Private Evaluations & IEEs: When and How to Request One (Copy)

By: Rachel Nicholson, Advocate

Anxiety at school is often overlooked because it does not always show up in grades or test scores. A student can appear capable academically while anxiety significantly interferes with their ability to engage in learning. When anxiety is present, access to instruction becomes inconsistent, effortful, and at times unsustainable, even when instruction itself is appropriate.

In school settings, anxiety often appears as avoidance, refusal, shutdowns, emotional dysregulation, or difficulty initiating tasks. These behaviors are frequently misinterpreted as noncompliance or lack of motivation, but for many students they are signs that demands are triggering a stress response. When anxiety is driving behavior, increasing expectations or consequences does not improve access to instruction and often escalates the problem.

Anxiety also interferes with attention and processing. Students may miss directions, disengage during new or challenging material, or show uneven performance. Their cognitive resources are focused on managing stress rather than learning. Over time, this can lead to gaps in instruction that are not reflected in grades alone.

Emotional regulation is another major barrier. Anxiety can result in freezing, irritability, emotional outbursts, or internal shutdowns that limit a student’s ability to participate in classroom activities. When regulation is compromised, access to instruction depends less on academic skill and more on whether the environment supports emotional safety and predictability.

Transitions, changes in routine, testing, and unstructured times often intensify anxiety and further reduce access to instruction. Students may spend much of the school day anticipating what comes next rather than engaging in learning. In some cases, this leads to school avoidance, frequent absences, or shortened school days, all of which directly impact educational access.

From an educational perspective, anxiety becomes a disability related need when it interferes with a student’s ability to access instruction consistently and independently. Addressing this requires more than reassurance or behavior management. It requires intentional accommodations and, for many students, direct services.

Common accommodations that support anxiety include predictable routines, visual schedules, reduced demand during periods of high stress, flexible task initiation, modified testing conditions, breaks that support regulation, and adult responses that de escalate rather than escalate anxiety. These accommodations are not about lowering expectations, but about removing barriers so students can engage in instruction.

In addition to accommodations, some students require services to build the skills needed to manage anxiety in the school setting. School based counseling can support emotional regulation, coping strategies, and problem solving when it is provided consistently and aligned with classroom demands. Social skills groups can be helpful for students whose anxiety interferes with peer interactions, flexibility, or communication, particularly when groups are structured, skills based, and connected to real school situations. For students with significant anxiety, services and accommodations must work together to meaningfully improve access to instruction.

When teams focus only on academic output, anxiety related barriers are often missed. Shifting the question from “Can this student do the work?” to “Can this student access instruction in their current environment?” leads to more appropriate IEPs and 504 plans. Addressing anxiety as an access issue allows students to engage more fully in learning and demonstrate their abilities over time.