Independent Educational Evaluations in Illinois: What Parents Can Request

An independent educational evaluation, or IEE, is an evaluation of your child by a qualified examiner who doesn’t work for your school district. If you disagree with the evaluation the district did, federal law gives you the right to ask for one at public expense. That means the district pays, not you.

This guide explains the process from the perspective of psychologists who conduct these evaluations. Both of our psychologists are listed on the Illinois State Board of Education’s Independent Evaluators Registry. Here’s what you can ask for, how the Illinois process runs, and what the evaluation itself looks like for your child.

What is an independent educational evaluation?

The definition comes from the federal special education regulations. Under 34 CFR 300.502, an independent educational evaluation is “an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the public agency responsible for the education of the child in question.”

In plain terms, it’s a second opinion. The school has already evaluated your child. You think that evaluation missed something or got something wrong. An IEE lets someone outside the district take a fresh look.

“At public expense” has a precise meaning too. The same regulation says the district “either pays for the full cost of the evaluation or ensures that the evaluation is otherwise provided at no cost to the parent.” You shouldn’t receive a bill.

Illinois adds its own rules on top, in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 226.180, covering where the request goes, who can evaluate, and how fast the school responds to the report.

When can you ask for an IEE?

The trigger is disagreement. Under federal law, a parent can ask for an IEE at public expense “if the parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the public agency.” So there has to be a school evaluation first, and you have to disagree with it.

The Illinois State Board of Education’s Parent Guide lists common reasons parents ask:

• You believe the original evaluation was incorrect.
• The original evaluation was not done in your child’s native language.
• You believe that the original evaluation was incomplete and additional tests are needed.
• The evaluation was not done with the needed accommodations.

One warning matters more than anything else in this section. In ISBE’s own words: “if you want the school to pay for an Independent Educational Evaluation, you will need to make your request BEFORE any independent testing is done.” If you book private testing first and ask the district to pay afterward, you may lose that option.

There’s also a limit. You get one IEE at public expense each time the district does an evaluation you disagree with, under 300.502(b)(5). If the district evaluates your child again later and you disagree with that evaluation, you can ask again.

How to request an IEE in Illinois, step by step

This timeline is usually split across several documents: the federal regulation, the Illinois School Code, the Illinois rules and ISBE’s Parent Guide. Here it is in one place.

1. Put your request in writing. Illinois requires it. The request goes to “the local school district superintendent or district special education administrator,” under 226.180(a). ISBE publishes a sample letter on page 128 of its Parent Guide. Keep a copy and note the date you sent it.

2. You don’t have to explain why. The district may ask for your reasons. Under 300.502(b)(4), it “may not require the parent to provide an explanation.” ISBE’s sample letter has a space for reasons if you want to give them. It’s your choice.

3. The district agrees, or it asks for a hearing. Federal law says the district must respond “without unnecessary delay.” It either arranges the IEE at public expense or files for a due process hearing to defend its own evaluation. Illinois adds a deadline. Under the Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02, as amended by Public Act 104-0368), a district that wants to contest your request can start a due process hearing within 7 school days of your written request. That change took effect on January 1, 2026. Older guides, including ISBE’s Parent Guide, still say five days.

4. The district gives you evaluator information and its criteria. When you request an IEE, the district must give you “information about where an independent educational evaluation may be obtained, and the agency criteria” that apply (300.502(a)(2)). The criteria are the standards the evaluator has to meet. They have to match what the district uses for its own evaluations, such as the examiner’s qualifications and the location. Beyond that, the district can’t add other conditions or timelines, under 300.502(e).

5. The evaluation has a 60-school-day deadline. When the district is paying, Illinois law says the IEE “must be completed within 60 school days of a parent’s written request” (Public Act 104-0368, amending 105 ILCS 5/14-8.02). Note that it counts school days, not calendar days. There are two exceptions: the district starts a due process hearing, or either you or the district shows reasonable grounds for more time. This deadline was 30 days until January 1, 2026, so older guides may still show the old number.

