Hearing Decisions

Pleasanton USD's multidisciplinary assessment was found non-compliant with the law in its SLD portion. The school psychologist discarded the WISC-V full-scale IQ in favor of an unexplained General Ability Index, failed to calculate or discuss any score discrepancies, relied on an unsupported theory about absenteeism to explain processing deficits, and never interviewed the parent or teachers. The ALJ found the district wrongfully exited the student from special education based on this deficient assessment, denying FAPE continuously from September 2023 through April 2024. The district was ordered to restore the student to special education, fund an independent psychoeducational evaluation, and provide staff training.

Riverside Unified School District conducted a speech and language assessment that failed to include classroom observations, adequate parent input, and a complete evaluation of written language. The ALJ found the assessment was not comprehensive, denied FAPE, and ordered reimbursement for independent evaluations, eligibility under specific learning disability, and 8 hours of compensatory academic instruction.

A school district conducted a speech and language assessment that gathered input from the student's teacher and from the student directly, but failed to collect any input from the parent. The ALJ found this omission rendered the assessment inadequate under the IDEA, which requires that parent input be considered as part of any evaluation.

San Dieguito Union High School District denied a parent's December 2021 request for a psychoeducational assessment, claiming the 504 Plan was sufficient. The district did not agree to assess until January 2022 — after the parent hired an attorney. The ALJ found the district violated the IDEA by failing to timely present an assessment plan, resulting in a five-month delay in services, and ordered compensatory academic instruction, speech and language services, and counseling.

Los Alamitos Unified School District failed its child find duty by not referring a student for special education assessment despite the student exhibiting all the warning signs of dyslexia listed in the California Department of Education's Dyslexia Guidelines. The student was not making sufficient progress in Response to Intervention (RTI), and the district should have referred for assessment by May 2019. A private evaluation confirmed dyslexia. The ALJ found FAPE denied from October 2019 and ordered compensatory education and reimbursement for the private evaluation.

Los Angeles Unified School District failed to identify, locate, and evaluate a student with PTSD, anxiety, depression, and emotional disturbance for over two years — from October 2021 through December 2023. Despite the student's extensive discipline record, chronic absences, emotional outbursts, a suicide attempt, and the parent's prior consent revocation, LAUSD failed to meet its independent child find duty. The ALJ ordered 254 hours of compensatory education, an OT IEE, and funded residential treatment center placement.

Washington Unified School District failed to assess a struggling student for over five years despite chronic failing grades, behavioral incidents, ADHD-like symptoms, and 4 suspensions. The ALJ explicitly found the district violated its child find duty — but ruled for the district anyway because the student could not independently prove he was eligible for special education.

Redlands Unified School District denied FAPE to a student with autism over multiple school years by providing inadequate ABA services through an unqualified vendor, failing to conduct timely OT and functional behavior assessments, and offering inappropriate placements. The ALJ ordered over 1,700 hours of compensatory services including 240 hours of Lindamood-Bell reading intervention, 150 hours of Lindamood-Bell language comprehension, 430 hours of one-on-one academic instruction, 1,250 hours of in-home ABA therapy, and an independent functional analysis assessment — with parents directing the scheduling.

Pleasanton Unified School District denied FAPE to a 12-year-old seventh grader with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and ADHD by failing to have a completed IEP in place at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year and by refusing to provide parents a copy of the governing IEP. The district's failure to finalize IEP documents created months of confusion that impeded parental participation. ALJ Charles Marson ordered reimbursement of $17,325 for private educational services, $3,850 for private assessments, a new IEP meeting, and 10 hours of mandatory staff training on IEP procedures.

Parents' expert diagnosed a seventh grader with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia under the DSM. The ALJ ruled that clinical diagnoses do not automatically translate into entitlement to more or different special education services. The district's IEP -- which included a study skills class, 15 hours/month of home tutoring, and accommodations -- was adequate because the student was making progress at grade level. Parents represented themselves and lost on every issue.

Los Angeles County Office of Education predetermined a student's ESY services, arriving at the IEP meeting with the decision already made. The ALJ ordered 80 hours of compensatory instruction plus 16 hours of supervision.

LAUSD's assigned paraprofessional never read the IEP, never knew the behavior goal, and an administrator entered false time records. The ALJ found the district completely failed to implement behavior services for nearly a month.

San Bernardino City Unified School District failed to address a student's chronic school refusal for over two years, conducted no in-person assessments since 2019, and offered no meaningful plan to re-engage the student. In a rare bifurcated hearing, the ALJ first found liability and then determined remedies, finding the district denied FAPE by failing to provide appropriate assessments, services, and placement.

LAUSD failed to conduct a functional behavior assessment after a student with autism eloped from campus and instead moved her to a more restrictive school without a proper IEP meeting. The ALJ found FAPE was denied.

