Garden Grove Unified Failed to Address Selective Mutism, Parents Win Prentice Tuition Reimbursement

A 12-year-old student with selective mutism, ADHD, and auditory processing disorder attended Garden Grove Unified from first through fourth grade without ever receiving a behavioral support plan. After the District repeatedly failed to assess or address his anxiety-driven shut-downs, his parents enrolled him in a private school (the Prentice School) and sought reimbursement. The ALJ found the District denied FAPE across multiple school years and ordered the District to reimburse the family for Prentice tuition upon proof of payment.

What Happened

Student was a boy with selective mutism, ADHD, and auditory processing disorder who attended Garden Grove Unified School District from first through fourth grade. Selective mutism is a childhood anxiety disorder in which a child is unable or refuses to speak in certain settings, such as school. For Student, this meant he would "shut down" — lowering his eyes, refusing to speak, and disengaging from class — whenever he felt anxious or perceived a task as too difficult. These shut-downs directly interrupted his learning and made accurate academic testing nearly impossible. Despite the District's awareness of this condition as early as first grade, it never conducted a behavioral assessment to understand the shut-downs, never created behavior-related IEP goals, and never established a Behavior Support Plan (BSP).

After years of minimal progress, a flawed psychological assessment in early 2004, and the Diagnostic Center's unheeded recommendation that a BSP be developed, Student's parents placed him at the Prentice School — a certified private school specializing in students with language and auditory processing difficulties — in March 2004. The parents filed for due process in August 2004, challenging the District's assessments, placements, IEP goals, and numerous procedural violations across four school years, and seeking reimbursement for Prentice tuition, private tutoring, and an independent evaluation by Lindamood-Bell.

What the District Did Wrong

The ALJ found that the District denied Student a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) across multiple school years, primarily by ignoring his behavioral needs related to selective mutism and anxiety.

Failed behavioral assessments: During the 2001-2002 and 2003-2004 school years, the District knew Student's anxiety and shut-downs were interfering with his education but never conducted a behavioral assessment to determine what supports he needed. The District mistakenly focused only on whether Student was being disruptive — he was not — while ignoring the fact that his anxiety was preventing him from learning and participating.

No behavioral goals or support plan: Across three school years, the District never wrote IEP goals targeting Student's selective mutism or shut-downs, and never created a BSP — even after the state's Diagnostic Center explicitly recommended one and provided a sample plan. This meant that each year's IEP was missing goals designed to address one of Student's most significant disabilities.

Flawed IEP process in 2003-2004: The District waited four months after Student enrolled at Prentice to complete his annual IEP, leaving him without a current offer of FAPE for most of that school year. When the IEP meeting was finally held, no one from Prentice attended and no current information from that school was available, so the team worked from four-month-old goals.

Improper IEP notice in 2004-2005: The District sent notice of a March 21, 2005 IEP meeting by certified mail only six days before the meeting, against the parents' expressed wishes to delay until Prentice completed its evaluation. The parents did not retrieve the certified letter until two days before the meeting and could not reach their advocate in time. The District held the IEP anyway without the parents present and made no other attempts to contact them. The ALJ found this violated California law, which requires multiple attempts to secure parental attendance before proceeding without them.

Records production failure: The District failed to provide parents with copies of tests given as part of Student's "Language!" program instruction, despite multiple records requests. The District later could not locate those records.

What Was Ordered

The District must reimburse Student's parents for the actual Prentice School tuition they paid during the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years, upon submission of invoices, cancelled checks, or other proof of payment within 30 days of the order.
The District must pay the documented tuition amount within 60 days after receiving that proof.
Reimbursement for the Lindamood-Bell independent evaluation was denied because the assessment was never provided to the District and had no demonstrated impact on Student's education.
Reimbursement for private tutoring costs was denied because the parents did not submit sufficient documentation (invoices, receipts, or cancelled checks) to establish the amounts paid.

Why This Matters for Parents

A child doesn't have to be disruptive to need a behavioral assessment. The District argued that Student's behavior wasn't bad enough to require formal assessment because he wasn't acting out. The ALJ rejected this. Anxiety and withdrawal that prevent a child from participating in class are behavioral issues that require assessment and intervention, even if the child is quiet.
IEP goals must address all of a child's disability-related needs, not just the academic ones. The District wrote reading and communication goals but ignored Student's selective mutism for years. If your child has a behavioral or emotional condition that affects learning, insist that the IEP include specific, measurable goals to address it.
Districts must make multiple documented attempts to contact you before holding an IEP without you. California law does not allow a district to simply send one notice and proceed if you don't show up. If a district holds an IEP in your absence with only minimal notice and no other outreach, that is a significant procedural violation.
Keep records of everything you pay — or you may not be reimbursed. The ALJ ordered reimbursement for Prentice tuition but denied reimbursement for tutoring because the parents had no invoices or cancelled checks. Always save receipts, invoices, and proof of payment for any educational expenses you may later seek to recover.
Private school placement can be reimbursed when the district's program has failed, but the private school must be appropriate. The Prentice School was found appropriate because it addressed Student's specific needs — smaller class sizes, multi-sensory instruction, and strategies for managing anxiety. If you are considering a private placement, document why it meets your child's needs and why the district's program does not.

What Happened

What the District Did Wrong

What Was Ordered

The District must reimburse Student's parents for the actual Prentice School tuition they paid during the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years, upon submission of invoices, cancelled checks, or other proof of payment within 30 days of the order.
The District must pay the documented tuition amount within 60 days after receiving that proof.
Reimbursement for the Lindamood-Bell independent evaluation was denied because the assessment was never provided to the District and had no demonstrated impact on Student's education.
Reimbursement for private tutoring costs was denied because the parents did not submit sufficient documentation (invoices, receipts, or cancelled checks) to establish the amounts paid.

Why This Matters for Parents

A child doesn't have to be disruptive to need a behavioral assessment. The District argued that Student's behavior wasn't bad enough to require formal assessment because he wasn't acting out. The ALJ rejected this. Anxiety and withdrawal that prevent a child from participating in class are behavioral issues that require assessment and intervention, even if the child is quiet.
IEP goals must address all of a child's disability-related needs, not just the academic ones. The District wrote reading and communication goals but ignored Student's selective mutism for years. If your child has a behavioral or emotional condition that affects learning, insist that the IEP include specific, measurable goals to address it.
Districts must make multiple documented attempts to contact you before holding an IEP without you. California law does not allow a district to simply send one notice and proceed if you don't show up. If a district holds an IEP in your absence with only minimal notice and no other outreach, that is a significant procedural violation.
Keep records of everything you pay — or you may not be reimbursed. The ALJ ordered reimbursement for Prentice tuition but denied reimbursement for tutoring because the parents had no invoices or cancelled checks. Always save receipts, invoices, and proof of payment for any educational expenses you may later seek to recover.
Private school placement can be reimbursed when the district's program has failed, but the private school must be appropriate. The Prentice School was found appropriate because it addressed Student's specific needs — smaller class sizes, multi-sensory instruction, and strategies for managing anxiety. If you are considering a private placement, document why it meets your child's needs and why the district's program does not.