An independent educational evaluation (IEE) provides parents with an opportunity to obtain alternative sources of information concerning the present levels of performance of their children. Although Congress guaranteed this procedural safeguard for parents in 1975 (P. L. No. 94–142), there have been several alterations of these regulations during the past 25 years. Primary areas of concern include: (a) What is an appropriate evaluation? (b) What are the circumstances in which a public agency must pay for an IEE? and (c) What is the timeline to which local educational agencies (LEAs) and parents must adhere? IDEA ′97 included modifications of previous federal regulations on IEEs. This article explores these alterations through a review of administrative decisions, court cases, state regulations, and U.S. Department of Education policy and opinion letters.