District Wins Right to Move Dangerous Student to Nonpublic School for 45 Days

El Segundo Unified School District filed an expedited due process hearing seeking authority to move a 17-year-old student with intellectual disability to a nonpublic school after a year of severe, repeated physical aggression toward staff and peers. The student had bitten, kicked, punched, chased, and threatened staff dozens of times during the 2016-17 school year, and the district's interventions — including a behavior plan, CPI holds, and a nonpublic agency aide — failed to keep anyone safe. The ALJ ruled in the district's favor and authorized a 45-day placement at Sunrise nonpublic school in Culver City.

What Happened

A 17-year-old girl with intellectual disability attended El Segundo High School, an open campus with multiple courtyards, stairways, and street-level access. Beginning in the summer of 2016 and continuing throughout the 2016-17 school year, she was involved in dozens of serious behavioral incidents — punching, kicking, biting, grabbing, chasing, and threatening staff members with phrases like "I kill you." The assistant principal was injured at least five times. The school nurse was attacked without warning. A special education teacher's classroom was evacuated 16 times in one school year because of the student's behavior, and one teacher was eventually removed from her role on her doctor's advice due to the dread and anxiety caused by working with the student.

The district responded with a formal functional behavior assessment, a new behavior intervention plan, Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) holds, and a trained one-to-one aide from a nonpublic agency (STAR). None of these interventions were enough — behaviors occurred as frequently as 2 to 12 times per day. The open campus posed a serious elopement risk, and staff were forced to physically restrain the student repeatedly as a last resort. The district proposed moving the student to Sunrise, a closed-campus nonpublic school operated by the Help Group in Culver City. The mother refused to consent, so the district filed for an expedited due process hearing to obtain legal authority to make the placement change.

What the ALJ Found

Because the district prevailed on all issues, the relevant findings are summarized below:

Substantial likelihood of injury was proven. The ALJ found overwhelming evidence that maintaining the student at El Segundo High School was substantially likely to result in injury to the student or others. Dozens of corroborated incidents throughout the 2016-17 school year documented biting, kicking, punching, grabbing, chasing, and elopement attempts on an open campus near streets and parking lots.
The district made reasonable efforts but failed. The district implemented a behavior plan, used CPI holds, contracted a nonpublic agency aide, and modified the student's schedule and environment. Despite these efforts, behaviors persisted and in some cases worsened. The ALJ found that reactive strategies were attempted but were not successful in managing or reducing the dangerous behaviors.
The open campus created unreasonable safety risks. El Segundo High School's unfenced, multi-level campus with street access made it impossible to safely monitor or redirect a student with frequent elopement behaviors. The student had been restricted to a single classroom for multiple periods — effectively working in isolation — just to prevent harm, which itself raised concerns about her access to education.
Sunrise was found to be an appropriate interim alternative placement. The ALJ credited testimony from school psychologist Ms. Van Horn that Sunrise's closed, gated campus, positive behavioral interventions, visual schedule system, cool-down room, and functional academic programming were appropriate for this student. Critically, Sunrise's enclosed environment would allow staff to monitor the student from a distance without resorting to physical restraints, because elopement onto streets would not be possible.
The 45-day placement does not determine FAPE for the school year. The ALJ explicitly noted that the order authorizing Sunrise as an interim alternative educational setting does not constitute a finding that Sunrise is the appropriate placement for the remainder of the year — that question would require a separate proceeding.

What Was Ordered

The district was authorized to place the student at Sunrise nonpublic school operated by the Help Group, located in Culver City, California, for not more than 45 school days, beginning from the student's first day of attendance at Sunrise.
The parent's objection to the placement was overruled — IDEA does not require parental consent for placement in an interim alternative educational setting ordered through this process.
The district was designated the prevailing party on all issues.

