LAUSD Failed to Offer Residential Placement in Foster Youth's IEP, Owes Compensatory Services

A 15-year-old foster youth with emotional disturbance was placed at a locked residential treatment facility, but Los Angeles Unified failed to include residential placement in her IEPs and predetermined placement decisions without meaningful parent participation. On remand from federal district court, the ALJ ordered LAUSD to amend both IEPs to include residential placement and awarded compensatory tutoring and counseling services to make up for the disrupted transition the Student experienced when she was abruptly discharged without any transition planning.

What Happened

Student was a foster youth with a long history of trauma, emotional disturbance, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and ADHD. From April 2013 through January 2015, she lived at a locked, level 14 residential treatment facility (Vista Del Mar) and attended the locked nonpublic school on campus — a placement arranged by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), not by LAUSD. At IEP meetings held in February 2014 and October 2014, LAUSD never discussed or offered residential placement as an educational placement option, and at the October 2014 meeting, the district effectively predetermined that Student would not receive a residential placement for educational purposes. A federal district court later found these failures violated the IDEA and denied Student a free appropriate public education (FAPE). The case was sent back to the ALJ to determine what remedies Student was owed.

In January 2015, DCFS discharged Student from the locked Vista residence without any IEP team meeting, any prior written notice from LAUSD, or any transition planning. Student's discharge was chaotic: she ran away from her first placement, spent days with an unknown whereabouts, and eventually landed in a temporary group home before settling at another facility. During this 39-day period, she missed eight days of school entirely and 11 days of math instruction, and received no transition services to help her adjust.

What the District Did Wrong

1. Failing to offer residential placement in the IEPs. LAUSD's February 2014 and October 2014 IEPs did not include any offer of residential placement for educational purposes, even though Student's own neuropsychologist recommended she remain in a locked level 14 facility. The federal district court found this was a FAPE violation, and the ALJ on remand was directed to determine appropriate relief.

2. Predetermining placement. At the October 2014 IEP meeting, LAUSD improperly predetermined that Student would not receive a residential placement, cutting off meaningful discussion before it could happen. This denied Student's Educational Rights Holder the chance to meaningfully participate in one of the most important decisions an IEP team can make.

3. Failing to provide transition planning before discharge. Because LAUSD never included residential placement in Student's IEP, it was never included in the DCFS decision-making process when Student was discharged. Had residential placement been in the IEP, LAUSD would have been required to issue prior written notice of the placement change and convene an IEP meeting to plan the transition — especially critical given Student's documented history of struggling with changes in routine. Instead, Student was discharged with no transition services at all, and her life and education were severely disrupted for nearly six weeks.

What Was Ordered

LAUSD must amend Student's February 26, 2014 IEP to include placement at a California certified residential treatment center.
LAUSD must amend Student's October 21, 2014 IEP to include placement at a California certified residential treatment center.
LAUSD must fund 8 hours of specialized academic instruction in reading (with emphasis on reading comprehension) from a California certified nonpublic agency chosen by Student.
LAUSD must fund 11 hours of specialized academic instruction in math from a California certified nonpublic agency chosen by Student.
LAUSD must fund 8 hours of specialized academic instruction in writing from a California certified nonpublic agency chosen by Student.
LAUSD must fund 90 minutes per week of counseling for six weeks from a California certified nonpublic agency, delivered in two to three sessions per week at Student's option.
LAUSD must pay for round-trip transportation (at the IRS rate) for Student to access all of the above services.
Student's request for large-scale compensatory hours mirroring what she would have received at the locked facility was denied, as was her request for district-wide staff training.

Why This Matters for Parents

IEPs must reflect what a student actually needs — not just where the district has already decided to place them. When LAUSD failed to even discuss residential placement at the IEP meeting, it took away the family's ability to advocate for that option. If a district enters an IEP meeting with its mind already made up, that is called predetermination and it is a legal violation. Parents should speak up — and document — any time they feel the district has already decided the outcome before the meeting begins.
Foster youth have extra protections, but they require coordination between systems. This case shows how the education system and the child welfare system can fail to communicate. When a student's residential placement is controlled by DCFS or another agency, the school district still has legal obligations — including issuing written notice and holding an IEP meeting — before a placement change that affects the student's education. Parents and educational rights holders of foster youth should insist that school districts be part of any discharge or transition planning process.
Transition planning is a legal requirement, not a courtesy. Student's chaotic discharge — running away, unknown whereabouts, and days without school — was directly linked to LAUSD's failure to plan for the transition. Students with disabilities who have documented histories of struggling with change are especially entitled to transition planning when their living situation changes. If your child is about to experience a major change in placement, ask the district in writing to convene an IEP meeting before the change happens.
Compensatory education awards are tied to actual student needs, not a formula. The ALJ rejected Student's request for hundreds of hours of compensatory services because the evidence did not support that she would have remained in the locked facility. Instead, the ALJ awarded a modest but targeted package of tutoring and counseling tied to what Student actually missed and currently needed. Parents should come to hearings with evidence of their child's current educational needs, not just a calculation of lost hours.

What Happened

What the District Did Wrong

What Was Ordered

LAUSD must amend Student's February 26, 2014 IEP to include placement at a California certified residential treatment center.
LAUSD must amend Student's October 21, 2014 IEP to include placement at a California certified residential treatment center.
LAUSD must fund 8 hours of specialized academic instruction in reading (with emphasis on reading comprehension) from a California certified nonpublic agency chosen by Student.
LAUSD must fund 11 hours of specialized academic instruction in math from a California certified nonpublic agency chosen by Student.
LAUSD must fund 8 hours of specialized academic instruction in writing from a California certified nonpublic agency chosen by Student.
LAUSD must fund 90 minutes per week of counseling for six weeks from a California certified nonpublic agency, delivered in two to three sessions per week at Student's option.
LAUSD must pay for round-trip transportation (at the IRS rate) for Student to access all of the above services.
Student's request for large-scale compensatory hours mirroring what she would have received at the locked facility was denied, as was her request for district-wide staff training.

Why This Matters for Parents

IEPs must reflect what a student actually needs — not just where the district has already decided to place them. When LAUSD failed to even discuss residential placement at the IEP meeting, it took away the family's ability to advocate for that option. If a district enters an IEP meeting with its mind already made up, that is called predetermination and it is a legal violation. Parents should speak up — and document — any time they feel the district has already decided the outcome before the meeting begins.
Foster youth have extra protections, but they require coordination between systems. This case shows how the education system and the child welfare system can fail to communicate. When a student's residential placement is controlled by DCFS or another agency, the school district still has legal obligations — including issuing written notice and holding an IEP meeting — before a placement change that affects the student's education. Parents and educational rights holders of foster youth should insist that school districts be part of any discharge or transition planning process.
Transition planning is a legal requirement, not a courtesy. Student's chaotic discharge — running away, unknown whereabouts, and days without school — was directly linked to LAUSD's failure to plan for the transition. Students with disabilities who have documented histories of struggling with change are especially entitled to transition planning when their living situation changes. If your child is about to experience a major change in placement, ask the district in writing to convene an IEP meeting before the change happens.
Compensatory education awards are tied to actual student needs, not a formula. The ALJ rejected Student's request for hundreds of hours of compensatory services because the evidence did not support that she would have remained in the locked facility. Instead, the ALJ awarded a modest but targeted package of tutoring and counseling tied to what Student actually missed and currently needed. Parents should come to hearings with evidence of their child's current educational needs, not just a calculation of lost hours.