Link to parents' rights in CA:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/qa/pssummary.aspYou do have the right to request an eval. You also have the right to request an independent educational evaluation, at the district's expense, if you disagree with the findings of their eval. In this case, this might include having them recalculate index scores using extended norms.
The prices you are seeing are pretty standard, nationwide, although in some areas you could be looking at upwards of $4000 for a comprehensive neuropsych with full achievement. $400-600 for IQ only is pretty standard. A conventional IQ/achievement battery takes about 3-4 hours to administer (often longer with a young but high-functioning kid, as it takes longer to ceiling on every subtest, but you have to start at the same age level), and another couple of hours to write up, plus a half-hour to hour parent interview before, and the same to review results afterward. That's 8 hours worth, right there. Add executive functioning/ADHD, memory, motor, social/emotional/behavioral, classroom observation, attendance at school/IEP meetings at $200-300/hr, and you can see where the $4000+ figure comes from.
A good reason, if finances are a consideration, to let the school eval complete first, before requesting an IEE. BTW, on the initial school eval, they will send you a consent form with specific assessments/assessment types listed. You have a right to add other assessments onto your consent form, and the school district will have to make a reasonable attempt to conduct them. (If you suggest something that is clearly not within the purview of schools, you likely will not get it, like, say, medical testing for endocrinological problems.) E.g., say the consent form comes with just cognitive and academic achievement checked off, but you think there are specific concerns with executive function/ADHD or emotional issues. There is a check-off box that says something to the effect of "I consent to the evaluation, and request these additional assessments." Then a line for you to list them. There is also space provided on the consent form (sometimes it's on the next page, or the back) for parent concerns, in which you can reiterate your concerns with 2e, giftedness, etc. This sheet is more likely to reach the actual school-based evaluator than your original request letter is.
If you've already signed your consent form, you can still send in an addendum with this info, and it will be enforceable.
Please be careful about pursuing an outside eval while you have a school-based eval in process, as it can result in invalidating one or both of the evals, if they inadvertently duplicate testing with the same instruments. Sometimes parents think they are getting an unbiased second opinion by keeping the testers unaware of each other, but really, it does their kids a great disservice, as they may end up with two worthless evals, depending on the instruments and the timing. For the same reason, in the event of an IEE, make sure the second evaluator has all of the results of the first eval.