6. The report goes to the school. Illinois then sets another clock. Under 226.180(d): “Within 10 days after receiving a report of an independent evaluation conducted at either public or private expense, the district shall provide written notice stating the date upon which the IEP Team will meet to consider the results.”

That final step is where the evaluation turns into decisions about your child’s services. It’s also where a clear report earns its keep.

Who can do an IEE in Illinois?

Illinois answers this with a registry. When an IEE is at public expense, 226.180(b) says the evaluator must be either someone on the State Board’s list of independent evaluators, or “another individual possessing the credentials required by Section 226.840.”

Section 226.840 sets those credentials by type of evaluation. Two matter most for psychological testing:

• A clinical psychological evaluation requires a license under the Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act.
• A school psychological evaluation requires a professional educator license with the school psychologist endorsement.

Other parts of an evaluation have their own rows in that table. Academic performance testing, for example, calls for an educator credential: a professional educator license or a state approval under Section 226.810. So the credential that matters depends on which parts of the evaluation your child needs.

The list is the Illinois Independent Evaluators Registry, run by ISBE. It’s worth knowing what the registry is and isn’t. ISBE says evaluators’ credentials “have been verified by project personnel prior to listing.” It also says the registry isn’t meant to “qualify, rank, or otherwise indicate the quality of service provided by individual persons.” Being listed means ISBE checked the evaluator’s credentials before adding them. It doesn’t rate the evaluator.

Both Thrive Collective psychologists are listed. You can see Dr. Vinita Menon’s registry entry and Dr. Melissa Terry’s registry entry on ISBE’s site. Both are licensed clinical psychologists, and Dr. Menon is also listed as a school psychologist. Both work from our office in Ottawa, Illinois.

What does a psychoeducational evaluation involve?

Psychoeducational evaluation is a common name for testing that looks at how a child learns, alongside attention, emotions and behavior. Here’s how our testing process runs, as described on our psychological testing page.

• Intake. A comprehensive intake appointment, in person or by telehealth, to gather history and pin down the questions the evaluation needs to answer.
• A testing proposal. This covers the cost, the specific questions, and the types of tests we’ll use to answer them.
• Testing. It’s done over two to three sessions. It combines face-to-face assessments with questionnaires completed by the child and/or people who know them well. We can also do school observations to see how a child is doing at school.
• The report. A thorough write-up of the results, with specific, practical recommendations.
• Feedback. We go through the results and hand over the report in a feedback session, three to four weeks after testing is complete.

Our guide to psychological testing for children walks through each step from the child’s side, including what the testing sessions are like.

What makes the report useful to an IEP team? Dr. Terry has written about what a report should do, in that guide:

“A good report does three jobs. It explains the pattern: how your child’s brain works, in plain language, with the scores as supporting evidence rather than the headline. It answers the referral questions, including diagnoses where the evidence supports them. And it ends with recommendations you can actually use: specific supports for home, and specific, legally meaningful language for school.”

That last job carries extra weight in an IEE, because the IEP team has to consider the report when it makes decisions about your child’s services.

In our own words, here’s what makes an IEE report useful to an IEP team:

Unbiased, clinical accuracy based on a convergence of data sources and types, a report written in parent-and-teacher friendly language, and an explanation of how a student’s behaviors may stem from the same difficulties but may look different in different environments. These in turn, drive recommendations for interventions and accommodations for student success, which is the lasting outcome of an IEE.

If you pay privately

You don’t need a dispute to have your child evaluated. Some families would rather not wait for a disagreement to play out, or they want testing the school wasn’t planning to do. A privately paid evaluation still carries weight with the school.

Under 300.502(c), an evaluation “obtained at private expense” that you share with the district must be “considered by the public agency, if it meets agency criteria,” in any decision about your child’s free appropriate public education. Illinois backs that up. The 10-day notice rule in 226.180(d) applies to an evaluation “conducted at either public or private expense.”

Two honest caveats. First, “considered” is the regulation’s word. It doesn’t say the school has to adopt every recommendation. Second, remember ISBE’s warning. If you think you’ll want the district to pay, make that request before private testing begins.

