District Failed to Conduct Behavior Assessment After Student with Down Syndrome Eloped Off Campus

An 11-year-old student with Down syndrome attending Lawndale Elementary School District eloped off campus and nearly ran into heavy traffic in February 2008. Instead of conducting a required functional analysis assessment (FAA), the district barred her from school and tried to move her to a more restrictive non-public school. The ALJ found the district denied FAPE and ordered compensatory speech therapy and a proper behavioral assessment.

What Happened

The student is an 11-year-old girl with Down syndrome who had been enrolled in a special day class (SDC) at Franklin D. Roosevelt Elementary School in the Lawndale Elementary School District. She was eligible for special education under the category of mental retardation and had a documented history of "eloping" — running away from staff on school grounds — as well as hitting and non-compliance. The district had addressed these behaviors over the years with behavior support plans (BSPs) and assigned her a full-time one-on-one aide. On February 4, 2008, during lunch recess, the student ran off campus entirely, reached a public street near two heavily trafficked boulevards, and was stopped only by a bystander. She showed no understanding of the danger she was in.

After this incident, rather than conducting a functional analysis assessment (FAA) to understand and address the escalating behavior, the district barred the student from returning to her school. It provided only five hours per week of home instruction, suspended her speech and language and adapted physical education services, and then tried to change her placement to a non-public school (NPS) called Carousel — a more restrictive environment with no general education peers — without a proper IEP team meeting. The student's mother refused to consent to the NPS placement, and the student went without school-based services for approximately 21 weeks until a stay-put ruling in July 2008 required the district to let her return.

What the District Did Wrong

Failed to conduct a Functional Analysis Assessment (FAA). California law requires an FAA when a student's behavior is serious — meaning it is harmful to the student or others or significantly interferes with the IEP — and when existing behavior interventions have been ineffective. The February 4 off-campus elopement, where the student nearly ran into traffic, clearly met that standard. The district's own IEP history showed years of escalating behavior that existing BSPs had not resolved. The district had a legal obligation to conduct an FAA and never did.
Changed the student's placement without a proper IEP team meeting. The district's Special Education Coordinator unilaterally changed the student's placement to a non-public school at a February 21, 2008 meeting attended only by the coordinator, the mother, and a translator — with no special education teacher, no general education teacher, and no assessments to support the decision. This was a serious procedural violation.
Moved the student to a more restrictive environment without exploring less restrictive options. The district jumped straight to placing the student at Carousel NPS — which has no general education students, no typical peer interaction, and serves students up to age 22 — without first determining whether behavioral supports could meet her needs in the existing public school SDC. The district had no FAA on which to base a more restrictive placement decision.
Suspended related services without justification. When the student stopped attending school, the district unilaterally suspended speech and language services and adapted physical education. The district's own argument that services weren't provided because the student didn't come to school was rejected — because the district itself prevented her from returning. The February 7, 2008 IEP provided for four hours per month of speech and language therapy, which was never delivered during the 21-week period.
Kept the student out of school during stay-put. The operative IEP placed the student at Roosevelt SDC. The district's interpretation that the February 7 IEP meant home instruction was her only placement was rejected as inconsistent with the express language of the IEP document.

What Was Ordered

FAA and BIP required within 60 days. The district was ordered to conduct a functional analysis assessment and develop a behavior intervention plan to address the student's off-campus elopement behavior within 60 days of the decision.
Placement at Rogers Middle School confirmed. The student's placement was ordered to remain at Rogers Middle School (the stay-put public school SDC) through the end of the 2008–2009 school year and extended school year (ESY).
20 hours of compensatory speech and language therapy. The district was ordered to provide 20 hours of compensatory speech and language services through a nonpublic agency at the district's expense, to be delivered between the date of the decision and the end of the 2009 ESY. (The student requested 25 hours; the ALJ calculated approximately 20 hours based on the five-month service gap.)
Request for "permanent" public school placement denied. The ALJ declined to order a permanent placement at Rogers, noting that annual IEP requirements already govern future placement decisions.
Request for behavior-trained one-on-one aide denied without prejudice. The ALJ denied this request because no FAA or BIP had yet been developed; whether such an aide would be necessary would need to be addressed through the FAA/BIP process.

Why This Matters for Parents

A single serious incident can trigger the right to an FAA. If your child has a behavior that causes a safety emergency — especially one where existing supports clearly failed — you have the right to demand a functional analysis assessment. The district cannot simply move your child to a more restrictive school without first completing this assessment. Put your request for an FAA in writing immediately after any serious incident.
Districts cannot unilaterally change placement outside a proper IEP meeting. A valid IEP meeting requires the right team members, including at least one special or general education teacher. A one-on-one meeting between a parent and an administrator does not constitute a legal IEP team meeting for placement decisions. If someone at a school tells you they are "changing your child's placement," ask who is in the room — and whether a teacher is present.
Stay-put is a powerful protection. When a district tries to move your child to a more restrictive setting and you disagree, the law generally requires your child to remain in the last agreed-upon placement while the dispute is resolved. In this case, stay-put kept the student out of the non-public school and eventually got her back into a public school SDC. File for due process and invoke stay-put rights promptly if the district tries to change placement without your agreement.
Suspending related services is a FAPE violation — even if your child is not attending school. The district tried to excuse its failure to provide speech therapy by saying the student wasn't coming to school. The ALJ rejected this because the district itself was keeping the student away. If your child's services are being withheld for any reason, you may be entitled to compensatory services for every session missed.
More restrictive placement requires more justification, not less. Under the law, districts must educate students in the least restrictive environment. Moving a student from a public school SDC with mainstreaming opportunities to an NPS with no typical peers is a major step that requires solid evidence — including behavioral assessments — that a less restrictive setting cannot work. Courts and ALJs will scrutinize whether the district genuinely tried less restrictive options before escalating placement.

