Long Beach Unified's IEE Cost Caps Upheld — Parents Cannot Force Higher-Fee Evaluator

Long Beach Unified School District filed for due process after Parents insisted on using an independent evaluator whose fees exceeded the district's cost caps for psychoeducational and transition evaluations. The ALJ ruled that Long Beach's cost caps of $5,500 for psychoeducational evaluations and $2,000 for transition evaluations were reasonable and supported by a lawful survey process. Parents were not entitled to public funding for their preferred evaluator because no unique circumstances justified exceeding the caps.

What Happened

Student was a 17-year-old 11th grader at Millikan High School, eligible for special education under the "other health impairment" category due to an attention disorder. Student participated in regular education classes with resource support and was on track to earn a regular high school diploma. In September 2022, Parents disagreed with Long Beach's October 2021 psychoeducational assessment and separately requested an independent educational evaluation (IEE) in the area of transition planning. Parents identified a specific private psychologist — Dr. Simun — as their chosen evaluator for both assessments.

Long Beach agreed to fund both IEEs, but rejected Dr. Simun as the evaluator because her fees exceeded the district's cost caps: she charged $6,800 for a psychoeducational evaluation (the cap was $5,500) and $3,000 for a transition evaluation (the cap was $2,000). Long Beach sent Parents multiple written notices explaining the cost caps, offering a list of qualified evaluators who fell within the caps, and explicitly inviting Parents to provide information about any unique circumstances that might justify an exception. Parents did not provide that information and continued to insist on Dr. Simun. Long Beach then filed for a due process hearing to defend its cost caps.

What the ALJ Found

The ALJ ruled entirely in favor of Long Beach on both issues. The district proved that its cost caps were set through a reasonable, systematic process: Long Beach's special education administrator surveyed 120 independent evaluators in and near Long Beach, reviewed criteria used by surrounding school districts, excluded outliers at both the high and low ends of the fee range, and updated the caps regularly to account for inflation. Of the 30 evaluators who responded regarding psychoeducational assessments, 26 charged at or below $5,500. Of the five who responded regarding transition evaluations, four charged at or below $2,000. This process was consistent with a process previously upheld by a federal court in A.A. v. Goleta Union School District (C.D. Cal. 2017).

The ALJ also found that Parents failed to show any unique circumstance that would justify exceeding the caps. None of the expert witnesses Parents called testified that Student had a complex medical, psychological, or educational condition requiring a specialist with unusual expertise. In fact, Mother testified she selected Dr. Simun based on a recommendation from an online chatroom — not because of any specific need Student had. Meanwhile, Dr. Simun's own fees were inconsistent: she had previously contracted with Long Beach to conduct psychoeducational evaluations for $4,500 — well below the current cap — and her per-hour rate for transition evaluations far exceeded what similarly qualified evaluators charged. Student's other expert witnesses, when pressed, acknowledged they regularly conducted IEEs for school districts at rates within Long Beach's caps.

What Was Ordered

Long Beach is not required to fund an independent psychoeducational evaluation by Dr. Simun, as the district's $5,500 cost cap is reasonable and no exception is warranted.
Long Beach is not required to fund an independent transition evaluation by Dr. Simun, as the district's $2,000 cost cap is reasonable and no exception is warranted.

Why This Matters for Parents

A district can legally set cost caps for IEEs — but those caps must be reasonable and based on actual market research. A district cannot set an arbitrary low cap just to block IEEs. The cap has to reflect what qualified evaluators in the area actually charge. In this case, Long Beach's caps survived scrutiny because the district surveyed 120 evaluators and showed many qualified professionals fell within the limits.
If your preferred evaluator charges more than the district's cap, you have the right to explain why — and you should put that explanation in writing. Federal law requires districts to allow parents to show "unique circumstances" that justify a higher-cost evaluator. This could include a student's rare or complex diagnosis, a language barrier requiring a bilingual specialist, or a documented need for a particular area of expertise. In this case, Parents never provided that justification, which hurt their case significantly.
The district's cost cap applies to publicly funded IEEs — you can always pay out of pocket for any evaluator you choose. If you believe a specific evaluator is truly the right fit for your child and the district won't fund them, you are not prevented from hiring that person privately. You may then be able to present that private evaluation's findings at an IEP meeting.
Raise evidentiary objections during the hearing, not afterward. Student's attorneys tried to challenge key district testimony as hearsay in their closing brief, but the ALJ rejected those arguments because no objections were raised during the actual testimony. If you believe evidence is improper, your attorney must object at the moment it is introduced.

What Happened

What the ALJ Found

What Was Ordered

Long Beach is not required to fund an independent psychoeducational evaluation by Dr. Simun, as the district's $5,500 cost cap is reasonable and no exception is warranted.
Long Beach is not required to fund an independent transition evaluation by Dr. Simun, as the district's $2,000 cost cap is reasonable and no exception is warranted.

Why This Matters for Parents

A district can legally set cost caps for IEEs — but those caps must be reasonable and based on actual market research. A district cannot set an arbitrary low cap just to block IEEs. The cap has to reflect what qualified evaluators in the area actually charge. In this case, Long Beach's caps survived scrutiny because the district surveyed 120 evaluators and showed many qualified professionals fell within the limits.
If your preferred evaluator charges more than the district's cap, you have the right to explain why — and you should put that explanation in writing. Federal law requires districts to allow parents to show "unique circumstances" that justify a higher-cost evaluator. This could include a student's rare or complex diagnosis, a language barrier requiring a bilingual specialist, or a documented need for a particular area of expertise. In this case, Parents never provided that justification, which hurt their case significantly.
The district's cost cap applies to publicly funded IEEs — you can always pay out of pocket for any evaluator you choose. If you believe a specific evaluator is truly the right fit for your child and the district won't fund them, you are not prevented from hiring that person privately. You may then be able to present that private evaluation's findings at an IEP meeting.
Raise evidentiary objections during the hearing, not afterward. Student's attorneys tried to challenge key district testimony as hearsay in their closing brief, but the ALJ rejected those arguments because no objections were raised during the actual testimony. If you believe evidence is improper, your attorney must object at the moment it is introduced.