District Must Provide Transportation When Preschool Placement Is Two Miles From Home

A family in Burlingame challenged their district's failure to provide transportation after Student was placed in a special education preschool two miles from his home school. The ALJ found the district violated FAPE by offering a placement at a non-home school without offering transportation, and ordered reimbursement of $426.96 in ride-sharing costs. The parent's other claims — including requests for more speech therapy, compensatory tutoring, and annual independent evaluations — were denied.

What Happened

Student was a preschool-aged child with a speech and language impairment who spoke Arabic as his primary language. He had spent time abroad and returned to California in August 2016. Parent immediately contacted the district to request assessments, noting concerns about Student's speech and ability to focus and pay attention. The district conducted a speech-language assessment and found Student eligible for special education services. At the initial IEP meeting in November 2016, the district offered two 30-minute group speech therapy sessions per week at Student's home school — but no preschool placement. Parent consistently asked for more: more speech therapy, a preschool placement, a school psychologist at IEP meetings, and transportation.

In February 2017, the district placed Student in a half-day special education preschool at Hoover Elementary School — two miles from his home — so that assessors could observe him in a classroom setting. The district did not offer transportation. Mother did not drive, and Father worked. The family used a ride-sharing service to get Student to and from school, spending $426.96 over the period from February through April 2017. Parent requested transportation at IEP meetings in March 2017; the district declined, saying it did not provide transportation to preschool-aged children and that family hardship was not a basis for the service. Parent filed for due process in April 2017.

What the District Did Wrong

The ALJ found two violations. First, the district waited too long to offer an assessment for attention and focus. Parent raised this concern as early as August 2016. The district did not offer an assessment plan for that area until January 2017 — more than four months later. This was a procedural violation because it delayed important information about Student's needs. However, because the district later agreed to fund an independent psychoeducational evaluation (which was completed before the hearing), the ALJ found no additional remedy was warranted.

Second — and more significantly — the district denied Student a FAPE by placing him in a school two miles from his home without offering transportation. Under IDEA, transportation is a "related service" that must be provided when a child needs it to benefit from their special education program. The district placed Student at Hoover specifically because of his educational needs (classroom observation and peer language modeling). Student was preschool-aged and could not get himself to school. The district's blanket policy of not providing transportation to preschool children did not override its individualized obligation under IDEA. The ALJ distinguished this case from prior OAH decisions because the placement was not at Student's home school and the distance involved was two miles, not a few blocks.

What Was Ordered

The district must reimburse Parent $426.96 for ride-sharing transportation costs incurred from February 8, 2017 through April 28, 2017.
All other requests for relief — including compensatory tutoring, five hours per week of speech therapy, and annual independent evaluations — were denied.

Why This Matters for Parents

If the district places your child somewhere other than their home school, transportation may be required. The key question is whether your child needs transportation to actually access the placement. A blanket district policy of not providing transportation to preschoolers does not automatically override IDEA's requirement to meet each child's individual needs.
Keep your receipts. Parent was reimbursed because they provided detailed ride-sharing receipts showing routes, dates, and costs. Documentation that correlates with school days in session is exactly what a hearing officer needs to award reimbursement.
Raise transportation in writing at IEP meetings. Parent requested transportation at two IEP meetings. The ALJ noted that the district never showed it had considered or even discussed the request before declining. Putting requests in writing creates a record that the district must respond to.
A procedural violation alone may not get you compensatory services. The district was late in offering the attention and focus assessment — a real violation — but because Student was making progress and the district later funded an independent evaluation, the ALJ found no additional remedy was needed. Procedural violations matter most when they actually cause a loss of educational benefit.
The amount of speech therapy your child's former private provider gave them is not the legal standard. Parent argued Student needed five hours per week of individual speech therapy because that is what he received in Egypt. The ALJ rejected this argument because the district's professionals credibly explained why two 30-minute group sessions were appropriate for Student's specific needs, and no qualified expert contradicted them. The IDEA standard is "some educational benefit," not matching a prior provider's intensity.

What Happened

What the District Did Wrong

What Was Ordered

The district must reimburse Parent $426.96 for ride-sharing transportation costs incurred from February 8, 2017 through April 28, 2017.
All other requests for relief — including compensatory tutoring, five hours per week of speech therapy, and annual independent evaluations — were denied.

Why This Matters for Parents

If the district places your child somewhere other than their home school, transportation may be required. The key question is whether your child needs transportation to actually access the placement. A blanket district policy of not providing transportation to preschoolers does not automatically override IDEA's requirement to meet each child's individual needs.
Keep your receipts. Parent was reimbursed because they provided detailed ride-sharing receipts showing routes, dates, and costs. Documentation that correlates with school days in session is exactly what a hearing officer needs to award reimbursement.
Raise transportation in writing at IEP meetings. Parent requested transportation at two IEP meetings. The ALJ noted that the district never showed it had considered or even discussed the request before declining. Putting requests in writing creates a record that the district must respond to.
A procedural violation alone may not get you compensatory services. The district was late in offering the attention and focus assessment — a real violation — but because Student was making progress and the district later funded an independent evaluation, the ALJ found no additional remedy was needed. Procedural violations matter most when they actually cause a loss of educational benefit.
The amount of speech therapy your child's former private provider gave them is not the legal standard. Parent argued Student needed five hours per week of individual speech therapy because that is what he received in Egypt. The ALJ rejected this argument because the district's professionals credibly explained why two 30-minute group sessions were appropriate for Student's specific needs, and no qualified expert contradicted them. The IDEA standard is "some educational benefit," not matching a prior provider's intensity.