Los Gatos District Denied FAPE by Withholding Direct Speech Services for Autistic Student

A parent filed for due process against Los Gatos Union School District on behalf of a student with autism spectrum disorder, visual impairment, and communication deficits. The ALJ found the District denied FAPE in second grade by providing only consultation-based speech and language services when direct therapy was needed, and in third grade by failing to offer a math goal and adequate behavioral support. The student was awarded 54 hours of compensatory speech therapy, 20 hours of math tutoring, and 14 hours of behavioral/social skills therapy, but reimbursement for private school placement was denied.

What Happened

Student is a child with oculocutaneous albinism (a condition causing significant visual impairment), autism spectrum disorder (originally diagnosed as Asperger's Syndrome), anxiety, low muscle tone, and communication deficits. During second grade, Student was placed in a general education classroom for 96% of the school day and received only consultation-based speech and language services — 15 minutes, twice a month — with no direct speech therapy. By third grade, Student's emotional regulation deteriorated significantly, and his behavior escalated to verbal outbursts and physical aggression at school. The District convened an IEP meeting in November 2012 and added a behavior support plan, but failed to include a math goal or sufficient special education staff support to implement the plan. Parents, concerned that the District's program was insufficient, ultimately withdrew Student and placed him in a small private school. Parents then filed for due process seeking reimbursement for private school costs and a wide range of compensatory services.

The ALJ issued a mixed decision. The District prevailed on most issues — including academics in second grade, sensory motor therapy, vision services, extended school year, and the appropriateness of its general education placement. However, the parent prevailed on several significant issues: the District's failure to provide direct speech and language therapy in second grade, its failure to offer a math goal at the start of third grade, and its failure to provide adequate staff support to implement Student's behavior plan in third grade.

What the District Did Wrong

Withholding direct speech and language services in second grade. The District's speech and language pathologist provided only 15 minutes of consultation services twice a month. The ALJ found this was inadequate given Student's significant and well-documented communication, social skills, and self-help deficits. Even more critically, the pathologist was secretly providing some direct services "as needed" but never reported to the IEP team that Student needed direct therapy — depriving parents of the chance to advocate for those services. The ALJ found this was both a substantive FAPE denial and a procedural violation that meaningfully undermined parental participation.

Failing to offer a math goal and math instruction at the start of third grade. When Student began third grade and started struggling in math, the District did not add a math goal or specialized math instruction until seven months later in the May 2013 IEP. The ALJ found this delay denied Student a FAPE for those seven months.

Insufficient support to implement the behavior plan in third grade. After creating a behavior support plan in November 2012, the District allocated only two 30-minute consultation sessions per month across all of Student's specialists combined. With Student having verbal outbursts daily, the ALJ found it was unreasonable to leave the bulk of behavior plan implementation to the general education teacher alone.

What Was Ordered

54 hours of direct one-to-one and/or small group speech and language therapy by a licensed speech and language pathologist. (The base calculation of 18 hours was tripled to account for the lasting harm caused during this critical developmental period.)
20 hours of one-to-one academic instruction in math by a credentialed special education teacher.
14 hours of one-to-one and/or small group behavioral intervention and/or social skills therapy by a qualified behavior specialist.
All services must begin within 45 days and be delivered no later than June 30, 2016. Parents may choose the providers, subject to SELPA qualification criteria. District must directly fund the services or reimburse parents within 45 days of invoices.
Reimbursement for the private school placement and all other requested private services (tutoring, occupational therapy, social skills groups, summer camps) was denied.

Why This Matters for Parents

Ask your IEP team in writing: who is responsible for implementing each goal, and how often will they work directly with my child? In this case, the speech pathologist wrote goals but left implementation to the general education teacher. The ALJ found this was unreasonable for a student with significant communication deficits. Consultation services are not the same as direct therapy.
If a specialist is providing informal or "as needed" services, insist those be documented and included in the IEP. The speech pathologist here provided extra direct services without telling the IEP team. That hidden information prevented parents from knowing their child needed more — and the ALJ treated this as a serious procedural violation that undermined parental participation.
Compensatory education hours can be multiplied when the harm is serious and lasting. The ALJ tripled the baseline hours for speech therapy because second grade was a critical period and the lack of services had a cumulative negative effect into third grade. When advocating for compensatory services, document how the violation affected your child's development over time — not just in the moment.
A private school placement must be shown to be appropriate to qualify for reimbursement. Even though the District violated FAPE, the ALJ denied reimbursement because parents could not show the private school was providing an appropriate education — they couldn't describe the curriculum, the teacher's credentials, or Student's current grade level. Before enrolling privately, document why the placement is appropriate and gather evidence to support that claim.

What Happened

What the District Did Wrong

What Was Ordered

54 hours of direct one-to-one and/or small group speech and language therapy by a licensed speech and language pathologist. (The base calculation of 18 hours was tripled to account for the lasting harm caused during this critical developmental period.)
20 hours of one-to-one academic instruction in math by a credentialed special education teacher.
14 hours of one-to-one and/or small group behavioral intervention and/or social skills therapy by a qualified behavior specialist.
All services must begin within 45 days and be delivered no later than June 30, 2016. Parents may choose the providers, subject to SELPA qualification criteria. District must directly fund the services or reimburse parents within 45 days of invoices.
Reimbursement for the private school placement and all other requested private services (tutoring, occupational therapy, social skills groups, summer camps) was denied.

Why This Matters for Parents

Ask your IEP team in writing: who is responsible for implementing each goal, and how often will they work directly with my child? In this case, the speech pathologist wrote goals but left implementation to the general education teacher. The ALJ found this was unreasonable for a student with significant communication deficits. Consultation services are not the same as direct therapy.
If a specialist is providing informal or "as needed" services, insist those be documented and included in the IEP. The speech pathologist here provided extra direct services without telling the IEP team. That hidden information prevented parents from knowing their child needed more — and the ALJ treated this as a serious procedural violation that undermined parental participation.
Compensatory education hours can be multiplied when the harm is serious and lasting. The ALJ tripled the baseline hours for speech therapy because second grade was a critical period and the lack of services had a cumulative negative effect into third grade. When advocating for compensatory services, document how the violation affected your child's development over time — not just in the moment.
A private school placement must be shown to be appropriate to qualify for reimbursement. Even though the District violated FAPE, the ALJ denied reimbursement because parents could not show the private school was providing an appropriate education — they couldn't describe the curriculum, the teacher's credentials, or Student's current grade level. Before enrolling privately, document why the placement is appropriate and gather evidence to support that claim.