Illinois · special-education accountability
Due-process decisions, decoded
What is a due-process hearing — and why would a parent need one?
When a parent and a school district can't resolve a disagreement about a child's special education — whether the IEP is appropriate, where the child is placed, or what services or evaluations are owed — either side can file for a due-process hearing: a formal, court-like proceeding before a neutral state hearing officer. It is the strongest enforcement tool a parent has under federal law (the IDEA), and usually a last resort after other steps fail. Below is every Illinois decision on record (316, FY 2008–2026) — read and classified so you can see what families actually fight over and how often they win.
Why this is statewide, not per-district. ISBE anonymizes both the district and the student in every decision ("Student … v. District"), so these can't be tied to a specific district — but as a body they show the system clearly. ISBE source
What these 293 decisions were about — and how they came out
We read every decision on file and classified each by the issue in dispute and who prevailed. (Some early decisions could not be machine-read.)
Who prevailed
35%Parent prevailed (104)18%Split decision (52)46%District prevailed (136)0%Dismissed / withdrawn (1)
Parents prevailed outright in about 35% of decided cases — a reminder that these hearings are hard-fought and far from a sure thing, which is why most disputes are resolved long before this stage.
Most common issues in dispute
FAPE denial245
IEP adequacy/implementation156
Placement/LRE156
Eligibility/evaluation/child find135
Compensatory education109
Private/residential placement & reimbursement103
Related services92
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)88
Procedural/parent-participation81
Behavior/discipline/manifestation66
Disabilities most often involved
Specific Learning Disability 57Autism 50Emotional Disability 39Other Health Impairment 33Intellectual Disability 20Speech/Language 8Hearing Impairment 4Developmental Delay 3
The district filed to defend its reevaluation after a parent demanded several independent evaluations at public expense; the officer found the district's 2025 reevaluation and earlier autism evaluation were appropriate, so no publicly funded independent evaluations were required.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents challenged the school's decision to exit their child from special education and alleged inadequate evaluation and services, but the officer upheld the district's data-driven decision that the child no longer qualified for an IEP and denied all claims.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
The district filed to defend its own evaluation; the officer found the district's assessments were appropriate and denied the parent's requests for independent evaluations at public expense.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find
The officer found the school denied the child an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment for about 2.5 years and ordered wide-ranging make-up help including funded tutoring, independent evaluations, a behavior plan, restored therapies, and reimbursement of the parent's costs.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREBehavior/discipline/manifestation
Parents wanted their child placed at a different residential school than the one the district chose, but the officer found the district's chosen residential facility could implement the IEP and provided an appropriate education, so no reimbursement for the parent's preferred school was ordered.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A parent claimed the school did not implement her medically complex child's transfer IEP (no nurse, required medical forms), but the officer found the district was ready to serve the child and the parent's refusal to sign forms and consent caused the delay, denying her claims and ordering a reevaluation.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents claimed the school failed to provide and implement executive-functioning services and accommodations and gave improper notice, but the hearing officer denied all their claims after they declined to participate in the hearing.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
A kindergartner went five months without the speech therapy his IEP required because the district had no speech provider, and the hearing officer found this denied him a free appropriate education and ordered 630 minutes of make-up speech therapy, though it refused the parents' request for additional minutes beyond that.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationRelated services
A parent claimed the school failed to timely identify and properly serve her child's dyslexia and sought private placement and reimbursement, but the officer found the district provided an appropriate education and denied all relief.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents argued a separate day school was too restrictive for their son, but given his escalating aggressive and self-harming behaviors the officer found a full-time public day school was the least restrictive environment that could provide an appropriate education and denied the parents' claims.
Placement/LREFAPE denialBehavior/discipline/manifestation
After the child was expelled, the parents won an expedited ruling that the school's manifestation-determination review was inadequate, and the district was ordered to hold a new review considering the child's therapist's findings.
Behavior/discipline/manifestation
The officer found the school denied the child an appropriate education by failing to identify autism and provide proper services (ruling for the parent on three of four issues but for the district on parent participation), and awarded large tuition reimbursement plus two years of residential placement.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
A parent wanted her child kept at his current private therapeutic day school, but the officer found that school was no longer appropriate and allowed the district to move him to an alternate therapeutic day school that could implement his IEP.
Placement/LREFAPE denial
Parents challenged the school's decision to graduate their 19-year-old daughter (which ended her special-education eligibility), but the officer found the graduation was proper and the parents offered no evidence she had not met requirements, denying their claims.
Transition/secondary servicesProcedural/parent-participation
The dispute was over which private day school the child would attend; the officer found the district committed a procedural violation by not considering travel time and thereby denied an appropriate education, and ordered it to find a suitable nearby private day school.
Placement/LREFAPE denialProcedural/parent-participation
After a student made online threats, the parent challenged the district's evaluation timing and its plan to place the child in a therapeutic day school, but the officer ruled the district's evaluation and restrictive placement were appropriate and denied the parent's requested relief.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findPlacement/LREBehavior/discipline/manifestation
A parent of a transfer student claimed the school failed to deliver promised aide, therapy, and summer (ESY) services and a proper placement, but the officer found the district provided an appropriate education, denied compensatory education, and dismissed the complaint with prejudice.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
Parents of a first-grader with attention deficits and aggressive behaviors challenged his IEP services and his placement in a private therapeutic day school, preferring a self-contained classroom in a regular school, but the hearing officer found the IEP appropriate and the therapeutic day school the right setting and denied all relief.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
Parents of a child with Down syndrome won a finding that the district denied a free appropriate education by failing to provide a communication device and cutting his speech minutes, earning reimbursement for the device and 32 hours of make-up speech therapy, but the hearing officer refused to reimburse their decision to home-school him.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
A father whose custody order gave him only limited educational decision-making authority could only pursue procedural complaints about notice, records, and meeting participation when his child's placement was changed, and the hearing officer found no violation and denied his claims.
Procedural/parent-participation
A parent accused the district of deceiving them into a therapeutic-day-school placement and mishandling evaluations and behavior plans for a young child with autism and ADHD, but the hearing officer found only one minor procedural slip (a late evaluation) that did not deny a free appropriate education and ruled for the district.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents of a three-year-old with a speech delay argued she should attend the district preschool five days a week instead of getting brief speech services in a therapist's office, but the hearing officer found the evaluation, IEP, and placement appropriate and denied all the parents' requests.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREEligibility/evaluation/child find
The district asked that its plan placing a young student in a therapeutic day school be found appropriate and that the parent be forced to consent to placement applications; the hearing officer agreed the placement was appropriate but ruled it had no authority to override the parent's refusal to consent.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
The district filed to defend its reevaluation of a high school student with a learning disability after the parent requested an outside evaluation; the parent largely did not participate, and the hearing officer found the district's evaluation appropriate and ruled it did not have to fund an independent one.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find
The district filed to defend its reevaluation of a student with autism and an intellectual disability after refusing the parent's request for an outside evaluation, and the hearing officer found the district's evaluation appropriate and ruled it did not have to pay for an independent evaluation or a separate behavior assessment.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents of a high schooler with health and attention conditions claimed the district mishandled her hearing-assistance device, gym accommodations, and math placement and caused her anxiety and lower grades, but the hearing officer found no denial of a free appropriate education and denied all the parents' claims.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
The district sought a 45-day move of a young blind student with multiple disabilities to a special therapeutic setting for safety, and the officer found the district met its burden and granted the temporary placement.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LRE
The district asked to move a first-grader to a therapeutic day school for safety reasons over the parents' objection, and the officer found the change of placement justified and granted it.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LRE
The district sought to keep a student in a therapeutic day school for an extra 45 days as a safety measure, and the officer agreed she was substantially likely to injure herself or others if returned to her regular school.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LRE
Parents asked the hearing officer to keep their son in a regular classroom full-time as his least-restrictive setting, but the officer found his behavioral needs required a separate therapeutic day school and denied the parents' request.
Placement/LREFAPE denialBehavior/discipline/manifestation
A district failed to evaluate and serve a teenager with autism and severe reading, writing, and math disabilities, and the hearing officer found a denial of a free appropriate education and ordered a revised IEP and placement, reimbursement for private evaluations, and thousands of hours of make-up tutoring in reading, math, and writing.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
The parties agreed a student with an emotional disability needed a residential program and no state-approved option was available, so the hearing officer found the out-of-state facility the parents chose appropriate and ordered the district to fund it and reimburse the parents $139,525 they had already paid.
