CCS Must Be Named in the IEP When Its Physical Therapy Is Also Educationally Necessary

A seven-year-old student with Fukuyama muscular dystrophy received physical therapy from both California Children's Services (CCS) and his school district, but CCS refused to be named as a provider in his IEP. The ALJ found that because CCS's medically necessary services were also educationally necessary, CCS was legally obligated to be included in the IEP as a provider. CCS was ordered to request an IEP meeting and be added as the physical therapy provider within two weeks.

What Happened

Student was a seven-year-old first grader diagnosed with Fukuyama muscular dystrophy, a progressive condition causing severe muscle weakness, intellectual disability, and near-total dependence on adaptive equipment for any movement. He could not walk without assistance, required an adaptive stroller to move around campus, and needed specialized seating, prone standers, and a reciprocating gait orthosis just to participate in classroom activities. Every aspect of his school day — from holding his head up to attend a lesson, to moving across a room — depended on physical therapy and adaptive devices.

Since moving to California in 2013, California Children's Services (CCS) had been providing Student with medically necessary physical therapy twice a week, along with equipment and training for school staff. His previous school district (Fullerton) had also included physical therapy as an educationally necessary service in his IEP. When Student transferred to a new district (Placentia-Yorba Linda) in 2014, the new IEP team dropped direct physical therapy services entirely and replaced them with monthly consultation — relying on CCS to fill the gap without formally naming CCS in the IEP. Parent asked that CCS's goals and services be written into the IEP, particularly because the family was considering moving out of state and feared a new state would not honor services that weren't documented. CCS refused, arguing it was only responsible for medically necessary services, not educationally necessary ones. Parent filed a due process complaint against both the district and CCS. The case against the district was settled; the hearing proceeded against CCS alone.

What CCS Did Wrong

CCS argued that determining educational necessity was the school district's job, and since Placentia-Yorba Linda's IEP did not formally list physical therapy as educationally necessary, CCS had no obligation to appear in the IEP. The ALJ rejected this reasoning. The evidence showed that the school district had effectively handed off educational physical therapy to CCS — the IEP itself stated CCS was handling "walking goals" and told school staff not to duplicate them. The district eliminated direct physical therapy from the IEP precisely because CCS was providing it.

The ALJ found that CCS's own guidelines acknowledged an obligation to provide services in the IEP when therapy is both medically and educationally necessary — and that this situation arises when a student needs mobility and orientation goals. Student's six CCS therapy goals were all about mobility and orientation. CCS's own director confirmed this overlap occurs in about five percent of IEPs CCS attends, and that in those cases CCS is named as the IEP provider. Student clearly fell within that category. The October 2014 IEP's failure to include CCS as a provider — and to include physical therapy goals — denied Student a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

What Was Ordered

Within two weeks of the decision, CCS must request an IEP meeting for Student for the purpose of being added as the physical therapy service provider.
CCS must attend that IEP meeting.
CCS's goals and services from Student's medical therapy plan must be incorporated into the IEP, congruent with what CCS had already determined was medically necessary.

Why This Matters for Parents

When a state agency like CCS is already providing therapy your child needs at school, that service can and should appear in the IEP. California law requires CCS to be named as the IEP service provider when its medically necessary therapy is also educationally necessary. If your child's school is simply deferring to CCS without putting it in writing, that gap can cost your child services — especially if you move.
"We don't duplicate services" is not a valid excuse for leaving therapy out of the IEP. CCS's own policy recognizes that when medical and educational needs overlap, CCS becomes the IEP provider. If CCS is already providing therapy that helps your child function at school, parents can insist that CCS be formally written into the IEP.
Document everything before you move. Parent in this case was entirely correct to worry about moving out of state. A receiving IEP team in another state is only obligated to implement what is written in the IEP. If critical services are being provided informally or by a California-specific agency not named in the document, they may simply disappear after a move.
Parents have full due process rights against CCS, not just school districts. Many parents don't realize they can file a due process complaint directly against CCS. Under California law, all of the IDEA's procedural protections apply equally to CCS and school districts. If CCS refuses to include itself in your child's IEP when it should, you have the right to challenge that refusal at a hearing.

What Happened

What CCS Did Wrong

What Was Ordered

Within two weeks of the decision, CCS must request an IEP meeting for Student for the purpose of being added as the physical therapy service provider.
CCS must attend that IEP meeting.
CCS's goals and services from Student's medical therapy plan must be incorporated into the IEP, congruent with what CCS had already determined was medically necessary.

Why This Matters for Parents

When a state agency like CCS is already providing therapy your child needs at school, that service can and should appear in the IEP. California law requires CCS to be named as the IEP service provider when its medically necessary therapy is also educationally necessary. If your child's school is simply deferring to CCS without putting it in writing, that gap can cost your child services — especially if you move.
"We don't duplicate services" is not a valid excuse for leaving therapy out of the IEP. CCS's own policy recognizes that when medical and educational needs overlap, CCS becomes the IEP provider. If CCS is already providing therapy that helps your child function at school, parents can insist that CCS be formally written into the IEP.
Document everything before you move. Parent in this case was entirely correct to worry about moving out of state. A receiving IEP team in another state is only obligated to implement what is written in the IEP. If critical services are being provided informally or by a California-specific agency not named in the document, they may simply disappear after a move.
Parents have full due process rights against CCS, not just school districts. Many parents don't realize they can file a due process complaint directly against CCS. Under California law, all of the IDEA's procedural protections apply equally to CCS and school districts. If CCS refuses to include itself in your child's IEP when it should, you have the right to challenge that refusal at a hearing.