According to Part 300 of the Federal Regulations § 300.502, parents/guardians may obtain an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at the school district’s expense if they DISAGREE with the evaluation completed by the school district. An IEE is an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not an Mars Area School District employee. A request for an IEE must be made in writing to the Director of Special Education within one year of the date on the District’s evaluation report.

In the context of an IEE, evaluation means the procedures to determine whether a child is a child with a disability and in need of Special Education or specially designed instruction and related services.

Mars Area School District will grant requests for IEEs at the District’s expense only in extraordinary circumstances. The District will notify the parents/guardians, in writing, of its approval or disapproval of the request. Failure to comply with the criteria listed in this procedure will result in denying the parent’s request for an IEE at District’s expense.

According to Part 300 of the Federal Regulations § 300.502(c)(1) Parent initiated evaluations:

If the parent/guardian obtains an IEE at private expense, the results of the evaluation must be considered by the District, if it meets the District criteria in any decision made with respect to the provision of a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

Mars Area School District may initiate a due process hearing to show that its evaluation is appropriate. If the final decision is that the evaluation is appropriate, parents/guardians still have the right to an IEE, but not at public expense.

General Provisions

Evaluation (IEE) for their child. An IEE is an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not an employee of a student’s school district.

Upon approval of a parent’s written request for an IEE, the District will provide the parents with information about where an IEE may be obtained and the District’s criteria applicable to IEEs.

The criteria under which the independent evaluation is obtained must be the same as the criteria the District used in conducting an evaluation.

The following criteria are required:

1. If the IEE is at public expense, it must be within 25 miles of the Mars Area School District and be conducted within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
2. An evaluation of a child for autism, emotional disturbance, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, other health impairments, specific learning disability, or traumatic brain injury must be done by a school psychologist certified in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. An evaluation for other disabilities (i.e., speech and language) must be done by a person licensed or certified to conduct and interpret assessments of the area(s) of concern. The evaluator’s credentials and/or licenses must be submitted to the District with the IEE.
3. The IEE, at public expense, cannot exceed $500 without approval by the Mars Area School District.
4. The evaluator and the Mars Area School District must have written permission to communicate and share information.
5.  The evaluator must release the evaluation results directly to the District in the form of an original, signed, typewritten report.
6. The District encourages and prefers that IEEs include a 45-minute personal observation of the student in the relevant school environment by the person administering the evaluation and/or should include input from appropriate school staff.
7. The report shall include a statement of all standard and scaled scores obtained, a description of the student’s behavior during the evaluation, a description of the student’s behavior observed in the school, an analysis of the results, and specific educational recommendations.
8. Tests and similar evaluation materials shall be:
   
   
   1. Selected and administered in a manner free from racial or cultural bias.
   2. Administered in the native language or mode of communication of the child, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.
   3. Selected and administered so the test results accurately reflect the student’s aptitude, achievement level, or whatever other factors the test purports to measure, rather than the student’s impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills unless those skills are the factors that the test purports to measure.
   4. Validated for the specific purpose for which they are used in a manner generally accepted within the profession.
   5. Administered in accordance with the instructions or testing protocols provided by the publisher of the test or materials and in accordance with sound professional practice.
   6. Selected and administered to assess the specific areas of educational need or ability and not merely single standard scores or quotients.