Counsel for Student: Andrea Marcus
Counsel for District: Melissa Hatch
Representative for District: Amanda Martinez
ALJ: Tiffany Gilmartin
Date of Decision: January 03, 2023
Significant areas of law: Failure to communicate with parents in their native language and failure to provide reasons for denial of their request impedes their opportunity to participate in decision making. Hence, the same is denial of FAPE.
ISSUES:
- Did District deny student a FAPE by failing to provide prior written notice to parent while rejecting their request for assessment and failing to provide an investigation report of the incident occurred in School?
FACTS OF THE CASE:
- Did District deny student a FAPE by failing to provide prior written notice to parent while rejecting their request for assessment and failing to provide an investigation report of the incident occurred in School?
CONCLUSION:-
- District denied student a FAPE by failing to provide prior written notice to parent while rejecting their request for assessment and failing to provide an investigation report of the incident occurred in School.
Rationale:-
– Parent requested of behavior, math, and speech assessment. School refused to parent’s request for assessment in English Language i.e. not the native language of parents and failed to provide reasons of such refusal. Hence, it did not meet the criteria for prior written notice and significantly impeded her opportunity to participate in the decision making process in the development of Student’s IEP.
– The evidence established that student’s instructions aide engaged in a physical restraint of Student because Student was doing something wrong and not following directions. Parent was never provided with an investigation report on the incident despite request. The failure to provide the report denied Parent information necessary to have a full, meaningful, and informed discussion with the IEP team.
– The report would have afforded Parent a full discussion of the matter in the development of Student’s IEP, including determining the necessity for a functional behavior assessment or an interim behavior intervention plan.
REMEDIES/ORDER:-
- District shall provide two hours of training to its administrative personnel, teaching staff, and case managers, including all principals and special education staff, regarding a school district’s duties concerning behavior emergency reports under Education Code section 56521.1.
- District shall provide two hours of training to its administrative personnel, teaching staff and case managers, including all principals and special education staff, regarding a school district’s duties concerning prior written notice under the IDEA, its implementing regulations, and the California Education Code.
- District shall provide four hours of comprehensive training to all of its administrative personnel, teaching staff, case managers, and related services providers, including all special education staff, on the following topics:
- a school district’s duties to assess in all areas of suspected disability, predetermination, and
- a parent’s participatory rights in the IEP process.
- A school district’s obligations to properly determine and document a student’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance in an IEP.
- School shall fund an independent educational occupational therapy evaluation and an independent psychoeducational evaluation by assessors of Parent’s choice, who meet the criteria under Santa Barbara County SELPA guidelines for independent educational evaluations. Student shall provide to School a copy of each completed independent educational evaluation report within 10 days of Parent’s receipt or Student attorney’s receipt of each report, whichever occurs first. School shall convene an IEP team meeting to review each report within 30 days of its receipt of each report.
- School shall pay for, or provide reimbursement for, the psychoeducational evaluation conducted by private specialist in an amount in accordance with Santa Barbara County SELPA guidelines.