Why This Matters for Parents

Districts can remove your child without your consent — but only with a hearing. Under the IDEA, a district that believes your child is substantially likely to injure themselves or others can file for an expedited hearing and ask a judge to authorize a placement change for up to 45 school days. You have the right to contest it, but the district does not need your signature to move forward if a judge rules in their favor.
Document everything — the district's log entries were decisive here. The district won largely because it had corroborated, detailed computer logs of dozens of behavioral incidents going back nearly two years. If your child is experiencing behavioral difficulties at school, keep your own records too — dates, descriptions, who was present, what interventions were tried. Your records may be the only counterweight to the school's documentation.
A behavior plan on paper is not enough — implementation matters. The ALJ noted that no staff member was ever asked whether the preventive strategies, instructional strategies, or reinforcement procedures in the behavior plan were actually carried out. If your child has a behavior intervention plan, ask regularly whether each component is being implemented, by whom, and how it is being tracked. Request data.
An open campus can be grounds for a safety-based placement change. The physical layout of a school is a legitimate factor in determining whether a student with elopement or aggression behaviors can be safely educated there. If your child attends a school with open access to streets or parking areas and has elopement risks, this case shows that courts will consider the environment itself as a safety factor — for or against your child's placement there.
A 45-day interim placement is not the end of the fight. The ALJ was careful to say that this ruling did not decide whether the nonpublic school was appropriate for the full school year. After the 45-day window, the district must either return the student to their original placement or seek another hearing. If you are in this situation, use the 45 days to prepare: request an IEP meeting, gather independent evaluations if needed, and consult an advocate or attorney about what happens next.

What Happened

What the ALJ Found

Because the district prevailed on all issues, the relevant findings are summarized below:

Substantial likelihood of injury was proven. The ALJ found overwhelming evidence that maintaining the student at El Segundo High School was substantially likely to result in injury to the student or others. Dozens of corroborated incidents throughout the 2016-17 school year documented biting, kicking, punching, grabbing, chasing, and elopement attempts on an open campus near streets and parking lots.
The district made reasonable efforts but failed. The district implemented a behavior plan, used CPI holds, contracted a nonpublic agency aide, and modified the student's schedule and environment. Despite these efforts, behaviors persisted and in some cases worsened. The ALJ found that reactive strategies were attempted but were not successful in managing or reducing the dangerous behaviors.
The open campus created unreasonable safety risks. El Segundo High School's unfenced, multi-level campus with street access made it impossible to safely monitor or redirect a student with frequent elopement behaviors. The student had been restricted to a single classroom for multiple periods — effectively working in isolation — just to prevent harm, which itself raised concerns about her access to education.
Sunrise was found to be an appropriate interim alternative placement. The ALJ credited testimony from school psychologist Ms. Van Horn that Sunrise's closed, gated campus, positive behavioral interventions, visual schedule system, cool-down room, and functional academic programming were appropriate for this student. Critically, Sunrise's enclosed environment would allow staff to monitor the student from a distance without resorting to physical restraints, because elopement onto streets would not be possible.
The 45-day placement does not determine FAPE for the school year. The ALJ explicitly noted that the order authorizing Sunrise as an interim alternative educational setting does not constitute a finding that Sunrise is the appropriate placement for the remainder of the year — that question would require a separate proceeding.

What Was Ordered

The district was authorized to place the student at Sunrise nonpublic school operated by the Help Group, located in Culver City, California, for not more than 45 school days, beginning from the student's first day of attendance at Sunrise.
The parent's objection to the placement was overruled — IDEA does not require parental consent for placement in an interim alternative educational setting ordered through this process.
The district was designated the prevailing party on all issues.

Why This Matters for Parents

Districts can remove your child without your consent — but only with a hearing. Under the IDEA, a district that believes your child is substantially likely to injure themselves or others can file for an expedited hearing and ask a judge to authorize a placement change for up to 45 school days. You have the right to contest it, but the district does not need your signature to move forward if a judge rules in their favor.
Document everything — the district's log entries were decisive here. The district won largely because it had corroborated, detailed computer logs of dozens of behavioral incidents going back nearly two years. If your child is experiencing behavioral difficulties at school, keep your own records too — dates, descriptions, who was present, what interventions were tried. Your records may be the only counterweight to the school's documentation.
A behavior plan on paper is not enough — implementation matters. The ALJ noted that no staff member was ever asked whether the preventive strategies, instructional strategies, or reinforcement procedures in the behavior plan were actually carried out. If your child has a behavior intervention plan, ask regularly whether each component is being implemented, by whom, and how it is being tracked. Request data.
An open campus can be grounds for a safety-based placement change. The physical layout of a school is a legitimate factor in determining whether a student with elopement or aggression behaviors can be safely educated there. If your child attends a school with open access to streets or parking areas and has elopement risks, this case shows that courts will consider the environment itself as a safety factor — for or against your child's placement there.
A 45-day interim placement is not the end of the fight. The ALJ was careful to say that this ruling did not decide whether the nonpublic school was appropriate for the full school year. After the 45-day window, the district must either return the student to their original placement or seek another hearing. If you are in this situation, use the 45 days to prepare: request an IEP meeting, gather independent evaluations if needed, and consult an advocate or attorney about what happens next.