Irvine USD Ordered to Reimburse $108K for Texas Placement After Failing to Address Severe Behaviors and Sleep

A student with Down syndrome and autism attending Irvine Unified School District was placed by her parents in a residential treatment school in Texas after the district repeatedly failed to address her escalating physical aggression, elopement, and property destruction. The ALJ found the district denied the student a FAPE by failing to update her behavioral program when she was clearly not making progress, failing to address her sleeping up to four hours per school day, and failing to provide adequate occupational therapy. The district was ordered to reimburse parents over $108,000 in tuition and travel costs for the private placement.

What Happened

Student was a teenager with Down syndrome and autism, also diagnosed with severe mood disorder, ADHD, intermittent explosive disorder, and sleep apnea. She had been in Irvine Unified's special day class program since middle school, working toward a certificate of completion and vocational skills. Her IEP included a behavior intervention plan targeting physical aggression, property destruction, and elopement — behaviors that had dramatically improved between 2009 and early 2015, dropping from dozens of incidents per day to fewer than one or two per week. But starting in early 2015, her behaviors sharply escalated again. By January and February 2016, she was exhibiting over 80 acts of physical aggression and nearly 50 acts of property destruction per month. She also began sleeping up to four hours of her six-and-a-half-hour school day, beginning as early as 2014, with no medical investigation or IEP response. In June 2016, Parents privately placed Student at Bayes Achievement Academy, a residential school in Texas, and filed for due process seeking reimbursement for that placement.

The case covered nine separate IEPs developed between November 2014 and March 2017. Parents argued the district failed to appropriately address Student's behaviors, sleep issues, and occupational therapy needs across all of those IEPs. The hearing lasted nine days and resulted in a split decision: Student won on several key issues, and the district prevailed on others.

What the District Did Wrong

Behavioral services (IEPs from September 2015 onward): By the start of 10th grade, it was clear Student was not making progress on her behavioral goals — she was exhibiting one or more target behaviors nearly every school day, and her behavior frequency had dramatically increased compared to prior years. Despite this, the district's February 2016 IEP set more ambitious behavioral goals without making any meaningful changes to Student's placement, services, or behavioral supports. The district simply rewrote the goals to be harder to achieve while leaving unchanged the program that had already failed. The June 2016 and September 2016 IEPs made no changes at all. The ALJ found these IEPs denied Student a FAPE by failing to modify the program in response to her lack of progress.

Sleeping in school: From early 2014 onward, Student was sleeping for significant portions of her school day — eventually up to four hours daily. The district was aware of this from the start, but across multiple IEPs never assessed the medical cause, never formally addressed it in Student's IEP, and simply allowed her to sleep undisturbed. By the September 2015 IEP, Student was sleeping on all but two days of the first week of school. The ALJ found the district's failure to assess the cause of Student's sleep or offer any services to address it — starting with the September 2015 IEP — denied Student a FAPE.

Occupational therapy: In February 2014, the district switched Student from direct occupational therapy services (working one-on-one with the therapist) to a consultation model where the therapist only advised teachers. By September 2014, Student had clearly regressed: she went from writing four-word sentences to refusing to write almost anything, instead dictating all responses to staff. At the November 2014 IEP, the district's therapist attributed the regression to Student having "plateaued," but offered no real explanation for this conclusion. The ALJ found this explanation unsupported and that the regression was caused by the elimination of direct therapy — denying Student a FAPE.

Transportation: The district never made a clear IEP offer of transportation to either Student's school of residence or her school of choice, despite knowing she qualified for and needed transportation as a related service.

What Was Ordered

District must reimburse Parents $108,940.00 within 60 days of the decision, covering tuition at Bayes Achievement Academy (June 2016 through March 2017) and reasonable travel costs for seven trips to visit Student.
As compensatory education for FAPE violations prior to the Bayes placement, District must also reimburse Parents for Bayes tuition from April through August 2017, plus travel costs not exceeding $3,488.00 for three additional trips, within 60 days of receiving proof of payment.
No separate remedies were awarded for transportation or occupational therapy violations, as those harms were included within the Bayes reimbursement award.

Why This Matters for Parents

When your child stops making progress on behavioral goals, the district must change the program — not just rewrite the goals. This case shows that raising the bar on behavioral goals while keeping the same unsuccessful program in place is not a meaningful response. If your child's behaviors are increasing despite an existing behavior intervention plan, push the IEP team to explain specifically what will change — new strategies, more intensive supports, or a different placement.
Sleeping in school is a medical and educational issue that must be assessed and addressed in the IEP. The district knew this student was sleeping up to four hours a day for over a year and never investigated why or offered any response. If your child is regularly sleeping at school, you have the right to request a formal assessment and to insist that the IEP address it.
Switching from direct therapy to a "consultation" model requires evidence that your child no longer needs hands-on services. The district changed Student's occupational therapy from direct work with the therapist to advice for teachers — and her skills regressed. If a district proposes to reduce or change the format of a therapy service, ask what data supports that change and what will happen if skills decline.
Parents who unilaterally place their child in a private school can be reimbursed — even out of state — if they can show the district failed to provide a FAPE and the private placement is appropriate. The private school does not need to meet all the same standards as a public school. What matters is that it provides specially designed instruction to meet the child's unique needs and that the child is actually benefiting.

What Happened

What the District Did Wrong

What Was Ordered

District must reimburse Parents $108,940.00 within 60 days of the decision, covering tuition at Bayes Achievement Academy (June 2016 through March 2017) and reasonable travel costs for seven trips to visit Student.
As compensatory education for FAPE violations prior to the Bayes placement, District must also reimburse Parents for Bayes tuition from April through August 2017, plus travel costs not exceeding $3,488.00 for three additional trips, within 60 days of receiving proof of payment.
No separate remedies were awarded for transportation or occupational therapy violations, as those harms were included within the Bayes reimbursement award.

Why This Matters for Parents

When your child stops making progress on behavioral goals, the district must change the program — not just rewrite the goals. This case shows that raising the bar on behavioral goals while keeping the same unsuccessful program in place is not a meaningful response. If your child's behaviors are increasing despite an existing behavior intervention plan, push the IEP team to explain specifically what will change — new strategies, more intensive supports, or a different placement.
Sleeping in school is a medical and educational issue that must be assessed and addressed in the IEP. The district knew this student was sleeping up to four hours a day for over a year and never investigated why or offered any response. If your child is regularly sleeping at school, you have the right to request a formal assessment and to insist that the IEP address it.
Switching from direct therapy to a "consultation" model requires evidence that your child no longer needs hands-on services. The district changed Student's occupational therapy from direct work with the therapist to advice for teachers — and her skills regressed. If a district proposes to reduce or change the format of a therapy service, ask what data supports that change and what will happen if skills decline.
Parents who unilaterally place their child in a private school can be reimbursed — even out of state — if they can show the district failed to provide a FAPE and the private placement is appropriate. The private school does not need to meet all the same standards as a public school. What matters is that it provides specially designed instruction to meet the child's unique needs and that the child is actually benefiting.