GUIDES
Short, plain-language answers to the questions families and school teams ask us most. Written by Enilda Sutton, Ed.S., NCSP — Nationally Certified School Psychologist and Arizona Department of Education certified.
If you disagree with your school district’s evaluation, IDEA gives you the right to request an IEE at public expense. The request is made in writing to the district, which either funds the evaluation or requests a due process hearing to defend its own.
Read more →A school evaluation is conducted by district staff. An IEE is conducted by a qualified evaluator who does not work for the district, usually at public expense after a disagreement. A private evaluation is arranged and paid for by the family on their own terms.
Read more →Whenever language history could plausibly explain the concern. If a student is an English learner or speaks Spanish at home, assessment in English alone can mistake developing language for disability.
Read more →Records review, parent and teacher input, observation where appropriate, direct assessment with the student, then a written report and a meeting where findings and recommendations are explained.
Read more →Scope the queue, identify which evaluations are time-sensitive and which need specialized or bilingual assessment, then add contracted capacity with a written schedule rather than absorbing the overflow into an already-full caseload.
Read more →Longer guides are published here as they are written. If your question is not answered below, ask us directly — we would rather answer it than have you guess.