This program is available to any parent of a child with a disability, without regard to income.
Pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a parent of a child with a disability who disagrees with the school district’s evaluation of the child is entitled to request the performance of an independent education evaluation (“IEE”) of the child at public expense. (Notably, an evaluation may consist of multiple “assessments.”) You may request assessments not performed by the district (i.e., if you disagree that the district performed the appropriate assessments in the first place), and the district cannot then go back and do their own assessment before responding to your request. Once you submit your request, the district has twenty (20) days to respond. Its only proper responses are either(i) to agree to perform the IEE (which must be without unreasonable conditions), or (ii) to initiate a due process hearing in the Office of Administrative Law, at which the district would have to prove that its initial assessments were appropriate.
If you participate in this program, Innisfree will assist you in drafting your initial request. If the district fails to meet its obligations, Innisfree will seek to identify an attorney to assist you in the Office of Administrative Law. You would not be required to pay attorneys’ fees in such an action, however some minimal out-of-pocket expenses might be incurred (most notably, filing fees, postage, and copying), for which you would be responsible. If the Innisfree attorney succeeds on your behalf, that attorney will apply for prevailing party fees, which the attorney would be entitled to keep. These are limited engagements, and will be governed by an engagement agreement (which specifies that legal services are to be provided for no charge to the parent) that will limit the substantive scope of the representation.