Private/residential placement & reimbursementPlacement/LREFAPE denial
A third-grader with dyslexia who read at a kindergarten level got no qualified reading instruction, and the hearing officer found a denial of a free appropriate education and ordered the district to place him in a therapeutic day school for dyslexia and provide 50 hours of specialized reading instruction, though it denied the request for social-work services.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents of a third-grader with autism claimed the district was too slow with a behavior plan, gave inadequate math instruction, and ignored their outside evaluator, but the hearing officer found the district provided a free appropriate education and denied compensatory education, while ordering a prospective move to a therapeutic day school.
FAPE denialBehavior/discipline/manifestationIEP adequacy/implementation
Both sides agreed an 18-year-old with autism and serious mental-health struggles needed a residential program and that the out-of-state facility his parents chose was the only appropriate option, so the hearing officer ordered the district to fund that placement going forward and reimburse the parents $169,045 they had already paid.
Private/residential placement & reimbursementPlacement/LREFAPE denial
A district failed for years to identify, evaluate, or serve a young child with autism after he left early-intervention services, and the hearing officer found this denied him a free appropriate education and ordered the district to reimburse the parent for private therapies and mileage and to fund extensive make-up services and independent evaluations.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialCompensatory education
After the parent refused consent for an evaluation and the child's behavior became unsafe, the district won permission to place the student temporarily in a therapeutic diagnostic setting for up to 45 days to complete the initial special-education evaluation.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationEligibility/evaluation/child findPlacement/LRE
Because no approved Illinois residential program was available, the officer ordered the district to fund the out-of-state residential placement going forward and reimburse the parents about $66,240 for what they had already paid.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
With both sides agreeing the student needed a residential placement and no approved Illinois option available, the officer ordered the district to fund the out-of-state residential school for two years plus summers and reimburse the parents about $57,550.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementExtended school year (ESY)
A parent argued her son should stay mostly in general education and that his IEP was inadequate, but the officer found the district had provided an appropriate education and that a therapeutic day school was the right placement, dismissing the parent's case.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
The district asked to place a first-grader suspected of having a disability in a therapeutic day school for safety and to complete an evaluation, and the officer granted the temporary placement after the parents did not participate.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationEligibility/evaluation/child findPlacement/LRE
Because no approved Illinois residential placement could take the student, the officer ordered the district to fund and reimburse (about $34,500) the private out-of-state residential program, while the separate compensatory-education claim was set aside for later.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementCompensatory education
With no approved Illinois residential program available, the officer found the student was being denied an appropriate education and ordered the district to pay for and reimburse the parents (about $37,000) for the out-of-state residential school they chose.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementPlacement/LRE
Parents argued their child was wrongly placed in a life-skills program and asked that she be held back a grade as compensation, but the hearing officer found the placement appropriate and denied the request.
FAPE denialPlacement/LRECompensatory education
Parents of a child with autism and ADHD sought reimbursement for a private therapeutic school, but the hearing officer found the district met its obligations and dismissed the complaint with prejudice.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
A parent argued her child with intellectual disability and autism needed a formal behavior assessment and ABA services, but the hearing officer found the existing program met his needs and dismissed the complaint.
FAPE denialBehavior/discipline/manifestationCompensatory education
A parent claimed the district failed to evaluate her child's wandering and created a behavior plan without consent, but the hearing officer found the district provided an appropriate education and denied all relief.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findBehavior/discipline/manifestation
Parents of a dyslexic non-reading child showed the district's IEPs were inadequate and won reimbursement and ongoing funding for the private therapeutic day school where they had placed him.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents argued the district failed to properly evaluate and teach an autistic child and won, with the hearing officer ordering placement in a private autism school plus extra evaluations and ABA therapy through the next summer.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
The officer found the charter school repeatedly denied an appropriate education to a student with intellectual, speech and emotional disabilities and ordered it, as compensatory education, to fund her placement at a therapeutic day school until age 22 along with a detailed corrected IEP.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationTransition/secondary services
A mother sought to have the district pay for an out-of-state residential facility and alleged improper restraint and seclusion, but the officer found the district had provided an appropriate education in the least-restrictive setting and denied all of her requests.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findPlacement/LRE
A parent claimed her son was bullied and objected to the district's proposed program change, but the officer found a single playground incident was not actionable bullying and allowed the district to move forward with its proposed placement.
Bullying/harassmentPlacement/LREFAPE denial
A parent challenged the district's proposed change of program and claimed her son had been bullied, but the officer found no actionable bullying and allowed the district to proceed with its proposed special-education placement.
Placement/LREBullying/harassmentFAPE denial
The officer found the district failed to identify and properly serve a child with dyslexia, and ordered it to fund her private school placement, reimburse the parents for tuition, tutoring and evaluations, and provide an extra year of schooling as compensatory education.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
The district filed an expedited case to move a young child it considered dangerous into a therapeutic day school; the parents did not appear, and the hearing officer granted the district's requested interim placement change.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LRE
Parents who placed their child in a private school sought tuition reimbursement and compensatory education, but the hearing officer found the district had offered an appropriate program in the least restrictive environment and denied all relief.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
Parents claimed the district was too slow to identify their ADHD child and that her IEP was inadequate, but the hearing officer found the district met its duties and denied reimbursement and compensatory education.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
A parent sought a publicly funded independent evaluation and compensatory education after her child was released from a private school, but the hearing officer found the district's evaluation and placement efforts proper and denied all relief.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)FAPE denialPlacement/LRE
The district asked to move a student to a 45-day interim therapeutic day-school setting because keeping him in his current placement was likely to cause injury; over the parents' objection, the hearing officer found the district met its burden and ordered the interim placement.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
A mother wanted her child placed mostly in general-education classes rather than the district's specialized program; the hearing officer found the district's proposed program provided a free appropriate education in the least-restrictive environment and denied the mother's requested relief.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
The district sought to override a parent's refusal to consent to an initial special-education evaluation and to conduct that evaluation in a 45-day diagnostic interim setting; the hearing officer agreed the child's behavior justified it and ordered the evaluation and interim placement.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findBehavior/discipline/manifestationProcedural/parent-participation
A mother enrolled her child in a private residential school after the district was slow to evaluate and write an IEP; the hearing officer found a denial of a free appropriate education for part of the period and ordered the district to reimburse about $37,770 in tuition plus expenses, though not for the earliest weeks.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents claimed the school's IEPs failed their child and sought a private school placement; the hearing officer found a denial of a free appropriate education and ordered the district to fund the private school, reimburse about $20,000 in tuition plus mileage, and provide compensatory reading, math, and speech services.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A parent argued the district's proposed therapeutic day school was wrong and wanted the child kept at his prior community-academy placement; the hearing officer found the therapeutic day school was the appropriate least-restrictive setting and did not deny a free appropriate education, denying the parent's request.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
A mother placed her depressed teen in a residential treatment center after the school's IEP and team were found inadequate; the hearing officer ruled the district denied a free appropriate education, found the mother's placement appropriate, and ordered about $121,304 in tuition reimbursement plus travel and evaluation costs.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
A guardian said the school shut them out of the process, failed to send progress reports, and did not deliver the promised speech, reading, and math services; the hearing officer found the student was denied a free appropriate education for about eight months and awarded compensatory tutoring, IEP changes, and transportation reimbursement.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
Parents challenged the district's plan to place their autistic teen in a therapeutic day school as too restrictive; the hearing officer agreed with the district that a full-time therapeutic day school was the least-restrictive appropriate setting and denied the parents' requests.
Placement/LREIEP adequacy/implementationFAPE denial
Parents claimed the school missed their child's dyslexia and provided an inadequate program, and sought funding for a private school; the hearing officer found the district evaluated properly and provided a free appropriate education, and that the private placement was not shown to be appropriate, so all relief was denied.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents wanted their child with multiple disabilities to stay at a private therapeutic day school, but the hearing officer found the district's own program was the appropriate, less-restrictive setting, dissolved the stay-put placement, and denied the parents' requests.
IEP adequacy/implementationFAPE denialPlacement/LRE
Parents said the school failed to identify and serve their child and refused to fund a needed residential therapeutic school; the hearing officer found a child-find and FAPE violation and ordered the district to reimburse roughly $89,409 in residential tuition plus travel costs and to recognize the student's eligibility.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents argued the school botched a psychological evaluation and wrongly found their autistic child no longer eligible for special education, denying a free appropriate education; the hearing officer ruled the evaluation and the ineligibility decision were proper and denied all relief.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parent claimed the school failed to consider summer (ESY) services, used a flawed IEP team, and predetermined decisions, denying the student a free appropriate education; the hearing officer found the parent did not prove her case and ordered no changes.
FAPE denialExtended school year (ESY)Procedural/parent-participation
A parent of a child with severe disabilities argued the district denied a fair education by not accommodating him in its before/after-school care program, but the hearing officer found the IEP appropriate and noted that day-care access is a different kind of claim outside this hearing's authority.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
Parents of a young adult with an intellectual disability proved the district failed to provide proper transition services and IEP goals, winning district-funded placement in a private transition program plus reimbursement and continued services until age 21.
