This point regarding the difference in perception between high-performing public and privates is closely related to the question of choice that was raised much further upthread. (And, if one wanted to bring in public policy, also relates to the thorny -- and far more nuanced than discourse usually suggests -- topic of tax-payer-funded school choice in its various forms.) Gross generalizations: Private schools know families are customers, and feel some incentive to respond to market pressure. Public schools feel families are clients (in the therapeutic sense), and by and large know they will receive reimbursement whether or not their services are utilized (although this is not 100%; enrollment does still affect funding to some extent).
I'm also just a little horrified if the wait time aquinas reported for psychoeducational assessment is in the public schools. Federal law in the USA puts an upper limit of 60 school days on the process, from request to completion (shorter in some states). Even clinic/hospital-based evaluations typically run closer to the 6-9 month range in my region. And if it's the 0-3 population, they'll usually be seen much more quickly. Perhaps the wait time is just shorter here than in some other places. Although I will say that the typical hangup on clinic-based evals here is insurance problems. A familiar story is, child on waiting list for hospital eval, parent's job changes insurance. Child makes it to front of line, only to discover that new insurance is not accepted/doesn't authorize. Family has to start the whole process over at a new provider.
