Document and evaluation review
I read the district’s assessment report, the current IEP or 504 plan, progress data, and prior evaluations, and tell you what the scores mean, what is missing, and where the document and the data disagree.
Services
Special Education Consultation
You have a stack of paper from the district and a meeting on the calendar. Special education consultation is a working session: I read the evaluation, the IEP (Individualized Education Program) or 504 plan, and the data behind them, and tell you what they actually say.
What this is
What special education consultation is.
Three things, done well, before you sit down at the table.
Interpretation in plain language
Standard scores, percentiles, eligibility criteria, and service minutes are technical language. I translate them into what they mean for your child’s school day, and what they entitle you to ask for.
Meeting preparation
Before the IEP or 504 meeting, we work through what you need to come out of it, which questions get you there, what to put in writing, and what the district is and is not required to do.
Support between meetings
Some families come back when a new report lands, a plan stops working, or communication with the school has started to break down. We think through what to raise, how to put it in writing, and how to keep the conversation focused on your child.
What this page is not
This is not representation. I do not speak for you at the meeting and I do not take a position against your district. You stay the decision‑maker. My work is to make sure you decide with complete information.
Who it’s for
Who this is for.
Most families reach me at one of three moments. A district report just landed and the language is impenetrable. A meeting is scheduled and the last one did not go well. Or services are in place, the year is moving, and nothing is changing. You are not failing. You just don’t have all the information.
It may fit when:
- You received a district assessment report and cannot tell what it concluded.
- An IEP or 504 meeting is coming and you want to prepare before you sit down.
- Your child qualifies for services, but the goals and minutes don’t match the findings.
- The district found your child ineligible and you want the reasoning examined.
- You are deciding whether to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE).
- Your child has an ADHD, autism, anxiety, or dyslexia profile and the school is not responding to it.
- You are changing districts, or moving between a 504 plan and an IEP, and want the transition read.
- Communication between you and the school is breaking down, and you want help with the next conversation.
- You are not sure whether a Section 504 plan or an IEP is the right kind of plan for your child.
What to expect
- 1
Tell me what’s happening
Start with the free 15‑minute consultation. You describe the situation and the decision in front of you, and I tell you whether consultation is the right service or whether an evaluation fits better.
- 2
Send the records
Once we are working together, you send the reports, plans, progress data, and correspondence through a secure channel. Records should not come through the public contact form.
- 3
I read the whole file
Assessment data, eligibility findings, goals, service minutes, accommodations, discipline and attendance records, and what the school has documented about how your child is actually doing.
- 4
We prepare for the meeting
We go through what the record shows, what to ask, what to request in writing, and what your options are if the answer is no. You leave with your questions and your priorities in order.
Our approach
Independent means independent. We don’t soft‑pedal findings for the district and we don’t inflate them for the family. That holds here as much as it does on an evaluation. If the district’s assessment is sound, I will tell you it is sound. That is information you can use, and it can save you months and real money spent on a position the data does not support. If it is not sound, I will show you where: the area that was not assessed, the instrument that was not given, the conclusion the scores do not carry.
I spent years on the district side of this table. I ran special education departments, supervised assessment, sat through litigation, and taught graduate courses to the school psychologists who write these reports. That is why I can tell you what a report means, what a team is required to do, and what is realistically available in a public school program. Insider perspective is the whole point of this service.
What it is not is a takeover. You know your child; you will be the one living with the plan. My job is to hand you the findings and the options in a form you can use, so that you walk back into that room with your own authority intact.
Who you’ll work with
Marcia Miller, Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP #3015), Nationally Certified School Psychologist.
You’ll work directly with the person who reads your file, and that same person prepares you for the meeting. Twenty‑plus years as a Licensed Educational Psychologist, seventeen licensed, twenty‑one years in school psychology, ten‑plus years leading special education departments and building programs, and ten‑plus years teaching graduate‑level assessment.
Logistics
- Consultation is conducted by secure video anywhere in California.
- In‑person work is available in Fresno, Madera, Merced, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito Counties.
- Crescent cannot work with families outside California.
- Meeting attendance: when Crescent is retained for it, I can attend an IEP or 504 meeting to speak to the assessment data. That means what the scores show and what the report does and does not support. I attend as the person who can read the evaluation, not as your representative.
- Keep the details off the public form. Reports, evaluations, health information, and your child’s full story should not go through the contact form. Tell us what’s happening in a sentence or two and we will set up a secure way to send the rest.
- Call or text: (559) 287‑8351
Fees
Fees and insurance.
Crescent is a private‑pay practice. Cost is discussed with you before anything is scheduled, starting with the free 15‑minute consultation.
Scope is worked out on the consultation call. After that call you receive a Good Faith Estimate in writing that names the areas to be assessed and what the work involves, before anything is scheduled.
Attendance at an IEP meeting is included where a district has contracted it as part of an IEE. Where a parent asks me to attend a meeting outside that, it is additional time billed at the hourly rate, agreed in advance.
Common questions
Is the first conversation free?
Yes. The free 15‑minute consultation is where we work out whether special education consultation, an evaluation, or something else is the right next step. Fees for the work itself are discussed on that call.
Will you come to my IEP meeting?
When Crescent is retained for it, I can. I attend to speak to the assessment data: what the testing showed, what the report supports, and what it does not. I am there as the person who can read the evaluation, not as your representative, and not to negotiate on your behalf.
Is this the same as having someone represent me?
No. Crescent informs; it does not represent. You do the talking and you make the decisions. What changes is that you walk in knowing what the record says, what the district is required to do, and what to ask for.
Do I need a consultation or an evaluation?
If you already have current, thorough testing and need to know what it means and what to do with it, that is consultation. If the testing is missing, dated, or does not answer the question in front of you, you need an evaluation. The free 15‑minute consultation is where we sort that out.
Can you tell me whether the district’s evaluation is any good?
Yes. That is a large part of this work. I will show you where the evaluation is solid and where it is thin, and I will tell you when it is solid even when that is not what you were hoping to hear. Both answers are worth having.
What if I want to request an IEE?
Parents have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation at district expense when they disagree with the district’s evaluation. The district can grant that request, or deny it and file for due process to defend its own evaluation. Consultation is often where families decide whether that request is the right move, and how to word it.
Do you work with families outside the Central Valley and Central Coast?
Consultation is available by secure video throughout California. In‑person work is limited to Fresno, Madera, Merced, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito Counties. Crescent cannot serve families outside California.
Related pages
- Related evaluations: IEEs · Psychoeducational assessments · Autism evaluation · Social and emotional assessment (ERMHS) · Behavior assessment and behavior plans
- Sibling services: Counseling · Parent coaching · Forensic consultation
- Related concerns: ADHD · Autism · Anxiety · Dyslexia
- About / contact: About Marcia Miller · Contact
Start with a conversation
Restore your peace.
You do not have to carry this by yourself. Tell us what’s happening, and let’s figure it out together.
Prefer to talk? Call or text (559) 287‑8351.
Marcia Lynn Miller, LEP #3015 · Independent practice
See all services