FAPE denialTransition/secondary servicesIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents of a child with autism challenged her emergency care plan, aide support, curriculum modifications, and summer services, but the hearing officer found the district provided an appropriate education and dismissed the complaint.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationExtended school year (ESY)
A high-school student argued the district denied a fair education by misclassifying his disability and mishandling his schedule, but the hearing officer found the evaluation, eligibility, and IEP appropriate and denied his requests.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents of a dyslexic child proved the district denied an appropriate education and won funded placement at a residential school plus large reimbursement for tuition, tutoring, travel, and camp costs.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
The district filed to defend its reevaluation after refusing the parents' request for an independent evaluation; the hearing officer found the district's evaluation comprehensive and ruled it did not have to pay for an outside one.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find
The parents placed their teenage son in a residential school and asked the district to pay them back; the hearing officer agreed the district should have provided a residential placement and ordered it to reimburse the parents about $19,000.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementPlacement/LRE
Parents who had moved their teen through a wilderness program into an unapproved private residential facility sought district funding, arguing a residential placement was needed; the hearing officer disagreed, found a therapeutic day school was the least restrictive appropriate environment, and dismissed the parents' complaint with prejudice.
Private/residential placement & reimbursementPlacement/LREFAPE denial
Parents argued the district predetermined their child's IEP and failed to provide needed services; the hearing officer found the district denied a free appropriate education for two school years and ordered a new multi-sensory IEP with a behavior plan, a one-to-one aide, and sensory supports, plus reimbursement for private tutoring and occupational therapy.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
Parents disputed the district's classification and program for their child, whom the district had found to have an intellectual disability, and sought a private placement; the hearing officer found a denial of a free appropriate education and ordered the district to fund the private school, a summer reading program, and reimburse private testing, tutoring, transportation, and advocate costs.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents of an autistic child said the district ignored their requests for help and failed to evaluate or properly serve him; the hearing officer found a denial of a free appropriate education and ordered reimbursement of two independent evaluations plus added behavior, speech, and social-work services, while rejecting the parents' separate interpreter/translation claim.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
A parent challenged the district's finding that their child with autism and ADHD was ineligible for special education; the hearing officer found the child eligible, ordered an IEP with reading, math, social-work, and language services, and required the district to pay for the independent neuropsychological evaluation (though the request for compensatory education was dismissed for lack of evidence).
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
Parents of an autistic child argued the district's program denied an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment and unilaterally placed him privately; the hearing officer found the district's plan denied a free appropriate education, found the private placement appropriate, and ordered the district to pay tuition, related services, and transportation.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents of a medically fragile child with a chronic vomiting illness disputed the amount of homebound instruction the district provided; the hearing officer found a denial of education and ordered 330 hours of compensatory tutoring plus an increase to two hours per day of homebound services.
FAPE denialRelated servicesCompensatory education
A parent claimed the district failed to evaluate and properly serve a child with speech/language needs and asthma; the hearing officer ruled for the parent, ordering 50 compensatory speech-therapy sessions, an independent neuropsychological evaluation, reimbursement of private evaluators, and transportation costs.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findRelated services
Spanish-speaking parents of an autistic child said the district denied a free appropriate education, removed his behavior plan, refused transportation, and failed to give them interpreters or translated documents; the hearing officer granted the parents' requested relief in full, ordering interpretation services, behavior supports, transportation, and reimbursement of two independent evaluations.
FAPE denialProcedural/parent-participationRelated services
Parents of a teen with severe depression and anxiety sought full funding of an out-of-state private residential school they chose; the hearing officer found shared responsibility and ordered the district to pay only half the residential and travel costs, denying reimbursement for a wilderness program and one private evaluation.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementPlacement/LRE
Parents argued the district's evaluations were inadequate and missed their child's autism and auditory-processing disorder; the hearing officer agreed, ordered public funding of the private placement, added autism and CAPD as disabilities, and required a behavior plan and compensatory education.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents who had unilaterally placed their child in a private therapeutic day school sought reimbursement because the district failed to do a timely triennial evaluation or offer an education plan for years; despite the parents' own delays, the hearing officer found the district's failures outweighed them and ordered $97,126 in tuition and transportation reimbursement.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents challenged whether the district properly evaluated their child with learning disabilities and provided an adequate transition program; the hearing officer ruled for the parents and ordered compensatory multi-sensory tutoring, travel training, continued vocational placement, and transition services until the student's 22nd birthday.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents of a child with cerebral palsy raised many claims that the district mishandled his IEPs, placement, and their participation; the hearing officer rejected most claims and found the program overall provided a free appropriate education, but found a denial for the first four months of one year when no qualified special-education teacher was in place, awarding limited compensatory education and a detailed new IEP.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
In an expedited safety hearing the district sought to move a boy with autism to a therapeutic day school because of escalating aggressive behaviors; although the officer found the behaviors dangerous, the district failed the required four-factor test for an interim alternative setting, so its request was denied and the student stayed put.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LRE
In an expedited safety hearing, the district argued it was too dangerous to keep a young student (with hearing impairment, ADHD, and emotional disturbance) in her current placement; the officer agreed and ordered her moved to a 45-day interim alternative educational setting.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LRE
The district wanted to move a young girl with autism into a private therapeutic day school, but the parent objected; the officer found the more restrictive placement was not the least restrictive environment and ordered the student returned to a district classroom with supports and her behavior plan implemented.
Placement/LREFAPE denialBehavior/discipline/manifestation
A self-represented parent objected to the district's choices about co-taught classes, an art elective, peer support, and a reading class for her son with autism; the officer found the district provided an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment and dismissed all the parent's claims with prejudice.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
The parents asked for an outside evaluation at public expense, saying the district's testing was insufficient; the district challenged the request and the officer found the district's evaluation was thorough and appropriate, so the request for a publicly funded independent evaluation was denied.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find
The parents wanted the district to pay for two years of private schooling for their daughter; even though the officer found a flaw in the district's IEP, reimbursement was denied because the parents could not prove the private school they chose was an appropriate placement.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
The parent argued the district's evaluation missed the extent of her daughter's learning disability and failed to offer the right program; the officer ordered the district to place and fund the student in a private therapeutic day school, provide transportation and assistive technology, reimburse the parents' independent evaluations, and provide compensatory services (though the separate child-find claim was rejected).
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
The parents of a gifted child with an emotional disability sought reimbursement for private schooling and therapy after the district failed to offer an appropriate placement; the officer found the child was denied an appropriate education, ordered the district to reimburse private tuition and therapy and to fund a full re-evaluation, and let the child remain in the private school while it was completed.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementEligibility/evaluation/child find
The parents of a boy with autism unilaterally enrolled him in a private therapeutic day school and sought reimbursement, arguing the district's program was inappropriate; the officer found the district had offered an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment and denied all of the parents' requests.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A self-represented parent claimed she was shut out of an IEP meeting and that the district wrongly refused to sign a Medicaid form for her son's wheelchair; the officer found partly for the parent (including on the wheelchair form) but could order no relief because the student had already moved to a different district.
Procedural/parent-participationRelated servicesPlacement/LRE
After her son with autism was graduated out of high school, the parent argued he was improperly graduated and denied transition services he was still owed; the officer agreed he was denied an appropriate education and ordered the district to pay for an evaluation and place him in a private transition program with a one-on-one aide for two years as compensatory education.
FAPE denialTransition/secondary servicesEligibility/evaluation/child find
The parents said the district should have spotted and evaluated their daughter's reading disability years earlier and wanted to be paid back for private tutoring and schooling; the officer found the district failed to evaluate her in time but awarded only a modest amount of compensatory reading tutoring and denied most of the reimbursement requests.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialCompensatory education
In an expedited hearing the district argued the student's dangerous behaviors at her private day school justified a more restrictive setting; over the parent's objection the hearing officer found it was substantially likely the student would injure herself or others and ordered a temporary change to a residential placement.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Grandparent guardians challenged the school's removal and expulsion of the student for misconduct; the hearing officer found the removal violated discipline-protection rules and ordered the school to rescind both the removal from general education and the expulsion and to take no further disciplinary action for that conduct.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
The district sought to move a student to a 45-day residential interim setting after behavior incidents, but the hearing officer found residential placement was not required and instead ordered the student placed at the parents' preferred, less-restrictive therapeutic school.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A mother challenged the district's handling of her high-schooler's discipline and services; the hearing officer found the manifestation-determination review was improper and rescinded the related order, reimbursed the parent $1,100 for an independent psychological evaluation, and ordered new evaluations, transition planning, a behavior plan, and related services.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationFAPE denialIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
Parents of a child with multiple learning and language disorders claimed the district's evaluations, IEP, and placement denied a FAPE; the hearing officer agreed the IEP was inadequate and ordered placement in a therapeutic day school plus assistive technology, reimbursement for outside evaluations and therapy, and compensatory education, though it did not order the specific private school the parents requested.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A grandmother/guardian asked that her teen (ADHD, with OHI/ED eligibility) attending a private therapeutic day school be allowed to take driver's education and join extracurriculars at the mainstream high school; the hearing officer found that inappropriate given his behavioral and safety needs, denied the request, and dismissed the complaint.
