The Blog: Simply Said
A GED-Based Diploma Doesn’t End IDEA Eligibility
Eligibility for a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) often turns on whether a student has graduated from high school with a “regular high school diploma.” IDEA defines FAPE to include “preschool,...
FAPE May Require More Than the Ordinary School Day
In Osseo Area Schools, Independent School District No. 279 v. A.J.T., 96 F.4th 1062, 124 LRP 9021 (8th Cir. Mar. 21, 2024), the Eighth Circuit addressed whether a shortened school day satisfied the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for a student whose...
Tuition Reimbursement Doesn’t Automatically Trigger Stay-Put
In Irvine Unified School District v. Landers, Nos. 21-55290, 21-55663, 21-55882, 2023 WL 8915431, 124 LRP 3 (9th Cir. Dec. 26, 2023) (unpublished), the Ninth Circuit addressed whether administrative law judge (ALJ) orders awarding tuition reimbursement also...
Remote IEPs Can Still Satisfy FAPE
In Abigail P. v. Old Forge School District, 105 F.4th 57, 124 LRP 21769 (3d Cir. June 26, 2024), the Third Circuit addressed the substantive adequacy and implementation of a modified individualized education program (IEP) during remote instruction at the height of the...
Appropriateness and Equity Are Distinct in Reimbursement Cases
In A.P. v. New York City Department of Education, No. 22-2636, 2024 WL 763386, 124 LRP 6283 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2024) (unpublished), the Second Circuit vacated and remanded a district court decision addressing tuition reimbursement for a thirteen-year-old student with...
An IDEA Loss Doesn’t End an ADA Claim
In LePape v. Lower Merion School District, 103 F.4th 966, 124 LRP 17149 (3d Cir. June 4, 2024), the Third Circuit addressed the relationship between claims brought under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and damages claims brought under Section...
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...