The Blog: Simply Said
IDEA Child Find Doesn’t End the Section 504 Inquiry
In B.S.M. v. Upper Darby School District, 103 F.4th 956, 124 LRP 17147 (3d Cir. June 4, 2024), the Third Circuit clarified that an adverse determination on a child-find claim under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) does not necessarily resolve a...
Clearly Defined Services Are Essential to Support Meaningful Progress
In Los Angeles Unified School District v. A.O., 92 F.4th 1159, 124 LRP 5221 (9th Cir. Feb. 15, 2024), the Ninth Circuit considered how specific an individualized education program (IEP) must be, what constitutes a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for a young...
One IEE Per Evaluation Means Exactly That
In Alex W. v. Poudre School District R-1, 94 F.4th 1176, 124 LRP 7692 (10th Cir. Mar. 7, 2024), the Tenth Circuit addressed claims involving the statute of limitations, behavioral assessments and services, free appropriate public education (FAPE), and the...
Deference to Administrative Findings Carries the Day
In C.K. v. Baltimore City Board of Commissioners, No. GLR-22-80, 2023 WL 3740555, 123 LRP 17311 (D. Md. May 31, 2023), the parents of a high school student with multiple disabilities challenged the adequacy of the individualized education program (IEP) proposed by the...
Not Every IEP Deviation Denies FAPE
In Plotkin v. Montgomery County Public Schools, No. 22-2073, 2023 WL 7272102, --- F. App’x ---, 123 LRP 33167 (4th Cir. Nov. 3, 2023) (unpublished), petition for cert. filed, No. 23-1074 (Apr. 2, 2024), the Fourth Circuit considered whether a school district’s failure...
When Disability Classification Doesn’t Decide FAPE
In Mason v. Carranza, No. 20-CV-4010 (PKC) (SJB), 2023 WL 6201407, 123 LRP 29905 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 22, 2023), appeal filed sub nom. Mason v. Banks, No. 23-7604 (2d Cir. Nov. 2, 2023), the district court addressed a dispute centered on disability classification and...
FAPE Without Grade-Level Standards? The Second Circuit Says Yes
The Second Circuit reaffirmed that an individualized education program (IEP) may satisfy both the free appropriate public education (FAPE) and least restrictive environment (LRE) requirements—even when it does not align with general education standards—where the...
When Stay-Put Can’t Preserve an Unavailable Placement
The stay-put provision of the IDEA, which requires that a child remain in his or her then-current educational placement during the pendency of proceedings unless the parties agree otherwise, can be difficult to apply when a placement ends for reasons unrelated to a...
Court Limits Transportation Reimbursement to Services Actually Delivered
In Araujo v. New York City Department of Education, No. 20 CIV. 7032 (LGS), 2023 WL 5097982, 123 LRP 24400 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 9, 2023), the plaintiffs initially brought pendency funding claims on behalf of multiple students attending a private school known as iBrain....
Parental Noncooperation Defeats Tuition Reimbursement Claim
Neske v. New York City Department of Education, No. 22-2962-CV, 2023 WL 8888586, --- F. App’x ---, 123 LRP 37531 (2d Cir. Dec. 26, 2023), involved a unilateral parental placement at a private school known as the International Institute for the Brain (“iBrain”). The...
Excluding Guardian From IEP Meeting Denied FAPE
In Davis v. Banks, No. 21-CV-3265 (PKC) (PK), 2023 WL 6214107, 123 LRP 29915 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 25, 2023), the district court awarded summary judgment to the grandmother and legal guardian of a nine-year-old student with a disability, concluding that the New York City...
Ambiguous Pendency Orders Prompt Remand for Clarification
In Davis v. Banks, No. 22-CV-8184 (JMF), 2023 WL 5917659, 123 LRP 29611 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 11, 2023), the district court addressed two recurring issues arising from pendency (“stay-put”) orders involving placements at a private school known as iBrain: (1) whether a...
Stay-Put Funding Required When No IEP Placement Exists
In L.G. v. New York City Department of Education, No. 23-CV-9268, 2023 WL 8044937, 123 LRP 33163 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 3, 2023), the court applied stay-put principles to a situation in which no available placement conformed to the student’s individualized education program...
Court Allows ADA Claim to Proceed After IDEA Loss
In Lartigue v. Northside Independent School District, No. 22-50854, 2023 WL 7869124, 86 F.4th 689, 123 LRP 33956 (5th Cir. Nov. 16, 2023), the Fifth Circuit reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of a school district and held that a student’s ADA Title II claim...
When Consensus Exists, Methodology Belongs in the IEP
In E.E. v. Norris School District, No. 1:20‑CV‑1291‑AWI‑CDB, 2023 WL 3124618, 83 IDELR 68 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 27, 2023), the court addressed a dispute concerning the content of an individualized education program (IEP) for a student with autism spectrum disorder. The...
Court Upholds Broad IEE-Based Remedy After FAPE Denial
In Los Lunas Public Schools Board of Education v. Schneider, No. 21‑cv‑01082‑DHU‑SCY, 2023 WL 6144506, 123 LRP 29853 (D.N.M. Sept. 20, 2023), the district court affirmed an unusually broad remedial order issued by an impartial hearing officer (IHO) after finding that...
Parents Must Be Consulted Before District Refuses to Evaluate a Student
In J.Z. v. Catalina Foothills School District, No. CV-20-00490-TUC-RCC, 2023 WL 3275759, 83 IDELR 62 (D. Ariz. May 5, 2023), the court addressed a school district’s obligations under the IDEA concerning child find, the decision whether to evaluate a student, parental...
Private Placement Must Meet the Student’s Needs
In J.S. v. Autauga County Board of Education, Nos. 2:22‑CV‑284‑MHT, 2:22‑CV‑306‑MHT, 2023 WL 3224961, 83 IDELR 63 (M.D. Ala. May 3, 2023), the court considered whether a parent’s unilateral private school placement was appropriate so as to support a tuition...
Court Upholds Tuition Reduction Based on Parental Conduct
In K.P. v. Department of Education, State of Hawai‘i, No. 22-cv-00267-DKW-WRP, 2023 WL 2930568, 123 LRP 13042 (D. Hawai‘i Apr. 13, 2023), appeal dismissed, No. 23-15705 (9th Cir. July 11, 2023), the district court affirmed a hearing officer’s decision to reduce a...
Staffing Shortages Do Not Excuse Stay-Put Obligations
Disputes over a school district’s obligation to maintain services during the pendency of due process proceedings are common. Far less common are cases resulting in findings of civil contempt and the imposition of sanctions. Bueno v. Bass Lake Joint Union Elementary...