Placement/LREFAPE denial
Parents of a young child with severe developmental and speech delays said the district failed to transition her from early-intervention services and denied her a FAPE; the hearing officer found a child-find failure and ordered the district to reimburse private preschool tuition and speech therapy, provide a communication device, and fund compensatory education.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents disputed the district's plan to move their teen (severe learning disabilities, ADHD, prior concussions) to a therapeutic day school; the hearing officer found the district denied a FAPE, rejected the day-school placement, and ordered the student kept in his home high school with intensive supports, compensatory tutoring, extended-year services, and independent evaluations.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents of a child with a severe genetic disorder and intellectual disability sought funding to keep him at a private therapeutic day school; the hearing officer found that school appropriate and ordered the district to pay tuition for the school year plus extended-school-year services.
Private/residential placement & reimbursementFAPE denialPlacement/LRE
Parents claimed the district denied their child a FAPE by refusing to accommodate her service dog and creating a hostile environment; the hearing officer agreed on those two points and awarded private-school tuition and travel reimbursement plus an IEP meeting to include the service dog, but ruled for the district on the assistive-technology and personal-aide claims.
FAPE denialRelated servicesPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A parent sought to have the child reclassified as having autism, placed in a private ABA therapeutic day school, and provided various services, and alleged the district failed to protect the child from injury; the hearing officer ruled entirely for the district and denied all requested relief.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementFAPE denial
A parent alleged the district failed to properly implement a transfer student's IEP; the hearing officer ruled for the parent on several points (ordering a personal aide, speech-articulation services, and a research-based reading program) but ruled for the district on the remaining issues and denied the parent's request for an independent evaluation.
IEP adequacy/implementationRelated servicesIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
The only question was who counts as the student's 'parent' for making educational decisions; the hearing officer ruled the biological parents (not the grandmother who had been acting in that role) are the legal parents under IDEA and, because the grandmother who filed the case lacked standing, dismissed the proceeding.
Procedural/parent-participation
Parents of a young child (mood-dysregulation/ADHD) challenged the district's evaluations, placement, and process; the hearing officer ruled for the district on nearly all issues but ordered the district to reimburse the parents about $774 for two outside evaluations and to convene an IEP meeting on a transition plan.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
The parent of a young adult with autism sought compensatory services after he aged out of special education; the hearing officer ordered the district to pay for an independent evaluation and ten counseling sessions for social-emotional needs but denied additional compensatory vocational and life-skills services.
Compensatory educationIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)Transition/secondary services
Parents claimed the district denied their child (ADHD, mood disorder, with OHI/ED/LD eligibility) an appropriate education through inadequate evaluations, IEPs, and placement; the hearing officer found the district had provided an appropriate education in the least-restrictive environment and denied all of the parents' requested relief.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents wanted their child with autism to stay in a general-education inclusion classroom while the district proposed a small-group special-education program; the hearing officer agreed with the district that the more specialized placement was the appropriate least-restrictive environment and ordered the parents to consent to it.
Placement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
In a renewed dispute over moving the student from an out-of-district autism program to an in-district classroom, the hearing officer this time found the district's proposed program could implement the IEP and provide a free appropriate education, allowing the transfer with a monitored transition plan.
Placement/LREFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
The district defended its reevaluation after the parent sought an independent evaluation at public expense, and the hearing officer found the evaluation appropriate, denied the independent-evaluation request, and deemed it frivolous.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child findProcedural/parent-participation
After a student was expelled for trading his medication and then found not eligible for special education, the parents claimed the district missed warning signs of a disability, but the hearing officer found the district met its child-find duty and denied the eligibility, independent-evaluation, and compensatory-education requests.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findBehavior/discipline/manifestationIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
The hearing officer found the district denied a free appropriate education and ordered it to reimburse the parents' independent evaluations, correct the student's eligibility, add speech and occupational-therapy services, and provide two years of compensatory services.
FAPE denialIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find
The district filed to defend its psychological and social-work re-evaluations after the parent requested independent evaluations at public expense, and the hearing officer found the district's evaluations appropriate and denied the public-expense independent evaluation.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find
A parent (self-represented) challenged the district's plan to move the student to a different in-district program, and the hearing officer found the new location could not implement the student's IEP and lacked a transition plan, ordering the student to remain at his current placement.
Placement/LREFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
The hearing officer found the district denied the student a free appropriate education across many areas and ordered it to reimburse the parents' private-school tuition, fund their independent evaluations, and pay for an additional year at the private school as compensatory education.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
The hearing officer found the district improperly conducted the manifestation review, expelled the student for conduct that may have stemmed from his disability, and cut off services during the expulsion, ordering his reinstatement and 30 hours of compensatory one-to-one tutoring.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationFAPE denialCompensatory education
Parents argued their son needed multi-sensory, research-based math instruction to receive a free appropriate education, and the hearing officer agreed that the district's IEP failed to address his math needs and ordered the district to adopt such a program for at least a year.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
After the district found a young gifted student no longer eligible for an IEP (moving her to a 504 plan), the hearing officer upheld the district's evaluation as appropriate, denied the parent's request for an independent evaluation at public expense, and rejected all denial-of-education claims.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)FAPE denial
Parents who unilaterally placed their child in a private residential program sought reimbursement and future funding, but the hearing officer found the district had not denied a free appropriate education and denied both the reimbursement and the residential-placement requests.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementIEP adequacy/implementation
The hearing officer found the district denied the student a free appropriate education for two years by failing to properly evaluate and write individualized goals, awarding compensatory tutoring and counseling, while ruling for the district on the depression-services and anti-bullying claims.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents (representing themselves) challenged the district's evaluation, a finding that their child was no longer eligible for special education, and an IEP-implementation lapse, but the hearing officer ruled for the district on every issue and ordered no relief.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementationFAPE denial
Parents raised many procedural and substantive IDEA claims; the hearing officer rejected most (finding the IEPs and placement largely appropriate) but ordered the district to pay for an independent evaluation and transition assessments and to hold an IEP meeting to fix some goals.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
Parents of a hard-of-hearing preschooler wanted her kept at a private school for deaf children at public expense; the hearing officer found the district's IEP placing her in a general-education early-childhood class with hearing peers was appropriate and the least restrictive setting, and denied private placement and reimbursement.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents who repeatedly asked for a special-education evaluation that the school declined argued their child (diagnosed with ADHD and behavior problems) was denied a timely free appropriate education; the hearing officer agreed and awarded compensatory after-school one-to-one tutoring.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findCompensatory education
A parent argued the district failed to implement the IEP, provide proper reading goals and transition services, and place the child correctly; the hearing officer found the placement, transition services, and implementation adequate but ordered the district to add specific reading goals and to amend the student's incomplete school records.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents claimed several years of IEPs were inadequate and sought a funded residential placement; the hearing officer found the current and earlier IEPs appropriate and the residential placement too restrictive, but found a procedural violation in one year's IEP and ordered the district to pay for the independent evaluation and implement its recommendations on re-enrollment.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
Parents contested moving their child into the district's new autism classroom and raised concerns about nutrition, wandering off, and video monitoring; the hearing officer upheld the new placement and transition plan but found the IEP failed to address the child's eating routine and flight risk and ordered the district to add specific goals for those.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents argued the district denied their child a free appropriate education by busing him to his private program in a small school bus rather than a car or minivan despite claimed anxiety and motion sickness; the hearing officer found the bus transportation appropriate and denied the requested minivan funding, tutoring, and therapy.
FAPE denialRelated services
Parents fought a move of their kindergartner from a blended pre-school class into a segregated self-contained school away from typical peers; the hearing officer found the district denied a free appropriate education by not properly evaluating and staffing the program, and ordered reimbursement for an independent evaluation and a summer ABA program plus compensatory education.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREEligibility/evaluation/child find
After her teen was expelled, the parent claimed the district failed to evaluate and serve him in time and committed procedural violations; the hearing officer found the district owed no special-education duty until the parent requested an evaluation, that its later evaluation and IEP were timely and proper, and denied all relief.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents (proceeding on their own) argued the IEP and a behavioral day-program placement were wrong, that notice was inadequate, and that staff bullied their child; the hearing officer found for the district on every issue and required no changes.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
The district challenged its own evaluation as adequate and the parent counter-claimed denial of services; the hearing officer ruled mostly for the parent, ordering the IEP rewritten with added therapies and the district to pay for several independent evaluations, while denying a private placement and compensatory education.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
The hearing officer found the district violated its child-find duty and denied a free appropriate education, ordering it to reimburse the parents for therapy, some tutoring, a private evaluation, and the academic portion of a private placement, while denying several other reimbursement requests.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
The parent of a first-grader argued he needed summer services and a one-to-one aide in science class, but the hearing officer ruled for the district on both issues, finding neither was required for an appropriate education.
