District Loses Track of Student in Private School, Owes 2/3 of $114K Alpine Academy Costs

A highly intelligent student with a processing speed disorder, anxiety, and emotional disturbance attended a private high school within Sequoia Union High School District's boundaries for two years without the district maintaining any contact or offering IEPs. When her mental health deteriorated and parents privately placed her in a Utah residential treatment program, the district had no offer of FAPE ready. The ALJ found multiple FAPE denials and ordered the district to reimburse parents two-thirds of their $114,657.93 in private placement costs, reduced because parents also failed to give required 10-day notice before the private placement.

What Happened

Student was a highly intelligent young woman with a severe processing speed disorder — she scored in the 98th percentile for overall cognition but only the 4th percentile for processing speed — combined with an anxiety disorder, social phobia, and depression. She had been receiving special education services under the category of Specific Learning Disability since third grade in Menlo Park City School District. When she was set to enter ninth grade at Menlo-Atherton High School (within Sequoia Union), she visited the campus and refused to attend. Parents enrolled her instead at Mid-Peninsula High School, a private school within the district's boundaries, and notified Sequoia Union. The district forwarded her special education file to the private school and then did nothing — no annual IEPs, no triennial assessments, no contact with parents — for two full years. During that time, Student's mental health deteriorated severely: she fell further behind, was hospitalized after a self-harm incident, eventually stopped attending classes, and was placed by her parents in a wilderness program in Utah in May 2013 when they feared another crisis.

Parents re-enrolled Student in the district in June 2013 and requested a comprehensive assessment. The district told parents the process would not begin until the school year started in August, and ultimately did not provide a written IEP offer until January 21, 2014 — seven months after parents' assessment request and six weeks after the December 10, 2013 IEP meeting. By then, parents had already privately placed Student at Alpine Academy, a California-certified non-public residential treatment school in Utah. The ALJ found the district had denied Student a FAPE on multiple grounds, but also found that parents failed to give the required 10-day advance notice before placing Student at Alpine Academy. As a result, reimbursement was reduced by one-third, with the district ordered to pay two-thirds of the documented private placement costs.

What the District Did Wrong

Failed child find obligations (Issue 1b): Once Student enrolled at private Mid-Peninsula High School within the district's boundaries, Sequoia Union was required to maintain contact, offer annual and triennial IEPs, and remain "ready, willing, and able" to serve her. The district's own former program specialist testified this was district practice — yet the district did nothing for two years. It did not review Student's file, access her electronic records, or contact parents once between April 2011 and June 2013.
Failed to timely assess after parents' written request (Issue 2): Parents submitted a detailed written request for a comprehensive special education assessment on June 21, 2013. The district told parents the assessment process would not start until school reopened in August and did not provide a complete written IEP offer until January 21, 2014 — far beyond the legally required timelines.
Failed to have an IEP in place at the start of the 2013-2014 school year (Issue 3a): When a student with an IEP re-enrolls in a public school district, the district is obligated to provide an "administrative IEP placement" at the start of the school year. The district made no such offer.
Failed to make a specific written offer of placement at the December 10, 2013 IEP meeting (Issue 3c): The December 10, 2013 IEP meeting produced only a vague oral offer. The written IEP offer that followed on January 21, 2014 differed materially — including changing the percentage of time in general education from 97% to just 10% — and was delayed nearly six weeks. This was not harmless error; it directly impeded parents' ability to meaningfully participate in placement decisions and constituted a substantive denial of FAPE.
Failed to provide parents a complete written IEP document for nearly three months (Issue 3d): Parents did not receive the complete written IEP document from the December 10, 2013 meeting until March 7, 2014, a delay the ALJ found impeded parental participation.

What Was Ordered

The district is ordered to reimburse parents $76,438.62 within 60 days of the decision — representing two-thirds of the $114,657.93 parents paid for Student's placement at Alpine Academy (covering tuition of $107,744, parents' travel of $5,106.33, and Student's travel of $1,807.60).
The remaining one-third ($38,219.31) was not reimbursed because parents failed to give the district at least 10 business days' advance written notice of their intent to privately place Student at Alpine Academy, as required by IDEA and California Education Code.
No additional compensatory education or other services were ordered, as Student had already graduated and did not seek further special education placement.

