Is there a specific timeline for requesting an IEE after the school completes testing? There isn't. Since it's been 15 months, they might want to do another eval rather than pay for an IEE. You might want to talk to the special ed director and ask them. I do agree that your child needs to be tested for pragmatics (and social skills). These are the areas of need with ADHD & autism. To whom is an IEE request addressed to? The school principal, school district SPED director, state agency? I'd address it to the principal, case manager (this would be the special ed teacher who writes the IEP), and the special ed director. (Send an email.) If the IEP goals aren't measurable (and the school was aware,) can I argue for an IEE? No. You do an IEE to get data. If a goal isn't measurable...well, you want SMART goals. My child is moving over to Middle School next school year, should there be a transition meeting which includes the SPED teacher at the new school? Not required under IDEA. It's a nice thing to do. Since the SPED teacher stated my child has mastered their goals, is it beneficial to ask for a meeting to have them show me how the data was collected even though they admitted the program they used only shows completion and isn't measurable? "What does that look like?" Ask that question when you feel a goal isn't measurable. If they didn't back their teacher, they would be admitting the IEP isn't FAPE.

I have a few questions which I hope the community can answer: Is there a specific timeline for requesting an IEE after the school completes testing? To whom is an IEE request addressed to? The school principal, school district SPED director, state agency? If the IEP goals aren't measurable (and the school was aware,) can I argue for an IEE? My child is moving over to Middle School next school year, should there be a transition meeting which includes the SPED teacher at the new school? Since the SPED teacher stated my child has mastered their goals, is it beneficial to ask for a meeting to have them show me how the data was collected even though they admitted the program they used only shows completion and isn't measurable? Here's a bit of background: In February 2025, the school completed the triennial testing for my child's IEP evaluation (DX with Autism & ADHD.) Although the results showed that my child was at average and even above average on some of the tests that they completed, I still didn't agree with the results. During our IEP meeting last March to go over the results, it was mentioned that timers were stopped because of "intrusive thoughts" but that wouldn't have affected the scoring. They also declined to test pragmatic language skills. I debated about requesting an IEE then, but the local state advocacy group was like, well, try to write them a letter stating that you don't agree with the results. (I had one of their advocates with me during the meeting. I don't think she said more than 10 words the entire meeting.) Fast forward to August 2025. I receive an E-mail from the new SPED teacher who set up a meeting to go over the annual IEP. When I received the draft, the two goals my child had were rewritten. Not only were they rewritten, it was done in a way which essentially stated child will complete X in 4 out of 5 opportunities. I brought up to the team that the goals weren't measurable this way, but my concerns were again dismissed. I also asked the SPED teacher why my parent concerns letter was summarized in the IEP and was told that they don't have to put my full letter in there. At this point, the school wasn't listening to me nor my advocate, so I called the district SPED Director to ask that she join us for another meeting. I spent 45 minutes on the phone with the SPED director and was told that my parent concerns letter was not where I put in that I disagree with the decisions made by the IEP team and that they don't have to put my full letter in my child's IEP. They also fully backed their teachers and the decisions that they were making, but they would contact the principal to request another meeting. Another meeting was scheduled, but that didn't work out because the school had tech issues & my child's teacher couldn't be in attendance for more than 15 minutes. After going back and forth with the school, I got another meeting scheduled and the state advocacy group put me in touch with one of their director's to attend with me. The state advocate pointed out that info was missing from the IEP and that the goals as written weren't measurable. The school principal was in this meeting and we discussed her suggestions to my child's IEP which I actually agreed with. After an hour plus meeting, it seemed like both sides were making progress, although I felt like I was being lectured for “not letting my child be independent.” The PWN comes with the amended IEP. Sure enough, it's missing a good deal of what was discussed at the meeting. And when I E-mailed the principal about it (when I had to e-mail and ask where the data was that backed up their progress reports,) she didn't directly address it. It was pushed off on the SPED and Gen Ed teachers to answer my questions. I'm literally at my wits end. I don't seem to be getting anywhere with the school and the state advocacy agency is super vague. It's more or less, "it's up to you what you want to do." As a parent who has no idea what they're doing, I'm just looking for some direction on what the next best steps are, especially with the school year ending next Friday. Thank you.

