California OAH special education decision · May 3, 2006

Student v. Encinitas Union School District

OAH Case No. 2005080083 · ALJ Elizabeth R. Feyzbakhsh

Encinitas Union agrees by consent decision that it denied FAPE and must reimburse parents $82,424 for private placement.

Student prevailed on all issues

Noted in the decision

None noted. EUSD waived all rights to appeal the decision.

Summary

A student filed for due process against Encinitas Union School District (EUSD). The parties settled by signing a stipulation, and the ALJ issued a decision by consent based only on that stipulation. The decision does not state the student's eligibility category or grade.

EUSD agreed that it denied the student a free appropriate public education (FAPE) from about February 11 through August 13, 2004. During that time it blocked the parents from taking a meaningful part in developing the IEP. The stipulation lists five failures:

- Required IEP team members were missing at a June 9, 2004 IEP meeting.

- The team never discussed, and gave the parents no chance to discuss, a part-time general education placement with designated instruction and services (DIS).

- District staff met without the parents, outside a noticed IEP meeting, and created a new placement offer. They sent it to the parents in a letter dated June 15, 2004.

- That June 15 offer did not clearly describe the DIS services it proposed.

- The district did not adequately answer the parents' questions about what the offer meant.

Because of these actions, the parents placed the student in a private placement and paid for private services from August 2004 through summer 2005. The parties agreed those services were reasonable and appropriate. The ALJ ordered EUSD to reimburse the parents $82,424 within 30 days of the April 24, 2006 stipulation. The parents gave up any claim for transportation costs, and EUSD gave up its right to appeal.

Why it matters

This consent decision shows how procedural failures can add up to a denial of FAPE. Here, the failures were missing team members, a placement offer written without the parents, and an unclear written offer. The district agreed to reimburse a full year of unilateral private placement, and the parents gave up transportation costs as part of the deal.

Issues and holdings

  1. Student prevailedIEP procedure

    Issue 1. From about February 11, 2004 through August 13, 2004, whether EUSD denied Petitioner a FAPE through action or inaction that prevented parents from participating meaningfully in forming the IEP. The stipulated list: appropriate IEP team members missing at the June 9, 2004 IEP meeting; no discussion of part-time general education with appropriate DIS services; district staff meeting without parents outside a noticed IEP meeting and creating a new placement offer sent by letter dated June 15, 2004; an unclear June 15, 2004 offer of DIS services; and inadequate responses to parent questions about that offer.

    By stipulation, EUSD denied FAPE from about February 11 to August 13, 2004 by preventing meaningful parent participation in IEP development.

  2. Student prevailedUnilateral placement and reimbursement

    Issue 2. Whether parents are entitled to reimbursement for the private placement and services they obtained unilaterally from August 2004 through summer 2005.

    By stipulation, the private placement and services were reasonable and appropriate, and EUSD must reimburse $82,424; parents waived claims for transportation expenses.

What the ALJ ordered

  • Reimbursement. EUSD to pay parents $82,424.00 for private placement and services (August 2004 through summer 2005), within 30 days of the stipulation signed April 24, 2006, without waiting for a formal written offer; check payable to the trust account of Student's counsel. Parents waived transportation expense claims.

Total: $82,424 ordered

Get new OAH special education decisions by email

A weekly Monday-morning digest of new California OAH due process decisions, each with a short plain-English summary from Vanaman German LLP.

You'll get an email asking you to confirm. Unsubscribe anytime. Subscribing does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Full text of the decision

Published text of the OAH decision. Student and family details have been removed and marked in brackets, and page headers and numbers from the original PDF have been dropped.

BEFORE THE

OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

SPECIAL EDUCATION DIVISION

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

In the Matter of:

STUDENT,

Petitioner,

OAH No. N 2005080083

And

ENCINITAS UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT,

Respondent.

DECISION BY CONSENT

Elizabeth Feyzbakhsh, Administrative Law Judge, Office of Administrative Hearings, State of California, heard this matter on April 20, 2006, in Encinitas, California. Student was represented by Eric Freedus, Attorney at Law. Joel Mason, Attorney at Law, Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff, & Holtz, represented the Encinitas Union School District. The parties have agreed to settle the matter by entering into a Stipulation for Decision by Consent.

This decision is based exclusively on the stipulation between the parties.

FACTUAL FINDINGS

1.

The attorneys for petitioner and respondent have the authority to enter into this agreement on behalf of their respective clients.

2.

Beginning on or around February 11, 2004 and through August 13, 2004,

Petitioner was denied a free appropriate public education (FAPE) by Encinitas Union

Accessibility modified document

School District (EUSD) by reason of action or inaction which prevented Petitioner’s parents from having meaningful participation in the formation of the IEP1 3.

As a result of actions by EUSD, parents unilaterally placed Petitioner in private placement and obtained privately provided services from August 2004 through summer of 2005.

4.

The private placement and services were reasonable and appropriate to serve the needs of Petitioner when obtained. The parties have agreed that EUSD shall pay Parents for the placement and services in the amount of $82,424.00. Such sum is a reasonable and necessary expense by the parents and the documentation for said amounts has already been produced. Payment shall be made by EUSD within 30 days of the Stipulation which was signed on April 24, 2006, without necessity of waiting for a formal written offer. The check will be made payable to “Trust Account of Eric B. Freedus” and mailed to:

Eric Freedus 5008 Nighthawk Way Oceanside, CA 92056-5443 failing to have appropriate members of the IEP team present at a June 9, 2004

IEP meeting; failing to discuss and failing to give parents an opportunity to discuss placement of Petitioner part-time in a general education placement with appropriate DIS services; meeting without parents outside of a noticed IEP meeting and creating a new offer of placement without the participation of parents which offer was communicated to parents by letter dated June 15, 2004; failing to make such June 15, 2004 offer clear and unambiguous with respect to DIS services proposed in the offer; and failing to adequately respond to inquiries about the meaning of the contents of the June 15, 2004 offer.

Accessibility modified document

5.

Parents waive all claims relating to transportation expenses in connection with the private placement.

6.

EUSD waives all rights to appeal this decision.

ORDER

EUSD is ordered to pay Parents for private placement and services in the amount of $82,424.00 to be paid within thirty days of the stipulation in this matter.

Dated: May 3, 2006 _______________________________

ELIZABETH FEYZBAKHSH

Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings

Accessibility modified document