Side by side
Both routes are legitimate and neither is a shortcut past the other. They answer slightly different questions and produce different kinds of leverage.
| Through the school | Private evaluation | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Commonly quoted between roughly $1,500 and $5,000 depending on scope |
| Timeline | Set by law, though the total often runs two to three months | Usually weeks, limited mainly by the provider’s waitlist |
| Question answered | Does the student qualify for school services | What is going on with this child, in clinical detail |
| Scope | Focused on educational need | Often broader, including attention, memory, anxiety and language |
| Leads directly to | School services and a written plan | A report and recommendations you take to the school |
| Who runs it | District staff, often a diagnostician or LSSP | Licensed psychologist, neuropsychologist or educational diagnostician |
The school route
The public school evaluation is free, it is legally bound to timelines, and it is the only route that leads directly to school delivered services. In Texas it is the route most families should start with.
Its strengths
- No cost, and no financial barrier for any family.
- Enforceable deadlines, unlike a private waitlist.
- The evaluators already have access to classroom data and instructional history.
- It produces the written plan that governs what actually happens Monday morning.
Its limits
- The question it answers is eligibility, which is narrower than what is going on with my child.
- Co-occurring issues outside education, such as anxiety, may not be assessed.
- Scope and depth vary between districts, and staffing pressure is real.
The private route
A private evaluation buys depth and speed. It is worth its cost in specific circumstances rather than as a default.
When it earns its cost
- The school has declined to evaluate and you want independent evidence.
- You disagree with the school’s findings.
- You suspect more than one thing is going on and want it untangled.
- Your child is in a private school without access to a district evaluation.
- You need documentation for accommodations on college entrance testing.
- You need an answer faster than the school timeline can deliver.
What to ask before you book
- What are your credentials, and how many dyslexia evaluations do you do a year?
- Which specific measures will you administer? Nonsense word reading and phonological processing should be on the list.
- Does the fee include a written report and a feedback session? Some quotes cover testing only.
- Will you write recommendations a school can act on? A report that stops at a diagnosis is half a purchase.
- Will you attend the school meeting, and at what cost?
Which one to choose
For most Texas families the sequence that wastes the least money and time is straightforward. Request the school evaluation first, because it is free and it is the only route to school services. Pursue a private evaluation if the school declines, if you disagree with the outcome, if you suspect something more complex, or if the timeline will not work for your child.
Doing both is common and is not wasteful. A private report gives you independent evidence to bring to the table, and the school evaluation gives you the plan.
Independent educational evaluations
There is a third route families rarely hear about. If you disagree with the school’s evaluation, you may request an independent educational evaluation, usually shortened to IEE, at public expense. The district must either agree to fund it or file to defend its own evaluation.
This is not the same as simply paying for a private evaluation. Request it in writing, state plainly that you disagree with the district’s evaluation, and ask for the district’s IEE criteria and its list of qualified evaluators.
Whichever route you take, treatment and therapy is where the outcome is actually decided. An evaluation only tells you what to ask for.
Where this information comes from
This page draws on the organizations below alongside the clinical experience of the therapists who teach at Key School. Where the sources disagree, or where a policy is still changing, we say so in the text instead of picking an answer for you.
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, including the right to an independent educational evaluation U.S. Department of Education
- The Dyslexia Handbook, on district responsibilities Texas Education Agency
- Guidance on independent educational evaluations in Texas Disability Rights Texas
- Special education law and advocacy reference Wrightslaw
