504 plan and IEP testing in Texas

A doctor’s note is not a 504. A progress-monitoring graph is not an IEP. In Texas you walk into a 504 meeting or an ARD with a written educational evaluation. That report is usually written by a certified educational diagnostician or an LSSP in private practice — Austin, Arlington, Pearland, Dallas.

We list independent Texas evaluators who do 504 and IEP eligibility testing — educational diagnosticians and LSSPs.

Browse Texas 504/IEP evaluators

Two meetings, two documents

A 504 plan is accommodations: extra time, notes, a quieter room. An IEP is specially designed instruction plus accommodations. In Texas the IEP is built at an ARD. Those are different tables. The private report can feed either one if the evaluator writes classroom language, not only standard scores.

You do not need the school’s permission to get the testing. You do need them to convene if you want a plan opened or changed. Email the report before the meeting. Do not surprise the committee with a stack of paper.

What the campus will actually use

A usable eligibility report names the disability or identification, ties it to classroom impact, and lists accommodations a 504 coordinator or ARD can paste. “Student is bright but struggling” is not enough. Neither is a diagnosis with no educational data.

If the district already did an FIE and you think it is wrong, stop and read IEE in Texas. That is the public-expense / disagreement path. Paying for your own 504/IEP testing is the other path: faster, parent-funded, still something the team has to consider.

Who you hire

The person families usually hire is a certified educational diagnostician. Some families use an LSSP in private practice when attention, anxiety, or behavior has to sit in the same report as academics. Ask whether they have written for Texas 504 committees and ARDs, not only for clinics.

Ask if they will attend. Some will phone in. Get that answer before the deposit. Also ask whether one battery can cover related questions — dysgraphia, reading, a later SAT file — so you are not buying three reports.

After you have the PDF

Send it to the 504 coordinator or the special-education department, depending on which meeting you want.
Put the request for a meeting in writing. Keep a copy.
At the table, point to the recommendations page. You are asking for specific supports, not a general “look at this.”

The full private battery behind most of these reports is described in psychoeducational testing in Texas.

Fees

Private comprehensive testing in Texas is typically $800–$2,500. That is a market range, not a quote. Confirm what is included. A few weeks to a finished report is the private timeline if they have an opening — not a school year of “let’s try interventions first.”

IEE in Texas if you disagree with the school’s evaluation, psychoeducational testing in Texas if you need the full battery first, or all guides.