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Educational Evaluations & School Psychology ServicesFlagstaff & the greater Northern Arizona area
Sky Island Educational Evaluations, Educational Evaluations and School Psychology Services

FAMILIES & IEEs

Understanding Independent Educational Evaluations

Independent Educational Evaluations remain an important specialty of the Sky Island practice. Having questions about your child's school evaluation can feel overwhelming. Here's the good news: under IDEA (34 C.F.R. § 300.502), you may have the right to a second opinion, an Independent Educational Evaluation or IEE, funded by the district rather than by you. You may choose Sky Island as your evaluator; we simply can't begin until your district or charter school authorizes the IEE and contracts directly with Sky Island Educational Evaluations LLC.

OUR APPROACH

Your child is more than a list of deficits

Many families arrive having read report after report describing everything their child cannot do. Sky Island evaluations are strength-based and neurodiversity-affirming, which means we look at the whole learner: what is hard, what comes easily, and what conditions help your child do their best work.

Being neurodiversity-affirming does not mean overlooking difficulty or downplaying a real educational need. It means describing your child's differences accurately and respectfully, rather than treating a different kind of brain as something inherently wrong with your child.

We name challenges clearly

Areas of difficulty are identified and documented directly, so the team has what it needs to determine eligibility and plan services.

We identify real strengths

Interests, skills, and ways of thinking that already work for your child are documented alongside needs, because supports built on strengths are the ones that hold up.

We translate findings into supports

Every recommendation is written to answer one question: what will help this student access learning, participate at school, and feel successful there?

You should finish reading our report recognizing your child in it.

A clear, shallow creek winding through tall sunlit meadow grass in northern Arizona

Wondering if an IEE is the right next step?

Start with three quick questions:

1

Does your child attend school?

2

Has the school evaluated your child for special education services?

3

Do you have questions about that evaluation, or want an independent look from an evaluator outside the school?

If you answered "yes" to all three, you may have the right to request an IEE at public expense. Here's how the process works.

STEP BY STEP

How the IEE Process Works

Six steps from first question to finished report. Most families are somewhere in steps 1–4 when they first reach out.

  1. Questions

    You've read the school's evaluation and you still have questions. That's okay, and it is a recognized part of the process under IDEA.

  2. The Request

    You ask the district, in writing, for an IEE at public expense.

  3. District Response

    The district may agree to fund the IEE or request a due process hearing, as the regulation allows.

  4. Choosing an Evaluator

    You choose a qualified independent evaluator from outside the district. This is where you may choose Sky Island.

  5. Authorization & Contract

    The district authorizes the IEE and contracts directly with Sky Island Educational Evaluations LLC. The contracting and billing stay between Sky Island and the district.

  6. Evaluation & Report

    We complete the evaluation and deliver a clear, thorough report on the agreed timeline, written for real people, not just specialists.

This overview is general information about the IEE process under IDEA, not legal advice. Procedures can vary by district and situation.

Not sure where you are in the process?

That's normal, most families aren't. Reach out and we'll help you figure out your next step, in English or Spanish.

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