A charter school failed to respond to two separate IEE requests over the course of nearly a year, violating the IDEA's requirement to act 'without unnecessary delay.' The ALJ found the charter school denied the student FAPE and ordered funding for multiple independent evaluations.

William S. Hart Union High School District waited three months after a parent requested an independent educational evaluation before filing for due process or agreeing to fund it. The ALJ found the district violated the IDEA's requirement to respond 'without unnecessary delay' and ordered the district to fund the IEE.

Capistrano Unified School District refused to fund an independent educational evaluation after the parent revoked consent to special education services. The ALJ found that revoking consent does not extinguish the parent's right to challenge an evaluation through the IEE process, and ordered the district to fund the IEE.

Parent demanded Orton-Gillingham by name for a student with severe dyslexia. The district used the Sonday System (an OG-based program) alongside other structured literacy methods. The ALJ ruled the district's eclectic approach was appropriate and that the IDEA does not require districts to specify a particular methodology. The parent's own expert had not seen the student in over a year and showed bias against public schools.

The only known CA OAH decision specifically naming orthographic (surface) dyslexia as a subtype. Despite the student winning on three narrow goal issues (attention, executive functioning, self-advocacy), the district prevailed on the vast majority of issues -- including assessment adequacy, child find, IEP goals for reading and writing, services, placement, predetermination, and IEE funding. The parent's request for $90,000+ in tuition reimbursement for a private Kentucky school and summer camps was denied entirely.

Palo Alto USD offered the same predetermined placement — a large campus with large classes — across four consecutive IEPs despite evidence the student needed a small, supportive environment. The ALJ ordered $29,600+ in tuition reimbursement, three IEEs, staff training, and suspended the district's own insurance requirement for IEE providers.

Twin Rivers USD denied FAPE to a 15-year-old ninth grader with double-deficit dyslexia by offering an IEP with internally inconsistent descriptions of placement and services, failing to offer appropriate goals, omitting goals in math facts and listening comprehension, failing to offer appropriate specialized academic instruction in reading and math, and failing to offer assistive technology training. The student demonstrated clinically significant progress at READ Academy, a private school for students with dyslexia, using evidence-based structured literacy programs. The ALJ ordered $8,800 in compensatory fund reimbursement and mileage reimbursement at $30.15 per day of attendance.

San Bernardino City USD failed to deliver speech therapy as specified in the IEP and then refused to share service logs with the parents. The ALJ ordered compensatory sessions and monthly written progress reports.

LAUSD failed to provide a one-to-one aide and door-to-door transportation as required by a student's stay-put IEP. Even a three-week gap in aide services was a material failure.

South Sutter Charter School denied FAPE to an 11-year-old student with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and ADHD across three school years by failing to convene an IEP team meeting when the student was not making progress, failing to offer appropriate measurable goals, and failing to provide adequate specialized academic instruction using evidence-based structured literacy methods. The special education teacher could not explain what methodology she used and was not trained in any structured literacy program. The ALJ ordered $14,915 in reimbursement for READ Learning Center, additional prospective placement funding, mileage reimbursement, a new IEP with methodology consistent with Education Code section 56335 and the California Dyslexia Guidelines, and four hours of staff training in evidence-based interventions for dyslexia.

Piedmont Unified School District denied FAPE to a 10-year-old fourth grader by failing to timely complete speech and language and occupational therapy assessments that parents had consented to in September 2022. Private evaluator Dr. Kent Grelling diagnosed the student with what he called 'textbook dyslexia' -- a specific learning disability in reading and writing with a phonological processing deficit and significant discrepancy between IQ and reading achievement. Parents placed the student at Charles Armstrong School, a private school specializing in dyslexia. While the student prevailed on the assessment delay issue, the ALJ found the district's September 2022 IEP offer of 90 minutes per week of specialized academic instruction was appropriate. ALJ Theresa Ravandi ordered Piedmont to fund independent speech and language and occupational therapy assessments at public expense.

San Marcos USD failed to complete assessments on time for a privately placed student. The delay resulted in partial tuition reimbursement and an independent evaluation at public expense.

Norwalk-La Mirada USD gave a regular diploma to a student with severe autism who was on a substantially modified curriculum, could not write a sentence, and struggled with simple addition. The ALJ invalidated the diploma and restored eligibility through age 22.

In a 165-page decision spanning eight IEPs over two years, the parent's expert (Dr. VanderVennet) was found less credible than the district's witnesses because she had taken only one course on reading interventions, could not recommend specific curricula or service frequency/duration, and was not a credentialed special education teacher. The district's 225 minutes/week of group specialized instruction plus 225 minutes of push-in support was found adequate for a student with undisputed dyslexia and dysgraphia. Sebastopol prevailed on all 36 sub-issues.