Parent Denied IEE Reimbursement After Failing to Object to District's Assessment

A parent sought reimbursement for a private psycho-educational assessment after obtaining one independently, but the ALJ denied the request because the parent never expressed disagreement with the district's second assessment or formally requested a publicly funded independent evaluation before paying for one. The district prevailed on all issues.

What Happened

Student is an eleven-year-old pupil attending 118th Place Elementary School within the Los Angeles Unified School District, eligible for special education under two classifications: Other Health Impairment (OHI) due to chronic ear infections, sinus infections, and asthma, and Specific Learning Disability (SLD) due to an auditory processing disorder. In the fall of 2004, Parent requested an IEP meeting because Student was not making adequate academic progress. At the December 2004 IEP meeting, Parent and Student's private educational therapist from Kaiser Permanente expressed clear disagreement with the school psychologist's assessment, feeling it failed to adequately address Student's suspected auditory processing problems. In response, the IEP team agreed to conduct a full re-evaluation.

The district's school psychologist completed a comprehensive new battery of assessments in February 2005, covering language, cognition, academics, health, and social-emotional functioning. The results confirmed Student's eligibility for SLD based on auditory processing disorder. At the follow-up IEP meeting in March 2005, Parent signed the IEP document indicating disagreement only with Student's educational placement — specifically, whether Student should be placed in a non-public school — but did not check the boxes indicating disagreement with the assessment itself. Parent also never formally requested that the district fund an independent evaluation. Several months later, in August 2005, Parent privately hired Dr. Martinez, a licensed psychologist, to conduct an independent assessment. Dr. Martinez largely adopted the district's findings, administered one additional test, and offered further service recommendations. Parent then sought reimbursement from the district for the cost of that private assessment.

What the ALJ Found

The ALJ ruled in favor of the district and denied reimbursement. Under both federal law (34 C.F.R. § 300.502) and California Education Code Section 56329, a parent's right to a publicly funded Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) is triggered only when the parent disagrees with the district's assessment and communicates that disagreement. Here, the evidence showed that Parent had disagreed with the first assessment (the one presented at the December 2004 IEP), but never expressed disagreement — verbally or in writing — with the second, more comprehensive assessment completed in February 2005 that formed the basis for the March 2005 IEP. The IEP document itself showed Parent checked only the box for disagreement with placement, not with the assessment.

The ALJ also found that Parent never requested a publicly funded independent assessment before going out and obtaining one privately. The law requires that a parent first request that the district fund an IEE; the district then either funds it or files for a due process hearing to defend its own evaluation. Because Parent skipped this step entirely, there was no legal basis to require the district to pay after the fact. As a secondary finding, the ALJ noted that even if a proper request had been made, the district's assessment met all the requirements of California Education Code Section 56320, meaning the district's evaluation was substantively adequate.

What Was Ordered

Student's request for reimbursement for the private psycho-educational assessment performed by Dr. Martinez on August 3, 2005, was denied in full.
The district was found to have prevailed on all issues heard.

Why This Matters for Parents

You must formally object to the assessment before seeking an IEE at public expense. The right to a publicly funded independent evaluation only applies when you disagree with the district's assessment. That disagreement must be communicated — ideally in writing. If you sign an IEP and only mark disagreement with placement, you may lose your right to challenge the assessment later.
Request the IEE from the district first — before you pay for one privately. If you believe the district's assessment is inadequate, you must ask the district to fund an independent evaluation before obtaining one on your own. The district then must either pay for it or file for a hearing to defend its assessment. Going out and hiring a private evaluator without making this request first removes your legal basis for reimbursement.
Keep detailed records of every disagreement you express. In this case, Parent had verbally expressed concerns at prior meetings, but the written IEP record told a different story. Always put disagreements in writing — on the IEP document, in follow-up letters, or via email — so there is a clear paper trail that matches your actual concerns.
Disagreeing with placement is not the same as disagreeing with the assessment. These are separate legal rights. An IEP document typically has separate checkboxes for different types of disagreement. Make sure the boxes you check accurately reflect all of your concerns, not just the most pressing one at the time.

What Happened

What the ALJ Found

What Was Ordered

Student's request for reimbursement for the private psycho-educational assessment performed by Dr. Martinez on August 3, 2005, was denied in full.
The district was found to have prevailed on all issues heard.

Why This Matters for Parents

You must formally object to the assessment before seeking an IEE at public expense. The right to a publicly funded independent evaluation only applies when you disagree with the district's assessment. That disagreement must be communicated — ideally in writing. If you sign an IEP and only mark disagreement with placement, you may lose your right to challenge the assessment later.
Request the IEE from the district first — before you pay for one privately. If you believe the district's assessment is inadequate, you must ask the district to fund an independent evaluation before obtaining one on your own. The district then must either pay for it or file for a hearing to defend its assessment. Going out and hiring a private evaluator without making this request first removes your legal basis for reimbursement.
Keep detailed records of every disagreement you express. In this case, Parent had verbally expressed concerns at prior meetings, but the written IEP record told a different story. Always put disagreements in writing — on the IEP document, in follow-up letters, or via email — so there is a clear paper trail that matches your actual concerns.
Disagreeing with placement is not the same as disagreeing with the assessment. These are separate legal rights. An IEP document typically has separate checkboxes for different types of disagreement. Make sure the boxes you check accurately reflect all of your concerns, not just the most pressing one at the time.