The Blog: Simply Said
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...
Court Upholds Tuition Reduction Despite FAPE Denial
In Maysonet v. New York City Department of Education, No. 22 Civ. 1685 (LGS), 2023 WL 2537851, 123 LRP 9965 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 16, 2023), the court addressed the scope of equitable relief available in a tuition reimbursement case where a denial of a free appropriate...
Thrown Objects Were Not “Dangerous Weapons” Under IDEA
Student discipline disputes frequently give rise to due process proceedings, and the expedited timelines applicable to exclusionary discipline cases place a premium on prompt and careful adjudication. In G.D. v. Utica Community Schools, No. 20-12864, 2023 WL 2719426,...
Disability Labels Don’t Drive FAPE
In Navarro Carrillo v. New York City Department of Education, No. 21-2639, 2023 WL 3162127, 123 LRP 13987 (2d Cir. May 1, 2023) (unpublished summary order), the Second Circuit addressed the role of disability classification in the development of an individualized...
Third Circuit Reaffirms the Snapshot Rule in Evaluating IEP Adequacy
In I.K. v. Mannheim Township School District, No. 22-1347, 2023 WL 3477830, 123 LRP 15585 (3d Cir. May 15, 2023), an unpublished Third Circuit decision, the court addressed the application of the “snapshot rule” in assessing whether an individualized education program...
It’s the Process, Not the Page Count
In Bouabid v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education, 62 F.4th 851, 82 IDELR 216 (4th Cir. Mar. 15, 2023), the Fourth Circuit addressed the adequacy of an administrative hearing officer’s decision under the IDEA, emphasizing that the validity of an...
Placement First, Payments Later: Limits of Stay-Put
In Mendez v. Banks, 65 F.4th 56, 83 IDELR 28 (2d Cir. Apr. 12, 2023), the Second Circuit addressed the scope of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) stay-put provision, 20 U.S.C. § 1415(j), and clarified that stay-put protects a student’s educational...