If you’re weighing the cost, our guide to therapy and testing costs in Ottawa, Illinois covers fees and insurance.

What happens if the district says no?

A district that won’t pay for an IEE can’t just refuse. It has to file for a due process hearing and show that its own evaluation was appropriate. An impartial hearing officer then decides.

If the district wins, “the parent still has the right to an independent educational evaluation, but not at public expense,” under 300.502(b)(3). You can still get the second opinion, and the school still has to consider it as long as it meets the district’s criteria. You’d just pay for it yourself. A district can also win by showing that the evaluation you obtained didn’t meet its criteria. If the hearing officer sides with you instead, Illinois law gives 60 school days from the decision to complete the IEE, again unless there are reasonable grounds to extend.

We’re psychologists, not lawyers. Hearings have their own rules and deadlines, and this post isn’t legal advice. Illinois Legal Aid Online’s guide to special education due process hearings is a good place to start if your request is headed there.

How Thrive Collective does IEEs

Both of our psychologists are listed on ISBE’s Illinois Independent Evaluators Registry and are licensed clinical psychologists. You can read more about Dr. Terry and Dr. Menon.

For school districts, our page for schools and districts sets out how the work is scoped: “After an initial consultation call, an estimate will be developed for the scope of work. The customized estimate will include cost and time frame from initial interview to written report and IEP meeting.” The doctors have worked with many Illinois districts and can provide references on request.

Who do we do IEEs for? In our words:

We accept all three options, though the first 2 are the most common ones. An Illinois public school district is expected to offer parents some options of providers from which they can choose. Our dual credentials in school and clinical psychology have made us appealing to both sides.

The three options are IEEs parents request at the district’s expense, evaluations districts contract with us for directly, and privately paid evaluations. At public expense, our psychologists cover the cognitive, behavioral, social-emotional and adaptive skills parts of an evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an independent educational evaluation?

An independent educational evaluation is an evaluation of your child by a qualified examiner who isn’t employed by your school district. Under the federal regulation, 34 CFR 300.502, parents who disagree with the district’s own evaluation can ask for one at public expense. It works as a second opinion on your child’s needs.

Who pays for an IEE?

If the district agrees to your request, or loses at a due process hearing, the district pays. Federal law defines public expense as the district paying the full cost or making sure it’s provided at no cost to you. If you arrange one privately, you pay, and the school still has to consider it if it meets the district’s criteria.

Who can do an IEE in Illinois?

For an IEE at public expense, Illinois requires an evaluator on ISBE’s Illinois Independent Evaluators Registry, or someone holding the credentials set out in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 226.840. For a clinical psychological evaluation, that means a licensed clinical psychologist. Both Thrive Collective psychologists are listed on the registry.

What should the IEE report include?

A useful report explains how your child learns in plain language, answers the specific questions that prompted the evaluation, and ends with practical recommendations for home and school. For school, that means specific, legally meaningful language. In Illinois, the district must send written notice of the IEP meeting date within 10 days of receiving the report.

Can I get an IEE if my child has ADHD?

Yes, if the school district has evaluated your child and you disagree with that evaluation. Under 34 CFR 300.502(b)(1), disagreement with the district’s evaluation is what triggers the right to ask for one at public expense. Our post on whether your child needs ADHD testing covers the earlier question.

How long does an IEE take?

When the district pays, Illinois law says the IEE must be completed within 60 school days of your written request, unless the district goes to a due process hearing or either side shows reasonable grounds to extend. Once the school receives the report, the district has 10 days to send written notice of the IEP meeting date.

Where to start

If you’re getting ready for a meeting with your child’s school, our guide to preparing for parent-teacher conferences can help you organize what you’ve noticed. If you want to understand testing in more depth, start with what a psychological test involves.

When you’re ready to talk about an evaluation, book a consultation. It’s the place to talk through the right next step for your child.

Legal deadlines in this post are current as of September 2026. This post is educational and isn’t legal advice or a substitute for an individualized evaluation. For questions about your rights in a specific dispute, talk to a special education attorney or advocate.