Bellflower USD Failed Spanish-Speaking Family by Denying Assessments, Translations, and Related Services

A Spanish-speaking parent filed for due process against Bellflower Unified School District after her son spent years failing classes in general education without receiving speech therapy, counseling, or adequate assessments. The ALJ found that the district failed to assess Student in all areas of suspected disability, failed to translate IEP documents into Spanish, and conducted a flawed IEP meeting without required team members. The district was ordered to fund independent evaluations, 185 hours of compensatory services, and staff training.

What Happened

Student was a 14-year-old eighth grader with a specific learning disability who had been enrolled in Bellflower Unified School District since fourth grade. Spanish was the primary language spoken at home, and Parent had very limited English. From the beginning, Parent expressed concern about Student's inability to complete homework, his failing grades, and his declining self-esteem. Despite years of poor academic performance — Student was reading at a third-grade level by sixth grade and eventually failed all his core classes — the district kept Student in general education with only partial resource specialist support. Student was never offered speech-language therapy, even though his initial assessment had noted verbal-expressive deficits, and he was never offered school-based counseling despite clear signs of low self-esteem and emotional withdrawal. By 2016, an outside mental health provider diagnosed Student with depression, and a psychiatrist later identified attention deficit disorder.

Parent repeatedly asked the district for more help and eventually requested an IEP team meeting to discuss a change in placement. In May 2016, a school psychologist told Parent that Student needed to be reassessed but that no one was available. On the last day of the school year, a school psychologist called Parent in English — without an interpreter — to offer a special day class placement. That phone call was then documented as a formal IEP team meeting, even though no general education teacher or special education teacher was present, and Parent never received a Spanish translation of the amendment she signed. Parent filed for due process in October 2016.

What the District Did Wrong

The ALJ found multiple serious violations. First, the district failed to assess Student in all areas of suspected disability. Despite years of teacher reports about Student's inability to focus, reluctance to participate, and communication difficulties, the district never conducted a speech-language assessment or a reassessment of Student's psychoeducational functioning. When those assessments were finally conducted in 2017, they revealed that Student had severe delays in expressive vocabulary and pragmatic language skills, depression, and attention deficit disorder — all of which had been present for years.

Second, the IEPs of January 2015 and January 2016 denied Student a FAPE by failing to develop goals in all areas of need, failing to offer speech-language therapy or school-based counseling, and placing Student in general education without adequate support when he was failing every class. The district blamed Student's poor performance on his own lack of effort — his inability to focus, complete homework, or use a planner — when those very behaviors were symptoms of his unidentified disabilities.

Third, the June 16, 2016 IEP meeting was conducted improperly. The phone call was held in English without an interpreter, despite Parent speaking only Spanish. No general education teacher or special education teacher was present, both of which are required by law when placement is being discussed. The written amendment falsely stated that IEP team members had reviewed and agreed to the notes. Parent signed documents she could not read.

Throughout the period at issue, the district also failed to provide Parent with Spanish translations of any IEP documents — a 20- to 21-page document was simply handed to her with a brief verbal summary through an interpreter, but never translated in writing.

What Was Ordered

The district must fund independent educational evaluations (IEEs) in both speech-language and psychoeducation (including cognitive, academic, attention, and social-emotional functioning), performed by assessors chosen by Parent.
The district must fund 87 hours of compensatory speech-language therapy.
The district must fund 70 hours of compensatory specialized academic instruction.
The district must fund 28 hours of compensatory mental health counseling services.
Compensatory services may be delivered by providers of Parent's choice, outside school hours, and Parent is entitled to mileage reimbursement for transportation.
The district must provide Spanish translations of all IEPs and IEP amendments going back to February 2014 within 60 days.
The district must provide six hours of staff training within 90 days on topics including when assessments are required, how to properly conduct IEP meetings, and how to ensure meaningful participation by parents whose primary language is not English.

Why This Matters for Parents

If your child is failing classes year after year, the district has an obligation to reassess — not just add more minutes of the same services. In this case, the district responded to Student's consistent failure by increasing group instruction and blaming Student's work habits. The ALJ found this was not enough. When a student is not making progress, the district must investigate why, including through updated assessments.
You have the right to IEP documents translated into your primary language. Having an interpreter at the meeting is not a substitute for receiving a written translation. The ALJ found that providing a 20-page IEP in English to a Spanish-speaking parent — even with verbal interpretation — significantly blocked Parent's ability to participate in decision-making.
A phone call without an interpreter cannot be used to make major placement decisions. The district tried to characterize a brief English-only phone call as a formal IEP team meeting. The ALJ rejected this, finding that Parent could not give meaningful consent to anything discussed in a language she did not understand.
IEP meetings about placement changes must include both a general education teacher and a special education teacher. These are not optional. When a district skips required team members, it deprives the parent of important expertise — and that absence alone can be enough to constitute a denial of FAPE.
Unidentified disabilities can look like behavior problems. Student's inattention, failure to turn in homework, and reluctance to participate in class were repeatedly treated as attitude issues. They were actually symptoms of ADD and depression — conditions the district never assessed for. If your child's teachers are describing behaviors like these, you can request that the district assess for attention disorders and social-emotional functioning.

What Happened

What the District Did Wrong

What Was Ordered

The district must fund independent educational evaluations (IEEs) in both speech-language and psychoeducation (including cognitive, academic, attention, and social-emotional functioning), performed by assessors chosen by Parent.
The district must fund 87 hours of compensatory speech-language therapy.
The district must fund 70 hours of compensatory specialized academic instruction.
The district must fund 28 hours of compensatory mental health counseling services.
Compensatory services may be delivered by providers of Parent's choice, outside school hours, and Parent is entitled to mileage reimbursement for transportation.
The district must provide Spanish translations of all IEPs and IEP amendments going back to February 2014 within 60 days.
The district must provide six hours of staff training within 90 days on topics including when assessments are required, how to properly conduct IEP meetings, and how to ensure meaningful participation by parents whose primary language is not English.

Why This Matters for Parents

If your child is failing classes year after year, the district has an obligation to reassess — not just add more minutes of the same services. In this case, the district responded to Student's consistent failure by increasing group instruction and blaming Student's work habits. The ALJ found this was not enough. When a student is not making progress, the district must investigate why, including through updated assessments.
You have the right to IEP documents translated into your primary language. Having an interpreter at the meeting is not a substitute for receiving a written translation. The ALJ found that providing a 20-page IEP in English to a Spanish-speaking parent — even with verbal interpretation — significantly blocked Parent's ability to participate in decision-making.
A phone call without an interpreter cannot be used to make major placement decisions. The district tried to characterize a brief English-only phone call as a formal IEP team meeting. The ALJ rejected this, finding that Parent could not give meaningful consent to anything discussed in a language she did not understand.
IEP meetings about placement changes must include both a general education teacher and a special education teacher. These are not optional. When a district skips required team members, it deprives the parent of important expertise — and that absence alone can be enough to constitute a denial of FAPE.
Unidentified disabilities can look like behavior problems. Student's inattention, failure to turn in homework, and reluctance to participate in class were repeatedly treated as attitude issues. They were actually symptoms of ADD and depression — conditions the district never assessed for. If your child's teachers are describing behaviors like these, you can request that the district assess for attention disorders and social-emotional functioning.