Question
I have been contacted a few times by speech‑language pathologists from a school who have come to our clinic for an AAC evaluation. The school has always paid for that AAC evaluation. But I'm not sure if the school is supposed to do that or is it the parents’ responsibility to pay for the evaluation? Is there a specific rule for that?
Answer
When school staff recognizes the need for an evaluation, that procedure can be done in-school, by school staff to the extent staff are adequately skilled to do so. If the evaluation occurs in this manner, there will be no charge. A school can’t charge a family for such an evaluation. It is part of a child’s Free Appropriate Public Education. If school staff recognize the need for an evaluation, but don’t have staff able to meet this need, the school may seek a community resource to perform the evaluation. If there is a charge for this service or procedure, the school will pay for it. A circumstance also may arise n which the need for evaluation is not recognized by all as needed. If a parent wants one but the school does not agree one is needed, the family can proceed to get the evaluation at its own cost. The family then can ask the school for reimbursement of that charge. If the school refuses, the family can proceed to due process related to reimbursement. If the family can’t afford the charge in the first place, due process can proceed on the question of whether the evaluation is needed.
Lewis Golinker is an attorney with 29 years experience in expanding access to funding for SGDs and currently serves as the advocacy director for the United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (USSAAC). In the United States, he has worked to ensure SGD funding by Medicaid programs throughout the country, Medicare, Tricare and insurers.
