District Wins Most Claims, But Must Reimburse CARD and Tuition After Assessment Delay

A student with autism who had been enrolled in private school since 1998 filed a due process complaint against Temecula Valley Unified School District alleging the district failed to assess him, provide a FAPE, and meet its child find obligations for years. The ALJ found the student was voluntarily placed in private school and the district had no ongoing duty to serve him, but did find the district violated the law by failing to propose an assessment plan within required timelines after the parent's written request in January 2005. As a result, the district was ordered to reimburse parents for CARD services and private school tuition for a limited window of approximately three-and-a-half months.

What Happened

Student was a twelve-year-old child who had been enrolled in Temecula Valley Unified School District's special education preschool program in 1997 and 1998, receiving services for speech and language delays. In June 1998, Student's parents signed an IEP they agreed with and then quietly removed Student from the district, enrolling him in a private general education preschool and later a private Christian school, without notifying the district in writing or raising any objections at the IEP meeting. Student remained in private school for approximately seven years. During that time, his academic and behavioral difficulties worsened significantly, and in late 2004 a private psychologist assessed him and concluded he had autism. On January 28, 2005, the parents sent a written letter to the district requesting an assessment and IEP evaluation.

The district did not respond by proposing an assessment plan within the required 15 calendar days. Instead, it invited the family to a Student Study Team (SST) meeting — a general education process — and when the parents declined and refused to allow their private school to share information, the district stopped the process entirely and did nothing until the family filed for due process in June 2005. In the meantime, the parents had been paying approximately $4,000 per month for services from the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD), which allowed Student to function and complete his fifth-grade year at the private school.

What the ALJ Found

The district prevailed on most issues. Because Student's parents silently removed him from public school in 1998 without objecting to the IEP or giving written notice, and because the district's 1997 and 1998 IEPs were found to be legally appropriate for Student's identified needs at the time, the ALJ ruled that Student's placement in private school was voluntary and unilateral. That meant the district had no obligation to assess Student, hold IEP meetings, or provide a FAPE during the seven years he was in private school. Many of the family's claims were also blocked by the three-year statute of limitations.

The district also prevailed on its child find obligations. The district had a functioning outreach system, and Student's parents never informed anyone at the district that their child had a disability or a prior IEP during those years. The testimony that the mother called the district in 2002 and 2003 was found not credible.

However, the district did violate the law on one key issue. After the parent's formal written assessment request on January 28, 2005, the district was legally required to propose an assessment plan within 15 calendar days and complete an IEP within 50 days of receiving signed consent. The district failed to do this — instead insisting on an SST meeting and then halting the process when the parents declined. This procedural failure was a real violation that denied Student access to services he was entitled to. The ALJ also found that the CARD services Student received were educationally beneficial and allowed him to access his curriculum.

The district prevailed on the 2005–2006 school year claims because, after a due process order required Student to cooperate with assessment, it was the family's own repeated delays, refusals, and non-responses that prevented assessments from being completed.

What Was Ordered

Within 30 days of the order, parents must provide CARD invoices to the district covering direct services, staff training at the private school, the one-to-one aide, and private school tuition — all for the period April 13, 2005 through July 29, 2005.
Within 30 days of receiving those invoices, the district must reimburse the parents for those expenses.
All other relief requested by Student — including reimbursement for private assessments, CARD costs outside that window, tuition before or after that window, and compensatory education — was denied.

Why This Matters for Parents

If you leave public school, put your objections in writing — immediately. Parents who quietly remove their child from public school without notifying the district in writing or raising concerns at the IEP meeting are treated as having made a voluntary, unilateral placement choice. That removes the district's ongoing duty to provide services and blocks most reimbursement claims — even years later.
A written assessment request starts a legal clock the district must follow. Once you submit a written request for assessment, the district has 15 calendar days to send you a proposed assessment plan. If they try to route you through an SST meeting instead, or stall by demanding more information before even proposing a plan, that can be a legal violation. Document every communication and watch those deadlines.
Cooperating with assessments is not optional. This case shows that parents who obstruct or delay the district's assessment process — by refusing to schedule dates, withholding records, or missing appointments — risk losing the remedies they're seeking. Courts and ALJs will look closely at whether the family contributed to the delay.
Private services can be reimbursed, but only if the district actually violated the law during that same time period. The ALJ reimbursed CARD costs only for the specific window when the district was in violation. Services paid for before or after that window — or for years the family chose private school on their own — were not covered, even if those services were genuinely helpful to the child.

What Happened

What the ALJ Found

What Was Ordered

Within 30 days of the order, parents must provide CARD invoices to the district covering direct services, staff training at the private school, the one-to-one aide, and private school tuition — all for the period April 13, 2005 through July 29, 2005.
Within 30 days of receiving those invoices, the district must reimburse the parents for those expenses.
All other relief requested by Student — including reimbursement for private assessments, CARD costs outside that window, tuition before or after that window, and compensatory education — was denied.

Why This Matters for Parents

If you leave public school, put your objections in writing — immediately. Parents who quietly remove their child from public school without notifying the district in writing or raising concerns at the IEP meeting are treated as having made a voluntary, unilateral placement choice. That removes the district's ongoing duty to provide services and blocks most reimbursement claims — even years later.
A written assessment request starts a legal clock the district must follow. Once you submit a written request for assessment, the district has 15 calendar days to send you a proposed assessment plan. If they try to route you through an SST meeting instead, or stall by demanding more information before even proposing a plan, that can be a legal violation. Document every communication and watch those deadlines.
Cooperating with assessments is not optional. This case shows that parents who obstruct or delay the district's assessment process — by refusing to schedule dates, withholding records, or missing appointments — risk losing the remedies they're seeking. Courts and ALJs will look closely at whether the family contributed to the delay.
Private services can be reimbursed, but only if the district actually violated the law during that same time period. The ALJ reimbursed CARD costs only for the specific window when the district was in violation. Services paid for before or after that window — or for years the family chose private school on their own — were not covered, even if those services were genuinely helpful to the child.