners listed through the North Dakota Psychological Association.

Grand Forks area:

• Grand Forks Therapy (Assessment and Therapy Associates): Multiple clinicians offering specialized assessments.

Statewide telehealth:

• Rural Psychiatry Associates: Provides specialized psychiatric evaluations and ADHD testing using both in-person and telehealth models. This can be critical for families in the western part of the state or Bakken oil country where in-person options are limited.

How to Request an IEE

Send a written request to the special education director. You don't need a specific form. A clear letter is sufficient:

State that you disagree with the district's evaluation of your child (name the child and the evaluation date), and that you are requesting an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense under IDEA and NDCC 15.1-32. Request that the district provide you with their criteria for IEEs, including the credentials, geographic range, and cost parameters they apply.

After receiving the criteria, you identify an evaluator who meets those criteria. The district pays the evaluator directly.

If the School Refuses or Delays

If the school fails to respond promptly, delays providing their criteria, or informally refuses without filing for due process, document every exchange in writing. Send a follow-up letter that specifically invokes your right to an IEE at public expense and requests a written response within a defined timeframe.

If they still don't respond, you can file a state complaint with NDDPI. The NDDPI Office of Specially Designed Services must complete its investigation within 60 calendar days and can mandate corrective action if they find the district violated IDEA.

The Pathfinder Parent Center (Minot) and ND Protection & Advocacy can both provide guidance on navigating an IEE dispute. P&A can provide free legal assistance if escalation is needed.

The North Dakota IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a ready-to-send IEE request template and the specific language that compels the school to respond promptly under North Dakota law.

After the IEE

Once you receive the IEE report, request an IEP team meeting to review the findings. Bring the evaluator's report. The team — including you — reviews the results alongside the district's evaluation. If the IEE recommends different eligibility conclusions or additional services, the team must address those recommendations specifically in the meeting.

If the team still refuses to accept the IEE findings, your next step is mediation or due process — but now you have an independent expert's report backing your position.

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