Why This Matters for Parents

Always give 10-day written notice before a private placement — even in a crisis. Federal and California law allow reimbursement to be reduced or denied entirely if parents don't notify the district in writing at least 10 business days before removing a child for private placement. In this case, parents lost one-third of over $114,000 because they skipped this step. If your child needs emergency placement, put your concerns in writing to the district immediately and be as specific as possible about timing and urgency.
If your child attends a private school within a district's boundaries, that district still owes your child child find obligations. The district cannot simply forward a file and walk away. It must maintain contact, offer annual IEPs, and remain prepared to serve eligible students. If your district has gone silent since your child enrolled in private school, send a written request asking the district to schedule an IEP meeting and assess your child.
A written, specific IEP offer is a legal requirement — a vague oral discussion at a meeting is not enough. The district's failure to put a clear, complete written offer in the IEP document on the day of the meeting — and the fact that the written version differed dramatically from what was discussed — was a serious procedural violation that denied parents their right to meaningfully participate. If you leave an IEP meeting without a written offer you can review and respond to, follow up in writing immediately requesting one.
Districts must have a plan ready when a student with an IEP re-enrolls — not months later. When a student who previously had an IEP comes back into public school, the district must have services in place at the start, not after a lengthy assessment process. If your child is returning to a public district after private school, request in writing — well before the school year starts — that the district have an interim or administrative IEP placement ready on day one.
Document everything about your child's private placement costs. Reimbursement in cases like this depends entirely on documented receipts and records. This family recovered nearly $76,500 because they kept detailed documentation of tuition, travel for family visits, and student transportation. If you are privately placing your child due to a district's failure to provide FAPE, keep every invoice, receipt, and record of payment organized from the start.

What Happened

What the District Did Wrong

Failed child find obligations (Issue 1b): Once Student enrolled at private Mid-Peninsula High School within the district's boundaries, Sequoia Union was required to maintain contact, offer annual and triennial IEPs, and remain "ready, willing, and able" to serve her. The district's own former program specialist testified this was district practice — yet the district did nothing for two years. It did not review Student's file, access her electronic records, or contact parents once between April 2011 and June 2013.
Failed to timely assess after parents' written request (Issue 2): Parents submitted a detailed written request for a comprehensive special education assessment on June 21, 2013. The district told parents the assessment process would not start until school reopened in August and did not provide a complete written IEP offer until January 21, 2014 — far beyond the legally required timelines.
Failed to have an IEP in place at the start of the 2013-2014 school year (Issue 3a): When a student with an IEP re-enrolls in a public school district, the district is obligated to provide an "administrative IEP placement" at the start of the school year. The district made no such offer.
Failed to make a specific written offer of placement at the December 10, 2013 IEP meeting (Issue 3c): The December 10, 2013 IEP meeting produced only a vague oral offer. The written IEP offer that followed on January 21, 2014 differed materially — including changing the percentage of time in general education from 97% to just 10% — and was delayed nearly six weeks. This was not harmless error; it directly impeded parents' ability to meaningfully participate in placement decisions and constituted a substantive denial of FAPE.
Failed to provide parents a complete written IEP document for nearly three months (Issue 3d): Parents did not receive the complete written IEP document from the December 10, 2013 meeting until March 7, 2014, a delay the ALJ found impeded parental participation.

What Was Ordered

The district is ordered to reimburse parents $76,438.62 within 60 days of the decision — representing two-thirds of the $114,657.93 parents paid for Student's placement at Alpine Academy (covering tuition of $107,744, parents' travel of $5,106.33, and Student's travel of $1,807.60).
The remaining one-third ($38,219.31) was not reimbursed because parents failed to give the district at least 10 business days' advance written notice of their intent to privately place Student at Alpine Academy, as required by IDEA and California Education Code.
No additional compensatory education or other services were ordered, as Student had already graduated and did not seek further special education placement.

Why This Matters for Parents

Always give 10-day written notice before a private placement — even in a crisis. Federal and California law allow reimbursement to be reduced or denied entirely if parents don't notify the district in writing at least 10 business days before removing a child for private placement. In this case, parents lost one-third of over $114,000 because they skipped this step. If your child needs emergency placement, put your concerns in writing to the district immediately and be as specific as possible about timing and urgency.
If your child attends a private school within a district's boundaries, that district still owes your child child find obligations. The district cannot simply forward a file and walk away. It must maintain contact, offer annual IEPs, and remain prepared to serve eligible students. If your district has gone silent since your child enrolled in private school, send a written request asking the district to schedule an IEP meeting and assess your child.
A written, specific IEP offer is a legal requirement — a vague oral discussion at a meeting is not enough. The district's failure to put a clear, complete written offer in the IEP document on the day of the meeting — and the fact that the written version differed dramatically from what was discussed — was a serious procedural violation that denied parents their right to meaningfully participate. If you leave an IEP meeting without a written offer you can review and respond to, follow up in writing immediately requesting one.
Districts must have a plan ready when a student with an IEP re-enrolls — not months later. When a student who previously had an IEP comes back into public school, the district must have services in place at the start, not after a lengthy assessment process. If your child is returning to a public district after private school, request in writing — well before the school year starts — that the district have an interim or administrative IEP placement ready on day one.
Document everything about your child's private placement costs. Reimbursement in cases like this depends entirely on documented receipts and records. This family recovered nearly $76,500 because they kept detailed documentation of tuition, travel for family visits, and student transportation. If you are privately placing your child due to a district's failure to provide FAPE, keep every invoice, receipt, and record of payment organized from the start.