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

The school evaluated your child and the results don't match what you see every day — or what the private clinician found two years ago. Maybe the school's evaluation found no significant deficits while your child is clearly struggling. Maybe the evaluation missed a diagnosis that would change the services they receive. You have more rights here than most Vermont parents realize.

What an Independent Educational Evaluation Is

An Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is a comprehensive educational evaluation conducted by a qualified professional who is not employed by the school district. Under federal IDEA law and Vermont's Rule 2360, you have the right to request an IEE at public expense whenever you disagree with an evaluation the school district has performed.

This is not a courtesy the district can choose to grant or deny. It is a procedural right built into federal law.

When You Can Request an IEE

You can request a publicly funded IEE any time you disagree with the school's evaluation — including:

• The initial eligibility evaluation that found your child does not qualify for special education
• A reevaluation that determined your child no longer needs services
• An evaluation that identified a different disability category than what you believe is accurate
• A psychological or speech-language evaluation whose findings don't match your child's real-world performance
• Any evaluation that fails to assess areas you believe are affected by your child's disability

The disagreement doesn't need to be total. If you accept most of the evaluation but dispute the reading assessment results, that's sufficient grounds for an IEE in that specific area.

What Happens When You Request an IEE

Once you submit a written request for an IEE, the district must respond without unnecessary delay. They have exactly two options:

Option 1: Agree to fund the IEE. The district pays for an evaluator who meets their criteria (credentials, location, cost ranges) but is not employed by the district. They cannot require you to use a specific provider — they set criteria, not a mandatory vendor list.

Option 2: Initiate a due process hearing. The district can challenge your right to a publicly funded IEE by filing for a due process hearing to prove their own evaluation was appropriate. If the hearing officer finds in their favor, you lose the right to a publicly funded IEE (though you can still obtain one at your own expense and submit it for consideration). If you prevail, the district must fund it.

What the district cannot do is simply ignore your request, delay indefinitely, or issue a blanket denial without following one of these two procedures.

Vermont-Specific Considerations

Vermont districts use supervisory unions — administrative units that manage special education across multiple local schools. This means the entity responsible for your IEE request may be the SU's special education director rather than your local school principal. Know who holds that authority in your district.

Vermont also faces significant shortages of qualified evaluators, particularly for neuropsychological assessments, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy. If the district's approved evaluator list is limited, push back. IDEA's implementing regulations require that the criteria for IEE providers be the same as the criteria the district uses for its own evaluations. They cannot set the bar so high (or narrow the geographic requirements so severely) that no independent evaluator can qualify.

Vermont's rural geography compounds this. For complex evaluations — neuropsychological assessments, augmentative communication evaluations — you may need to travel to Burlington or a medical center affiliated with UVM. The district must still pay for a qualified evaluator even if none are available locally. If needed, push for a provider in a neighboring state.

How to Request an IEE

Submit your request in writing. Address it to the Special Education Director of the Supervisory Union (not just the school principal). Your letter should state:

• That you received and reviewed the school's evaluation
• That you disagree with the evaluation results (briefly explain why — you don't need an exhaustive argument at this stage)
• That you are invoking your right under IDEA and Vermont Rule 2360 to an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense
• A request that the district provide you with the criteria (credentials, location, cost ranges) they will apply to the IEE within a reasonable timeframe

Keep a timestamped copy of everything.

Using IEE Results in the IEP Process

The district must consider the IEE results — they are not required to adopt every recommendation, but they must genuinely review the findings and address them. If the IEE recommends services or placement options different from what the IEP currently provides, the IEP team must meet and document their reasoning if they choose to deviate from the recommendations.

An IEE from a skilled evaluator — particularly one who observes your child in school settings, not just in a clinical office — often carries significant weight. It can change a "not eligible" finding to "eligible," expand services, or result in a different disability classification that unlocks additional programming.

One IEE Per School Evaluation

Vermont law allows one IEE at public expense for each school evaluation with which you disagree. If the school reevaluates your child this year and you disagree, you get one IEE for that reevaluation. If the school conducts a separate speech-language evaluation, that's a different evaluation — potentially a separate IEE right.

What to Do If the District Delays

If the district is dragging its feet after your written request — not providing evaluator criteria, not responding, or claiming they need to "review" the request for weeks — document every interaction and consider filing a state complaint with the Vermont Agency of Education. Vermont's complaint process is free and typically faster than due process. The AOE special education division can be reached at [email protected] or (802) 828-1256.

The Vermont IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a full walkthrough of Vermont's dispute resolution options, including when to use state complaint vs. due process, and how to use IEE results effectively in your child's next IEP meeting.

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