Scholar Education and PAR team up on special education evaluations

Scholar Education and PAR are partnering to speed up and improve special education evaluations for families nationwide. The Tampa-based companies say the effort could help reduce long wait times and move students from assessment to support faster.

Why it matters: - Families often wait 12 to 18 months for special education evaluations. - Schools are facing backlogs and staffing shortages that slow access to services. - The partnership aims to make evaluations faster and higher quality, which could help students get support sooner.

What happened: - Scholar Education announced a strategic partnership with PAR, a national leader in psychological assessments and educational evaluations. - The companies will work together to modernize how students are identified, evaluated and connected to support services. - Both companies are based in Tampa. - The partnership builds on an earlier relationship between the companies through Scholar founder and CEO Ed Buckley and PAR.

The details: - Scholar Education says it currently serves more than 20,000 students and educators across multiple states through its special education technology platform. - The company is expanding through Scholar Health into evaluations, family navigation and special education services. - Scholar says the new partnership with PAR is a major step toward that vision. - Scholar says its goal is not only faster evaluations, but better evaluations delivered more efficiently. - Scholar Education’s platform includes BaxterBot for students and PAWfessor Bruce for teachers. - The platform provides accommodations-based student support, accommodation delivery and real-time instructional insights in the classroom. - PAR was one of the largest investors in Peerfit, the Tampa health technology company Buckley founded and later sold. - Kristin Greco, CEO of PAR, said working with Buckley again is rewarding and that she has long admired his focus on solving meaningful challenges. - Ed Buckley said PAR has spent decades building trusted assessment tools in education and that combining that expertise with Scholar’s technology can make evaluations more accessible. - Marlee Strawn, Scholar’s president and co-founder, said the effort is designed to help children move from evaluation to support faster. - Greco said the companies are trying to make it easier for children and families to access evaluations, insights and educational resources they need to thrive.

Between the lines: - The partnership appears to blend Scholar’s technology platform with PAR’s assessment expertise. - The move also signals Scholar’s push beyond classroom tools into a broader special education services business. - The reunion between Buckley and PAR suggests a relationship built on prior investment ties and shared history in Tampa’s startup ecosystem.

What's next: - Scholar Health will continue expanding into evaluations and family navigation. - The companies will work to build infrastructure that shortens the path from evaluation to support. - If successful, the partnership could become a model for faster special education access in other markets. - More information is available through Scholar Education’s social profiles: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X.