FAPE denialExtended school year (ESY)Placement/LRE
The hearing officer denied the parent's claims of a denied education, a hostile environment, and improper placement, and granted the district's request to re-evaluate the student without the parent's consent.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREEligibility/evaluation/child find
Finding the district failed to place the student appropriately for over a year, the hearing officer awarded two years of daily compensatory specialized reading instruction with transportation, an independent occupational-therapy evaluation, and summer services.
FAPE denialPlacement/LRECompensatory education
In a dispute over the adequacy of the district's evaluations, the parent prevailed on two of six requested independent evaluations, so the district was ordered to conduct assistive-technology and vision assessments and reimburse a third of the parent's expert costs.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
After the parents unilaterally placed their child in private school, the hearing officer found the district's evaluation, IEP, and instruction appropriate and denied all relief, including reimbursement and summer services.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationExtended school year (ESY)
The hearing officer upheld the district's decision to move the student to a more restrictive therapeutic day school over the parent's objection, denying all of the parent's requests for relief.
Placement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementFAPE denial
The hearing officer ordered the district to reimburse the parents for past private-program and summer-services costs and to fund a summer program, while denying their request for another full year of the private school at district expense.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementExtended school year (ESY)
For a medically fragile student, the hearing officer ordered the district to provide a dedicated one-to-one nurse during the school day and on the bus, but upheld the district's partially separate classroom placement and rejected the parent's other claims.
FAPE denialRelated servicesPlacement/LRE
The parent prevailed on two of three claims, with the hearing officer finding parental-participation violations amounted to a procedural denial of an appropriate education, and ordering a new IEP meeting and a freeze on any non-agreed placement change.
FAPE denialProcedural/parent-participationPlacement/LRE
The parent argued her child was denied an appropriate education during the school year and wanted compensatory services, but the hearing officer found the IEPs appropriate and ordered the student returned to his district school under the existing IEP.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
The parent sought a private therapeutic day placement and summer services, but the hearing officer ruled for the district on all issues, finding the current public placement appropriate and that the district properly considered outside evaluations.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
The parents lost on their main claim that the district denied their child an appropriate education and on reimbursement for one private evaluation, but won procedural relief entitling them to district-funded independent evaluations in five service areas.
FAPE denialIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)Procedural/parent-participation
The hearing officer found the district failed to provide an appropriate education and ordered the student moved to a private placement, paid for nine independent evaluations, and awarded two years of compensatory extended-school-year services.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
A pro se parent claimed the school denied her third-grader a proper education due to unqualified teachers and missing progress reports, but the hearing officer found the district provided an appropriate education and denied her requests for a school transfer and tutoring.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
A parent claimed the district failed to give her daughter challenging reading, writing, and spelling instruction and evaluated her without consent; the hearing officer found the IEPs were reasonably calculated to provide benefit and that the disputed visit was a permissible screening rather than an evaluation, denying the requested extra years of schooling.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
Parents argued years of inadequate evaluations, IEPs, placement, and services denied their child a free appropriate education; the hearing officer agreed and ordered the district to pay for a private school specializing in autism and learning disabilities, fund transportation, provide compensatory tutoring and therapy, and conduct and pay for new evaluations.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents wanted their son kept at his neighborhood high school with supports instead of moved to a public day school run by the special-education cooperative; the hearing officer found the more restrictive day-school placement was the appropriate least-restrictive environment given his emotional/behavioral needs and ruled for the district.
Placement/LREFAPE denial
A guardian argued the district ignored her repeated requests and failed to evaluate the child within the required 60 school days (delaying over a vision exam); the hearing officer found the district violated its child-find duty and ordered it to complete the evaluation and decide eligibility promptly.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findProcedural/parent-participation
The dispute was whether the student, who had a rare long-lasting post-concussion condition, should be taught at home or at school; the hearing officer found that any school setting would worsen his symptoms and ordered a homebound placement, the outcome the parent sought.
Placement/LREFAPE denial
A parent claimed the district denied her young autistic child a free appropriate education across many areas and sought full general-education placement, ABA therapy, and an independent assistive-technology evaluation; the hearing officer denied general-education placement, ABA, and ESY but ordered the district to do an assistive-technology evaluation and a functional behavior assessment with a behavior plan.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
After a school disciplinarily moved a student to in-school suspension and then a therapeutic day school, the parent challenged the move in an expedited hearing; the hearing officer found the district violated the stay-put rules (the behavior was a manifestation of his disability) and ordered an agreed summer tutoring plan so he could finish his freshman year.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LREProcedural/parent-participation
A parent sought to have her daughter placed in a private therapeutic day school; the hearing officer denied the request, finding the child could be appropriately educated in a public-school setting (with the multisensory reading instruction the parent wanted), so the current public placement was the least-restrictive environment.
Placement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementFAPE denial
A parent showed the district ignored years of requests to evaluate her son and never built an adequate program; the hearing officer found a denial of education and ordered an independent evaluation, placement in a therapeutic day school for students with learning disabilities, related services, and compensatory education.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
Grandparents wanted their autistic granddaughter placed in a regular classroom with a one-on-one aide instead of a specialized autism program; the hearing officer found the autism instructional program was the appropriate, least-restrictive placement and sided with the district, ordering only minor IEP additions like parent training and a social-skills goal.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREEligibility/evaluation/child find
A parent of a functionally illiterate teen showed the district failed to re-evaluate him, write workable IEPs, provide assistive technology, and hand over records; the hearing officer ordered placement in a private school, related services, paid for the independent evaluations, and granted compensatory education including extra years of schooling.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
A parent argued the school denied her child an appropriate education by failing to evaluate, write a proper IEP, provide assistive technology, and follow discipline rules; the hearing officer agreed, ordering placement in a private therapeutic day school, compensatory tutoring/therapy, and payment for the parent's independent evaluations.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
The parent argued the school's IEPs failed to adequately teach her daughter reading, writing, and spelling and that the district tested her without consent, seeking two extra years of schooling as compensation; the hearing officer found the IEPs appropriate, that the student had made progress, and that the contested session was a screening not requiring consent, denying all relief.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
The parents claimed the district failed to properly evaluate, program for, and place their child over two years; the hearing officer found a denial of FAPE and ordered district-funded placement at a private school for students with autism, transportation, compensatory tutoring and therapy, new evaluations, and reimbursement of evaluation expenses.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
The parents wanted their son kept at the regular neighborhood high school rather than the separate public day school the district recommended, but the hearing officer found the parents had not met their burden and that the more restrictive day-school placement was the appropriate least restrictive environment for his emotional and behavioral needs.
Placement/LREFAPE denialBehavior/discipline/manifestation
The grandmother-guardian argued the district failed to evaluate the child within the legally required 60 days of her request; the hearing officer agreed the district violated its child-find duty and ordered it to complete the evaluation and decide eligibility within 45 days.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findProcedural/parent-participation
The dispute was whether the student should be taught at home or in a school building, and given the student's severe post-concussion symptoms the hearing officer found that only a homebound placement was reasonable and ordered an IEP providing home instruction.