What Happened

What the District Did Wrong

Failed to conduct a Functional Analysis Assessment (FAA). California law requires an FAA when a student's behavior is serious — meaning it is harmful to the student or others or significantly interferes with the IEP — and when existing behavior interventions have been ineffective. The February 4 off-campus elopement, where the student nearly ran into traffic, clearly met that standard. The district's own IEP history showed years of escalating behavior that existing BSPs had not resolved. The district had a legal obligation to conduct an FAA and never did.
Changed the student's placement without a proper IEP team meeting. The district's Special Education Coordinator unilaterally changed the student's placement to a non-public school at a February 21, 2008 meeting attended only by the coordinator, the mother, and a translator — with no special education teacher, no general education teacher, and no assessments to support the decision. This was a serious procedural violation.
Moved the student to a more restrictive environment without exploring less restrictive options. The district jumped straight to placing the student at Carousel NPS — which has no general education students, no typical peer interaction, and serves students up to age 22 — without first determining whether behavioral supports could meet her needs in the existing public school SDC. The district had no FAA on which to base a more restrictive placement decision.
Suspended related services without justification. When the student stopped attending school, the district unilaterally suspended speech and language services and adapted physical education. The district's own argument that services weren't provided because the student didn't come to school was rejected — because the district itself prevented her from returning. The February 7, 2008 IEP provided for four hours per month of speech and language therapy, which was never delivered during the 21-week period.
Kept the student out of school during stay-put. The operative IEP placed the student at Roosevelt SDC. The district's interpretation that the February 7 IEP meant home instruction was her only placement was rejected as inconsistent with the express language of the IEP document.

What Was Ordered

FAA and BIP required within 60 days. The district was ordered to conduct a functional analysis assessment and develop a behavior intervention plan to address the student's off-campus elopement behavior within 60 days of the decision.
Placement at Rogers Middle School confirmed. The student's placement was ordered to remain at Rogers Middle School (the stay-put public school SDC) through the end of the 2008–2009 school year and extended school year (ESY).
20 hours of compensatory speech and language therapy. The district was ordered to provide 20 hours of compensatory speech and language services through a nonpublic agency at the district's expense, to be delivered between the date of the decision and the end of the 2009 ESY. (The student requested 25 hours; the ALJ calculated approximately 20 hours based on the five-month service gap.)
Request for "permanent" public school placement denied. The ALJ declined to order a permanent placement at Rogers, noting that annual IEP requirements already govern future placement decisions.
Request for behavior-trained one-on-one aide denied without prejudice. The ALJ denied this request because no FAA or BIP had yet been developed; whether such an aide would be necessary would need to be addressed through the FAA/BIP process.

Why This Matters for Parents

A single serious incident can trigger the right to an FAA. If your child has a behavior that causes a safety emergency — especially one where existing supports clearly failed — you have the right to demand a functional analysis assessment. The district cannot simply move your child to a more restrictive school without first completing this assessment. Put your request for an FAA in writing immediately after any serious incident.
Districts cannot unilaterally change placement outside a proper IEP meeting. A valid IEP meeting requires the right team members, including at least one special or general education teacher. A one-on-one meeting between a parent and an administrator does not constitute a legal IEP team meeting for placement decisions. If someone at a school tells you they are "changing your child's placement," ask who is in the room — and whether a teacher is present.
Stay-put is a powerful protection. When a district tries to move your child to a more restrictive setting and you disagree, the law generally requires your child to remain in the last agreed-upon placement while the dispute is resolved. In this case, stay-put kept the student out of the non-public school and eventually got her back into a public school SDC. File for due process and invoke stay-put rights promptly if the district tries to change placement without your agreement.
Suspending related services is a FAPE violation — even if your child is not attending school. The district tried to excuse its failure to provide speech therapy by saying the student wasn't coming to school. The ALJ rejected this because the district itself was keeping the student away. If your child's services are being withheld for any reason, you may be entitled to compensatory services for every session missed.
More restrictive placement requires more justification, not less. Under the law, districts must educate students in the least restrictive environment. Moving a student from a public school SDC with mainstreaming opportunities to an NPS with no typical peers is a major step that requires solid evidence — including behavioral assessments — that a less restrictive setting cannot work. Courts and ALJs will scrutinize whether the district genuinely tried less restrictive options before escalating placement.