School Advocacy

When the School Denies Your Evaluation Request

Know your rights if the school refuses to evaluate your student for learning differences.

Susan Yellin
By Susan Yellin, Esq. Verified Updated on October 14, 2024
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You are worried about your child. You see them struggling to read, stumbling over math homework, and spending way too long each evening on homework. Even when they complete their work, they expend an extraordinary amount of effort to produce it. Something isn’t right.

You meet with your child’s teacher to describe what you’ve observed and to hear their perspective. You bring clearly organized data that tracks how long your child has worked on specific homework or lessons, how long they studied for tests, and how that studying has yielded poorer grades than would be expected. To your surprise, however, the teacher doesn’t seem concerned about possible learning disabilities. In fact, she argues that if your child “tried harder,” their performance would improve.

Response to Interventions (RTI)

Ideally, your child’s teacher would have listened to your concerns and suggested that the district conduct a thorough evaluation of your child’s skills and abilities to rule out any learning differences and determine if interventions are needed. Depending on the findings of this evaluation, your child might be classified as being in need of special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law that governs special education services, or, alternatively, as a student in need of accommodations under Section 504.

In some schools, the teacher may tell you that the district has a program that offers interventions to struggling students and tracks the child’s response to these interventions—extra reading or math instruction, for example. This kind of program is called RTI, “Response to Intervention.” RTI can be very effective at offering support and can be all that some children need. But it is not offered in every school and is not always sufficient.

Your Rights, According to IDEA

You don’t think waiting is a good idea, so you make a request, in writing, to your school for a formal evaluation. You note that such an evaluation needs to be conducted within 60 days of your request (or sooner, in some states). But nothing happens. You may be told that the school doesn’t think your child needs an evaluation, or counseled to “wait and see” if the school’s interventions result in improvements. Sometimes, a school won’t schedule an evaluation and it won’t fully explain why.

[Read: The School Evaluation Process – How to Get Formal Assessments and Appropriate Services]

Know that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) rules that rejecting or delaying a request for an evaluation on the basis that a student has not completed an RTI process undermines the evaluation provisions of the IDEA. The ED has explicitly said that RTI cannot be used to delay an evaluation requested by a parent.

The IDEA prescribes remedies when parents disagree with an evaluation conducted by the school, but the law is strangely silent on what happens when the school simply declines to evaluate, with or without giving a reason.

If the school district denies a parental request for evaluation because they do not agree that the child may have a learning disability, the school must provide a written notice to the parents explaining why the school refuses to conduct an initial evaluation and citing the information that was used as the basis for this decision. Parents can challenge this decision through a due process hearing.

[Read: Twice the Challenge – Getting the Right Diagnosis]

Due Process Hearing vs IEEs: Options Explained

The right to an educational evaluation at public expense is a cornerstone of the IDEA, and the law provides that parents have the right to a due process hearing when that right is violated. A due process hearing is a trial type proceeding, conducted before a state hearing officer. The major drawbacks to this path are that parents may need an attorney to navigate the process and that it can take months to get a resolution or decision.

Another option would be to obtain an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE), a private evaluation paid for by the family, which the school district is required to consider (although not to follow) in making decisions about a student’s eligibility for special education classification and services. The district may pay for an IEE, but only when a district evaluation has been completed and the parents disagree with its findings.

An IEE can be expensive, although some colleges with psychology training programs will offer low-cost evaluations conducted by doctoral students as part of their training. And many private evaluators determine fees on a sliding scale.

Persistence Pays Off

Do not give up on seeking an evaluation by your school when faced with these barriers. You know how hard your child is trying. Let the school know that, if needed, you will file for a hearing to obtain an evaluation and make it clear that you won’t stop until the school steps in to provide your child with the evaluation to which they are entitled.

There may be a “Special Education PTA” in your district, or a local organization that can represent parents at little or no charge. These can help you with strategies and representation so that you can be the “squeaky wheel” on your child’s behalf. And know that even after the evaluation is completed, you will still have to work with the school’s Committee on Special Education or 504 team to have your child properly classified and to craft an effective IEP or 504 Plan to support their learning.

An evaluation is the key to opening the door to a wide array of services and supports. Getting this evaluation may be difficult, but it can be of enormous benefit to your child.

Learning Disability Evaluations: Next Steps

Susan Yellin, Esq. is the Director of Advocacy and Transition Services at The Yellin Center for Mind, Brain, and Education, in New York City.

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