Placement/LREFAPE denial
The parent of an autistic child sought full general-education placement with a one-to-one aide plus ABA therapy and an assistive-technology evaluation; the hearing officer ordered an assistive-technology evaluation and a functional behavior assessment with a behavior plan, but denied the placement change, ABA therapy, and summer services.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
The parents of a hearing-impaired preschooler wanted her kept at a private deaf-and-hard-of-hearing program at district expense instead of the recommended public placement, but the hearing officer found the district's IEP and placement appropriate and denied private placement and reimbursement.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
The parents said the school ignored their requests and an outside ADHD diagnosis and refused to evaluate their son for years; the hearing officer agreed he was denied a timely appropriate education and awarded compensatory one-to-one tutoring for up to two years.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findCompensatory education
The parent challenged how the school carried out the IEP and its high-school placement; the hearing officer found most claims minor or in the district's favor but ordered the district to re-evaluate the student in reading and add reading goals, and to amend the student's records.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
The parents argued the school's program was inadequate and sought funding for a residential school, but the hearing officer found the district's IEPs appropriate and the proposed residential placement too restrictive, denying the placement and reimbursement while ordering the district to pay for one independent evaluation.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
The district sought to defend its own evaluation against the family's request for an independent one; the hearing officer found the psychological and social-emotional assessments inadequate and ordered those independent evaluations at public expense, while upholding the district's occupational therapy, speech, and assistive-technology evaluations.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find
The parent claimed the district under-evaluated her child, wrongly stopped speech therapy, and refused special transportation; the hearing officer agreed on the evaluation and speech-therapy points (ordering reimbursement, reinstated therapy, and compensatory services) but sided with the district on transportation.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findRelated services
Parents who had moved their learning-disabled child to a private school sought tuition reimbursement and a compensatory year, but the hearing officer found the district had provided an appropriate education in the least restrictive setting and denied both requests.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementPlacement/LRE
The parents argued the school missed their daughter's learning disability and gave her inadequate services, and the hearing officer found she should have been found eligible years earlier, ordering district-funded independent evaluations, a placement review, adapted PE, and two years of compensatory tutoring and counseling.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
The parents claimed the school failed to properly evaluate, program for, and place their child, and the hearing officer agreed, ordering placement at a private therapeutic day school with transportation, two years of compensatory tutoring and therapy, and reimbursement of the parents' expenses.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
The district challenged the parents' request for an outside evaluation and the parents counter-claimed the child should have been found eligible; the hearing officer found the child was eligible (fluctuating hearing impairment) and ordered an IEP and a math assessment, but denied all of the parents' requests for reimbursement.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
On summary judgment, the hearing officer ruled for the district, holding that a separate day school remained the appropriate placement for the student as set by prior IEPs and decisions, and rejecting the parent's challenge to the enrollment direction.
FAPE denialPlacement/LRETransition/secondary services
The hearing officer found a multi-year denial of an appropriate education and ordered the district to fund a private therapeutic day school, intensive related services, two years of compensatory tutoring and counseling, several independent evaluations, and transportation.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementCompensatory education
Parent claimed the district denied her child a free appropriate education over two years by failing to evaluate, identify and serve his emotional and medical needs; the hearing officer ordered independent evaluations, extended-school-year services, 200 hours of compensatory tutoring, and added counseling.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents argued the district's IEPs over two years gave the child no educational benefit and committed procedural errors; the hearing officer agreed on every point and ordered a private therapeutic day program, independent evaluations, added related services, and compensatory tutoring.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A father argued the post-high-school transition plan for his 20-year-old son ignored the son's interest in food-service work, but the hearing officer found the plan was appropriate and the student was benefiting, and denied the requests to change the plan or placement.
Transition/secondary servicesIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
Parents sought reimbursement for the residential therapeutic school they had chosen plus compensatory education, but after evaluating the thriving student the district found him ineligible for special education and the hearing officer upheld that finding, denying all reimbursement.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
In an expedited case, the district showed a 7-year-old autistic boy posed a substantial risk of injury to himself and others, and the hearing officer granted the district's request for a 45-day interim alternative placement and denied the parent's objection.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LRE
For a young child with behavioral and speech difficulties, the hearing officer denied the parents' request for a private therapeutic school but ordered the district to fund independent evaluations and provide compensatory speech and social-work services.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
After a bullied student with ADHD/bipolar and a learning disability sent a threatening Facebook message and was expelled, the hearing officer found the conduct was a manifestation of his disability, reversed the expulsion, and ordered him returned to school with his record cleared.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationBullying/harassment
A father objected to moving his son from a self-contained emotional-disability classroom to a therapeutic day school, but with the child receiving nearly 80 discipline referrals in five months the hearing officer found the more-restrictive placement appropriate and ruled for the district.
Placement/LREFAPE denialBehavior/discipline/manifestation
A parent proved the district ignored years of warning signs and wrote an inadequate IEP for a child with severe emotional and health needs; the hearing officer ordered a residential placement at public expense plus compensatory education and reimbursement for evaluations and family visits.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
The district went to hearing to defend its limited evaluation after refusing the parent's request for an independent one, but the hearing officer found the district's evaluation was not comprehensive and ordered it to fund a full independent evaluation across all areas.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find
A teen with serious emotional needs who had missed nearly a year of school and been hospitalized won on all denial-of-FAPE claims; the hearing officer ordered a private therapeutic school at public expense, transportation, and compensatory services to recover lost credits.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findRelated services
A parent objected to moving her son from a self-contained classroom to a more restrictive therapeutic day school, but the hearing officer found the child had stopped making progress and become a danger, and upheld the district's more-restrictive placement.
Placement/LREFAPE denialBehavior/discipline/manifestation
Parents of a child on the autism spectrum sought a private therapeutic placement and more services; the district's program was upheld as appropriate, but because the district dropped a transition accommodation the parents were awarded 20 hours of compensatory training.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A 19-year-old whose label had been changed and who was failing won on nearly every claim; the hearing officer ordered a private school placement at public expense, an after-school compensatory program, and district payment of all the independent-evaluation costs.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
The only dispute was how the child got to his private special-education school; because the IEP team never properly changed the arrangement, the hearing officer ordered that the parents keep driving the child and be reimbursed, and required a new IEP meeting on transportation.
Related servicesIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
A parent sought compensatory education, a one-to-one aide, and assistive technology, alleging the district failed to timely identify and properly evaluate the child and to involve her in the process, but the hearing officer found the district met its obligations and ruled for the district.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findRelated servicesProcedural/parent-participation
Parents of an autistic child disputed his class placement, the summer-program services, and sought reimbursement for an independent evaluation, but the hearing officer found they did not prove their case and ruled for the district on all five issues.
Placement/LREFAPE denialExtended school year (ESY)
Parents challenged the proposed developmental-kindergarten placement and the summer (ESY) speech/occupational-therapy services for their young child, but the hearing officer found the district had offered an appropriate education and ruled for the district on all claims.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREExtended school year (ESY)
The hearing officer found the district failed to identify the student's disabilities and provide a free appropriate public education, ordering residential placement funded through June 2011, revisions to recognize his learning and language disabilities, and new occupational, audiology, and psychiatric evaluations.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
After a partial agreement, the only issue was placement: the parent wanted her daughter to stay at an out-of-district behavior-disorder school, but the hearing officer found the district's in-house program in the least restrictive environment appropriate and ordered a careful transition back with additional social-work time.
Placement/LREFAPE denialRelated services
The hearing officer found the district failed to properly identify the student's disabilities so its IEPs did not provide a free appropriate public education, ordering private placement with transportation, reimbursement for the parent's unilateral placement and tutoring, and two additional years of compensatory summer services.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
In cross-filed cases, parents wanted their son returned to a regular classroom and sought reimbursement for placing him in a private parochial school, but the hearing officer found all of the district's IEPs and the therapeutic day placement provided a free appropriate public education and denied reimbursement.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A mother claimed bullying made her daughter's school so hostile that she could not learn and sought a transfer to another district, but the hearing officer found no denial of a free appropriate public education and ordered the district's proposed special-education-classroom IEP implemented.
Bullying/harassmentFAPE denialPlacement/LRE
The hearing officer found the district denied a free appropriate public education by failing to provide assistive technology, adequate speech services, and an auditory-processing evaluation, ordering assistive technology, increased services, placement until age 22, and a vocational assessment, while denying reimbursement for the parents' private evaluations.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
A mother disputed transportation, the IEPs, her ability to participate, and the evaluation; the hearing officer ordered door-to-door special transportation going forward but found the IEPs appropriate and rejected her claims of coercion, transportation reimbursement, and an ABA program change.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
The hearing officer found the district failed to provide an appropriate intensive reading program and ordered placement in a private day school with transportation, summer services, and compensatory tutoring and speech services, though it denied reimbursement for the parents' private evaluations.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A parent wanted her son returned to his neighborhood school instead of a self-contained behavior-disorder cooperative program, but the hearing officer found the self-contained placement appropriate and the least restrictive environment, ruling for the district.
Placement/LREFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
The hearing officer found the district denied a free appropriate public education by improperly exiting the student from special education and failing to address his emotional and behavioral needs, ordering a private therapeutic day school, evaluations, summer services, tutoring, counseling, behavior-therapy training, and reimbursement.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents sought a full-time school nurse and an assistive-technology writing device for their son with a medical condition, but the hearing officer found the district already provided sufficient health services and that the student did not need the assistive technology, ruling for the district.
Related servicesFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
A parent challenged her son's new IEP, eligibility change, notice violations, and suspension and sought an independent evaluation and private placement, but the hearing officer found the IEP and therapeutic day placement appropriate and the procedural errors harmless, ruling for the district.
IEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child findPlacement/LRE
The district asked to defend its evaluations of the student; the hearing officer found the speech and health evaluations adequate but the psychological, social-emotional, and occupational-therapy evaluations inadequate and ordered the district to pay for independent evaluations in those areas.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)FAPE denial
After a partial settlement, parents argued their son needed a residential placement, but the hearing officer found the therapeutic day school was the least restrictive environment that met his needs and denied the residential placement request.
Placement/LREFAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
The hearing officer found the district denied a free appropriate public education to a severely disabled student and ordered placement in a private therapeutic school with ABA services, transportation, two years of compensatory education, and reimbursement for the parents' home ABA program.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents wanted the district to pay for placing their young daughter in a private day school, but the hearing officer found the district's proposed program offered a free appropriate public education and denied tuition reimbursement and the private placement.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementIEP adequacy/implementation
A parent fought the district's plan to move her autistic son from an inclusion program into a self-contained autism classroom; the hearing officer found the district had denied him an appropriate education by not implementing his services or training staff, ordered him to stay in the inclusion program as the least-restrictive setting, and awarded compensatory therapy, new evaluations, and a behavior plan.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A parent showed the district committed wide-ranging failures in evaluating, programming, and informing her about her medically fragile daughter's education; the hearing officer ordered placement in a private therapeutic day school, two additional years there as compensation, compensatory tutoring and speech therapy, funded independent evaluations, and a new IEP and transition plan.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
A parent challenged her daughter's math services, evaluations, and several procedural failures; the hearing officer ruled for the district on most points but found it failed to prove its assistive-technology assessment was adequate and improperly ignored the parent's requests to meet, ordering AT services and training, reimbursement for the AT evaluation, and compensatory consultant support at a new IEP meeting.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents who unilaterally moved their daughter to a private special-education day school sought reimbursement and compensatory schooling; the hearing officer found the district had offered an appropriate education in the least-restrictive setting, denied reimbursement and compensatory education, and held the private placement was not appropriate.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A parent raised many complaints about her son's program; the hearing officer ruled for the district on most issues but found the boy's reading difficulties had been mis-diagnosed, awarding compensatory reading and language instruction plus an assistive technology evaluation on top of the private day-school placement the district had already agreed to.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
The district asked a hearing officer to confirm its evaluation of a dyslexic student was adequate after the parent demanded independent evaluations at public expense; because the parent had repeatedly blocked the district from testing and then limited what it could assess, the hearing officer found the district's evaluation appropriate and denied reimbursement for the parent's private evaluations.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)Procedural/parent-participation
A parent argued the district failed to properly evaluate and educate her son and sought a residential placement; the hearing officer found a denial of education and ordered payment for the independent evaluations plus two years of compensatory speech and occupational therapy, but refused the requested residential placement for lack of evidence it was needed.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
A parent of a young man with severe autism showed the district predetermined his placement and never wrote an adequate program; the hearing officer found a denial of education and ordered an in-home Applied Behavior Analysis program, two years of compensatory services, and new evaluations and IEP.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A parent showed the district shut her out of writing her daughter's IEP, wrote arbitrary goals, failed to implement the plan, and skipped needed evaluations; the hearing officer found a denial of education on those points (though the placement itself was appropriate) and ordered funded independent evaluations, compensatory speech therapy, and a properly developed IEP and transition plan.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
A parent claimed years of inadequate IEPs for her cognitively impaired daughter; the hearing officer ruled the district provided an appropriate education for most years but denied it for one year by neglecting reading/writing goals and a vocational assessment, ordering compensatory reading and writing instruction plus a proper vocational evaluation and transition plan.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
A student with emotional disturbance had been wrongly dropped from special education and given a defective IEP with no behavior plan; the hearing officer ordered the district to fund a private therapeutic day school, evaluations, tutoring, counseling, behavior training, and a partial cost reimbursement.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A parent of a child with a speech-language impairment and a medical condition wanted full-time nursing and a speech-to-text assistive-technology device written into the IEP, but the hearing officer found the district's health services sufficient and the device unwarranted, leaving the current IEP in place.
FAPE denialRelated servicesIEP adequacy/implementation
A parent disputed her son's new emotional-disturbance eligibility, an allegedly inadequate IEP, faulty meeting notices, and a therapeutic placement, but the hearing officer found the therapeutic day program appropriate and ruled the parent had not shown the IEP or procedural lapses denied a free appropriate public education.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
The district sought to confirm its evaluations of a child suspected of a learning disability were adequate; the speech and health evaluations were upheld, but the psychological, social-emotional, and missing occupational-therapy evaluations were found inadequate and the district was ordered to fund independent evaluations in those areas.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
Parents of a student with emotional disturbance and violent behavior at home argued he needed a residential school, but the hearing officer found his therapeutic day-school placement was the least restrictive environment and denied the residential placement.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
The school district asked the hearing officer to confirm its evaluations were proper; the psychological evaluation was upheld, but because the district failed to do an occupational-therapy evaluation it was ordered to pay for an independent OT evaluation.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
A guardian challenged a secondary emotional-disturbance label, the accuracy of behavioral records, and a proposed change in classes for a student with a cognitive disability, but the hearing officer dismissed all claims and let the school's proposed reading/math program proceed.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREEligibility/evaluation/child find
A parent showed the district failed to deliver several IEP services to her learning-disabled high-schooler over two years, earning him 80 hours of compensatory tutoring, but her requests for assistive technology, special transportation, and changed grades were denied.
IEP adequacy/implementationFAPE denialCompensatory education
A learning-disabled and depressed teen who went over a year with no IEP and almost no services won funding for a private therapeutic day school, an extra compensatory year of high school, transportation, and compensatory tutoring and social work services.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationRelated services
Parents (representing themselves) sought a private day school and reimbursement for three private evaluations of their son with a learning/communication disability; the hearing officer denied the private placement, finding the district program appropriate, but ordered the district to reimburse two of the three independent evaluations it had relied on.
Private/residential placement & reimbursementFAPE denialPlacement/LRE
The parent of a medically fragile teen with multiple severe disabilities showed the district failed to honor the stay-put order and provide his private nurse on the bus; the hearing officer ordered compensatory services, a communication device, a 1:1 bus aide, and added nursing and equipment to his IEP.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationRelated services
A father argued the district ignored his son's disabilities; the hearing officer found the district failed to evaluate him on time and ordered him made eligible for special education for a math learning disability, but left autism eligibility to the IEP team and denied the transportation request.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
In a case the district filed, a father wanted to revoke special-education services and return his son (with bipolar/ADHD and severe behaviors) to a regular classroom, but the hearing officer overrode the revocation and upheld the therapeutic day placement, finding the boy would likely be expelled without the services.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findPlacement/LREFAPE denial
Parents who placed their son (with a learning disability and a chromosomal condition) in a private school for learning disabilities won reimbursement because the district's IEP was found fundamentally flawed, including tuition and transportation for the current year plus a transition 'bridge' year.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A parent (representing herself) wanted her hearing-impaired and emotionally disturbed son returned to regular high-school classes and objected to his discipline, but the hearing officer found the more restrictive alternative day program was an appropriate education and that the discipline was proper.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREBehavior/discipline/manifestation
Parents of a boy with severe reading/dyslexia difficulties showed the district failed to evaluate and serve him adequately for years, and the hearing officer ordered publicly funded independent evaluations, reimbursement of the family's private evaluators, and compensatory tutoring and related services.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findRelated services
A father (representing himself) wanted his daughter, who had violent outbursts, moved back to the regular school and alleged she was placed there without proper consent, but the hearing officer found the therapeutic placement was the appropriate least-restrictive setting and that consent was valid, denying all requests.
Placement/LREFAPE denialBehavior/discipline/manifestation
A parent won summary judgment because the district had agreed to provide compensatory tutoring and speech services in the IEP but delayed implementing them for over six months; the hearing officer ordered the district to start the services within 10 days.