I write this putting aside my ineffectiveness with my own kids… If I am reading correctly, he was diagnosed with ADHD after they denied an IEP? I would immediately ask for him to be evaluated (yup, again) for an IEP. I think his new diagnosis (definitely share this with them in writing) would be reason they could reevaluate, even if you were still within the time frame to ask for an IEE. So ask, and if they say no, immediately request the IEE in writing. No need to elaborate why, just make the request in writing. If they agree to evaluate for an IEP again, this is your opportunity to rebut/provide everything in an eligibility meeting. Due to timing, this would be next school year:(. I am not well-versed in 504 meetings, but I would attend. You can agree to anything they offer that would be helpful while also clearing stating (when you agree to the meeting, at the meeting, and in a follow-up email) that you believe your son needs an IEP, that you asked for them to evaluate/or for an IEE, and that pending those results, you want his 504 to be as robust as possible because You Believe He Needs an IEP! Lastly, get every piece of evidence you can that shows your kiddo’s struggle. My kiddo tests at the 87% (this is just in average) in written expression one round, then I show up with his actual work, any writing I can get my hands on, because standardized scores are not everything (not always). Another example: written expression score is “average” on one standardized test, but Below Average on a different one. Look at the subtests carefully. Teachers ratings cannot always be trusted and should not be a “tiebreaker”. My kids rarely mark anything that comes up elevated, and I have years of teachers ratings vs my ratings that are very different at times. Fortunately and unfortunately, time has shown that my ratings are accurate, and teachers much less so. Do not let them say that one or two teachers ratings determine anything. Just show them all the proof of what the teachers were not seeing. (If this sounds nutso, think of this situation: I pick up my then 7 year old at school, he is pale with wide eyes and falls into my arms burning up. He has pneumonia. Teacher never noticed all day the many sign that I saw immediately: moms see differently than teachers. These are our kids and teachers have to notice what is happening with many, so nuances of one can be missed). I am also going through the end of school panic:(. I don’t think there is much you can do to change the beginning of middle school…. But I could be wrong, so see what others say here. In addition to asking for the IEP eval or IEE, I would also try to get as much information about his 6th grade schedule and see what you can do to just get him prepared over the summer, and be very communicative with the middle school right away, and document as much as you can (always) but every day of middle school. Things went very haywire very fast for one of my kiddos at this point….not to scare you, but to let you know that this is when previously small things get pushed front and center. For us, social skills. Lastly, do not let them show you As and Bs and use them to mean anything. Get every piece of your kiddos work, make copies, and keep it! I can only see my kiddos assessments one time per quarter (now in 9th), and have found where they are not making wrong answers (in math!). It is really disheartening, but it begins to feel like their objective is hiding or twisting data to make everything good, while parents are forced to have extensive evidence to prove otherwise. Please keep us posted!

400 hours is over 16 days (24 hour days). There is no way she is getting that much instruction in a week. Most schools are only open to 35 hours a week and they won't take away lunch to provide instruction. I think you need to get the IEP corrected if it really says 400 hours per week. Could it be 400 minutes per week? Not sure how she could have missed 1000 instructional hours. If school meets for 180 days that are 6 hours long, that's 1080 hours in total. Again, this isn't realistic for any IEP unless your child is going to school every day. Could it be 1000 minutes? I think asking the IEP team to document the IEP minutes your child gets daily is not unreasonable. And asking them to make up missed time isn't unreasonable either. I do think you need to get the amount of time in the IEP straight before your write to the school. If you know how to put 400 hours into a week that typically lasts 168 hours (24 X 7 = 168), please let me know. I'm behind on some paperwork and could use that extra time to catch up.

The school doesn't have data on how much help he gets at home. Start writing down what you're doing and how long it takes for you to to this. Send this to the school and ask for it to be added to his 504 file so they have a record of what happens at home. Or you put a time limit on help. I know it's not easy to watch your child fail and end up with poor self esteem but the way the system works, this is what needs to happen. If the student scrapes by with outside help, the school doesn't have to offer an IEP. This is why the 504 appears to be working. (They can't read minds. They don't know if you or a tutor are helping him so they attribute his progress to what they are doing.) Did they assess social skills and pragmatics as "areas of need"? These are the 2 areas that kids will tend to qualify for an IEP with. The social skills assessment my school uses is the SSIS -The Social Skills Improvement System . Also, with smart kids, they will mask. My child looked average on the TOPL - Test Of Pragmatic Language. I was told if they had done the optional extended assessment, the issues would have come to light.

Best practice is SMART goals. From Google: SMART goals are a structured framework for setting objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. When the school comes up with a crap goal, ask them to make it into a SMART goal. You should be able to teach yourself what a SMART goal looks like so you can critique the school's goals. https://adayinourshoes.com/smart-goals/ and: https://adayinourshoes.com/iep-goal-bank/ This should help you climb the learning curve. When I copied from Google, it changed my font color. Not sure why that happens.