Compton USD Failed to Implement IEP Services for Foster Youth, Owes 205 Hours of Tutoring

What Happened

Student was a 17-year-old foster youth eligible for special education under two disability categories: Other Health Impairment (OHI) due to ADHD, and Specific Learning Disability (SLD) due to deficits in visual processing and math reasoning. He transferred to Compton Unified School District in June 2009, bringing with him a current IEP from his previous district (LAUSD) that included weekly counseling and intensive Resource Specialist Program (RSP) support in reading and math. When Student enrolled at Dominguez Hills High School, the district was put on notice immediately that he was a special education student with an active IEP. Despite this, the district did not begin providing RSP services until January 26, 2010 — nearly five months after the school year started — and did not begin providing counseling services until February 25, 2010.

Student's foster parent and educational consultant repeatedly raised concerns throughout the year about his failing grades, chronic truancy, and lack of progress. An IEP meeting that should have been held within 30 days of enrollment was not convened until January 22, 2010, and even that meeting could not proceed because the district failed to notify Student's grandmother, who still held his educational rights. When a full IEP was finally developed and the district agreed to provide an Additional Adult Assistant (AAA) to help Student attend class and complete work, the district never actually provided that aide during the 2010-2011 school year. Student eventually left the district when he was moved to a new foster placement outside district boundaries.

What the District Did Wrong

The ALJ found six separate violations of Student's right to a FAPE. First, the district failed to convene a required 30-day IEP after Student's transfer and failed to have any IEP in effect at the start of the 2009-2010 school year. This left Student without a legally valid educational program for months. Second, the district failed to provide DIS counseling services from the date of enrollment through February 25, 2010 — a gap of nearly 24 weeks. Third, the district failed to provide RSP support from enrollment through January 26, 2010, leaving Student without the reading and math help his previous IEP required for approximately 20 weeks.

Fourth, even after the February 18, 2010 IEP was put in place, the district failed to implement the RSP services correctly — logs showed Student missed approximately 25 sessions that were required under the IEP. Fifth, the June 2010 IEP improperly reduced DIS counseling from once per week to once per month, despite teacher reports showing Student's classroom behaviors and academic struggles continued and actually warranted the same level of support. The ALJ found this reduction was not supported by the evidence. Sixth, the district promised an Additional Adult Assistant in the June 2010 IEP but never provided one, leaving Student without critical academic and behavioral support for approximately 34 weeks of school.

The ALJ rejected several of the parent's other claims. The district was found not liable for failing to assess Student for SLD earlier or for speech and language needs, and the ALJ upheld the district's IEP goals in reading and math as appropriate given what the team knew at the time. The placement in general education with RSP support was also found to be the correct least restrictive environment.

What Was Ordered

1. Compton Unified School District must pay for 205 hours of compensatory academic tutoring from a non-public agency (NPA) such as Sylvan Learning Center.
2. The tutoring services must be accessed within two years of the date of the order.
3. Services are only available while Student is enrolled in and actively attending school.
4. Any hours not used within the two-year window are forfeited.
5. The district is not responsible for transportation to tutoring services.
6. All other requests for relief — including compensatory counseling, dance therapy, and reimbursement for the full 2010-2011 school year — were denied.

Why This Matters for Parents

1. A district must implement your child's IEP from day one of enrollment, even if it was written by another district. When a student transfers, the new district must provide services comparable to the prior IEP within 30 days — it cannot simply wait months to hold a meeting. Document the transfer date and immediately ask in writing what services will begin and when.

2. If the district agrees to provide something in an IEP — such as an aide — the failure to actually deliver that service is a FAPE violation, not just a paperwork problem. Courts have held that material failures to implement IEP services can entitle a student to compensatory education even without proof of specific educational harm. Keep logs and request written confirmation when promised services are not showing up.

3. Reducing services requires real evidence, not just optimism. The district here tried to cut counseling from weekly to monthly based on an assessment suggesting some behavioral improvement. But the ALJ found this was contradicted by teacher reports and Student's grades. If a district proposes to reduce your child's services at an IEP meeting, ask them to point to specific data that justifies the reduction — and push back if the evidence doesn't match.

4. Foster youth with educational rights holders face unique procedural risks. In this case, a critical IEP meeting was derailed because the district didn't know who held the student's educational rights and failed to notify the correct person. If your child is in foster care, make sure the district has current documentation of who holds educational rights and that the correct person receives all IEP notices.