Pennsylvania
Special Education Hearing Officer
DECISION
Child’s Name: M.W.
Date of Birth: [redacted]
Dates of Hearing:
July 29, September 16, December 17, 2010 February 11, February 16, February 24, March 24, 2011
CLOSED HEARING
ODR Case # 01297-09-10-AS
Parties to the Hearing: Parent[s]
Council Rock School District 30 North Chancellor Street Newtown, PA 18940
Representative:
Ilene Young, Esq.
50 East Court Street Doylestown, PA 18901
Joanne Sommer, Esq. 60 East Court Street Doylestown, PA 18901
Date Record Closed: April 28, 2011
Date of Decision: May 3, 2011
Hearing Officer: Jake McElligott, Esquire
INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Student is an early teen-aged student residing in the Council Rock School District (“District”) who is a student with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act of 2004 (“IDEIA”)1. Specifically, the student is identified with an other health impairment. The parents have requested tuition reimbursement of a privately funded education placement due to an alleged failure by the District to provide a free appropriate public education (”FAPE”). Particularly, parents claim that reimbursement is owed for alleged failures to provide FAPE in the District programming proposed for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years. The District maintains that the programming offered to the student in those school years was reasonably calculated to yield meaningful education benefit and, as such, was designed to provide FAPE to the student.
For the reasons set forth below, I find in favor of the parents but tuition reimbursement will be in an amount less than 100%.
ISSUES
Was the educational program proposed by the District for the 2009-2010 school year appropriate?
Was the educational program proposed by the District for the 2010-2011school year appropriate?
If either, or both, of these proposed programs was/were not appropriate, are parents entitled to tuition reimbursement for the unilateral private placement undertaken for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years?