IEP adequacy/implementationCompensatory educationProcedural/parent-participation
Parents argued their adopted daughter (with trauma and possible fetal-alcohol effects) should qualify for special education, but the hearing officer upheld the district's finding that she was not eligible under IDEA and dismissed all claims, even though the district was found to have delayed evaluating her.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialRelated services
Parents of a student with a reading and language learning disability won findings that the district failed to remediate her reading and provide social work services (earning compensatory reading tutoring and social work), but their requests for a private school placement and publicly funded independent evaluations were denied.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationRelated services
A mother who pulled her severely autistic, non-verbal daughter out to attend a private ABA/Lovaas school sought reimbursement, but the hearing officer found the district's autism program provided an appropriate education and denied all relief.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents who had unilaterally placed their child with Down syndrome in a residential school sought public funding for it, but the hearing officer found the district's program adequate and denied both reimbursement and residential placement, ordering only new evaluations.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementPlacement/LRE
Parents of an autistic young child argued the public IEP did not provide an appropriate education (no behavior plan despite escalating tantrums and biting), and the hearing officer agreed, ordering a full-day year-round private therapeutic day school plus a year of compensatory education.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A caregiver argued the district wrongly refused to evaluate a failing child who was repeating third grade despite repeated written requests; the hearing officer found the district violated its duty to evaluate and identify the child and ordered 96 hours of compensatory tutoring.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialCompensatory education
A parent argued the district's evaluations and IEP were flawed and failed to address her non-reading son's speech, sensory and learning needs (and raised improper restraint use); the hearing officer found the evaluations inadequate and ordered independent evaluations, an assistive-technology assessment, doubled speech services, weekly tutoring, and a compensatory summer program.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents removed their child from an agreed private day school after twenty days and placed him in a private residential facility, then sought reimbursement; the hearing officer found the district had provided a free appropriate education in the least restrictive environment and denied reimbursement.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementPlacement/LRE
A parent of a medically fragile, nonverbal teen claimed the district denied a free appropriate education through unsafe bus transportation, lack of home services, and failure to do an assistive-technology evaluation; the hearing officer found a violation only for one day lost to a bus incident and ordered make-up services for that day, denying everything else.
FAPE denialRelated servicesIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
After a private therapeutic day school discharged her son, a parent unilaterally placed him elsewhere and sought reimbursement, arguing the district's proposed therapeutic programs were inappropriate; the hearing officer found the district provided a free appropriate education and denied reimbursement.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementBehavior/discipline/manifestation
A guardian asked that previously-terminated school social-work services be reinstated for a teenager, but the hearing officer found his current IEP appropriately focused on academics and that he no longer needed the services, denying the request.
Related servicesFAPE denial
A self-represented mother of a severely disabled boy sought a private placement, arguing his services were inadequate; the hearing officer denied the private placement but found his existing program insufficient, ordering substantially increased therapy and physical-education services, a one-on-one aide, a new structured IEP, and a corrected eligibility category.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents disputed the district's emotional-disability label and its plan to send their young daughter to a therapeutic day school, asking instead for a regular classroom; the hearing officer found the therapeutic school too restrictive but the regular class not enough, ordering a self-contained classroom with social-work services and transition, safety and communication plans.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREEligibility/evaluation/child find
The district wanted to move a student from consultation-only support into a separate special-education reading/language-arts class, but the parents objected; the hearing officer found the student was making more-than-minimal progress in the regular classroom and ordered the district to keep him there with consultation and accommodations rather than the more restrictive setting.
IEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
Parents of a preschooler with a feeding disorder argued the district should have found him eligible at age three and should fund feeding and nutrition therapy; the hearing officer ruled for the district, finding he was not eligible in 2007 and that the later IEP was appropriate and need not cover medically-oriented feeding therapy.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialPlacement/LRE
A grandmother sought added services, a one-on-one aide, and compensatory help for her grandchild after a private day-school placement was agreed; the hearing officer found the district prevailed on nearly everything but had been late to evaluate for occupational therapy, ordering limited OT and audiology consultation only.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findRelated services
Parents of a severely disabled young child sought reimbursement for placing her in a private day school, arguing the district's proposed schools could not implement her IEP; the hearing officer found the district had denied a free appropriate education and ordered it to reimburse the private-school tuition.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementPlacement/LRE
Parents who unilaterally placed their daughter in a private school argued the district's IEP did not address all her needs and that it missed its duty to evaluate; the hearing officer found a denial of education, ordered reimbursement for the private placement and transportation, and reduced the prospective award by one month based on when the duty to evaluate was triggered.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A student alleged the district denied a free appropriate education through an inadequate IEP, an improper evaluation, and destruction of test records, and sought an independent evaluation; the hearing officer dismissed all claims and ordered no further district action.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A mother representing herself argued the district's IEP denied her son a free appropriate education and sought home-based instruction plus compensatory relief; the hearing officer decided all liability issues in favor of the district, so no relief was awarded.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A parent challenged the district's move to a more restrictive cooperative program at a non-neighborhood school and demanded a program at the home school; the hearing officer found the district had failed to properly implement the student's IEP and awarded compensatory tutoring or GED-program tuition, but ruled the district was not required to create a program at the neighborhood school.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
Parents claimed the district failed to implement and properly design their son's IEP and disciplined him for disability-related behavior, seeking compensatory tutoring; the hearing officer found the district provided an appropriate education and that the proposed IEP/behavior plan was adequate, ordering no further action.
IEP adequacy/implementationBehavior/discipline/manifestationRelated services
In cross-complaints, a Spanish-speaking parent who kept her son out of school claimed the district failed to provide accommodations and an appropriate program; the hearing officer found the current placement and services provided a free appropriate education and allowed the district to proceed with its three-year reevaluation including an occupational-therapy assessment.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationRelated services
A parent alleged the district mishandled her evaluation requests and timelines and sought reimbursement for an outside evaluation; the hearing officer found the district properly identified the student's needs and provided an appropriate education, denying all of the parent's requests for relief.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findProcedural/parent-participationIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
A parent claimed the district denied a free appropriate education through inadequate assessments, services, and IEPs; the hearing officer found the district failed to provide adequate speech/language and assistive-technology services and reading instruction, and ordered added related services, compensatory tutoring, and a revised IEP, while denying a private therapeutic day school and evaluation reimbursement.
FAPE denialRelated servicesIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents of a hearing-impaired student sought a residential school placement and claimed the district denied a free appropriate education; the hearing officer found the district largely provided an appropriate education and denied residential placement, awarding only limited compensatory service for two weeks of missed summer programming.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementRelated services
A parent claimed the district wrongly found her child ineligible for special education and failed its child-find and evaluation duties; the hearing officer ruled the parent had not proven the child was eligible and upheld the district's not-eligible determination.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
Parents of a student with trauma-related anxiety and depression sought private-school tuition plus therapeutic and compensatory services; the hearing officer denied the private-tuition request but found the existing IEP inadequate and ordered a new IEP with homebound therapeutic instruction, extended-year services, and compensatory tutoring.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A parent challenged the district's plan to move her son from a self-contained class in a regular high school to a separate public day school for students with emotional disorders; the hearing officer found the student could not benefit from his current setting and ordered the IEP implemented at the separate day school.
FAPE denialPlacement/LRE
A parent argued her son's self-contained emotional-disability classroom denied him a free appropriate education and wanted him moved to a regular 4th-grade class; the hearing officer found the self-contained placement was appropriate and only ordered a transfer to an equivalent self-contained class at another school.
FAPE denialPlacement/LRE
The district asked to teach a transferred student in a self-contained learning-disabilities program at a regional cooperative rather than her neighborhood school; the hearing officer agreed the cooperative placement was appropriate and in the least restrictive environment, and ordered it implemented.
Placement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
A student who still could not read and whose behavior was escalating was found to have been denied a free appropriate education for years; the hearing officer ordered a funded residential placement through 2011, revised IEP and evaluations, and reimbursement for the parent's independent evaluations.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents sought reimbursement for placing their son with multiple disabilities in a private residential school, but the hearing officer found the district's proposed program offered an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment and that the residential placement was chosen mainly for social reasons, so no reimbursement was ordered.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
The hearing officer found the district had failed to properly identify the child's disabilities and denied him a free appropriate education, ordering reimbursement for the parent's private placement, tutoring and testing, future funding of the private school, and two extra years of summer services.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents wanted their son returned to a regular classroom and reimbursement for a private parochial placement, but the hearing officer found the district's IEPs and therapeutic day-school placement provided a free appropriate education and denied reimbursement.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A parent claimed bullying made her daughter's school so hostile that she should be transferred to another district, but the hearing officer found the bullying claim unproven and ordered the student into the district's special-education classroom rather than a transfer.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREBullying/harassment
An older student with a learning disability was found to have been denied a free appropriate public education through inadequate evaluation and programming; the district was ordered to provide assistive technology, speech services, a vocational assessment, and placement until age 22, but reimbursement for private evaluations and other requests were denied.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
A mother challenged her son's transportation, IEPs, and the evaluation process; the hearing officer ordered door-to-door bus service with an aide going forward but otherwise found the IEPs appropriate and denied her other claims, including transportation reimbursement.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationRelated services
A young child with a severe reading and language disability had been denied appropriate instruction for two years, so the hearing officer ordered the district to fund a private day school, transportation, summer services, and tutoring, though it denied reimbursement for the parents' private evaluations.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A parent wanted her son returned to his neighborhood school in regular classes, but the hearing officer found the district's small self-contained behavior-disorder program was the appropriate least-restrictive setting and was benefiting him.
FAPE denialPlacement/LRE