A student was found eligible to receive special education services due to diagnoses of attention deficit disorder and anxiety. In the second grade, the student was still reading at the pre-kindergarten level and was also having difficulties in math. Her mother contacted the school district to see if there were any other placement options besides her current school and was informed that the current school was the most appropriate for her at the time. The mother subsequently sought private school placement for students with reading disabilities, but the student was not admitted at that time. Upon starting the third grade, the student’s mother contacted the school and requested that the school district consider private school options because no school in the district was appropriate to serve her daughter’s needs. This request was denied. As the school year progressed and the student began to demonstrate more academic and behavioral difficulties, the school district proposed a more restrictive setting. The student’s mother also disagreed with this placement option and eventually privately placed the student.
The student’s mother filed a due process hearing request alleging that the school district predetermined the student’s placement and sought private school tuition reimbursement. The court found that there were several placement options discussed during the meeting, the mother’s concerns about the appropriateness of the recommended option were discussed extensively and the IEP team took those concerns seriously. The court reiterated that if the school system had already fully made up its mind before the parents ever got involved, it would have denied them an opportunity to provide any meaningful input. However, while a school system may not finalize its placement decision before an IEP meeting, it can and should give some thought to that placement. As a result, though the school district was prepared to recommend a certain placement, it had not predetermined where the student would be placed. The case is M.C.E. v. Board of Education of Frederick County, 111 LRP 47724 (D. Md. 2011).
This case demonstrates how important it is for a school district to keep an open mind about a student’s placement options when coming to an IEP meeting. In this case, the school district observed and reviewed several placement options prior to the meeting but they also listened to the parent’s concerns during the meeting. By not considering a parent’s input with regards to placement, it could be determined that a school district has denied a student FAPE.
If you are interested in learning more, or if you have any questions and would like to discuss these developments further, please contact any of Brock Clay’s special education attorneys.
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