District Must Reimburse Both Parents' Airfare Under IEP Travel Agreement

Parents of an 18-year-old student placed at an out-of-state residential school filed for due process after Gilroy Unified refused to reimburse one parent's round-trip airfare to attend a February 2018 parent conference, claiming the IEP travel agreement only covered one parent per trip. The ALJ found the district's interpretation contradicted the plain language of the agreement and its own prior reimbursement practices, ordering Gilroy to pay the remaining $406.50. The district prevailed on a second issue: eToll convenience fees were not covered because the travel agreement was silent on tolls.

What Happened

Student was an 18-year-old young woman with a disability classification of emotional disturbance. Her IEP team placed her at an out-of-state nonpublic residential school for summer 2017 and the 2017–2018 school year. Because the placement was far from home, Gilroy Unified and the family executed a travel agreement — dated June 23, 2017 — as an addendum to the IEP. That agreement spelled out exactly what travel costs the district would cover for Student and for Parents to visit her at the school.

The travel agreement covered two specific parent visits under Item 4: one for the Fall Family Weekend in October 2017, and one for the February 2018 parent conference. For each visit, the agreement listed reimbursements including two round-trip plane tickets for parents (up to $600 each), four days of car rental, four nights of lodging, airport parking, and mileage. Parents attended both visits together. Gilroy reimbursed everything for the October trip — including both parents' plane tickets and eToll fees. But when Parents submitted their receipts after the February 2018 parent conference, Gilroy deducted $406.50, claiming the agreement only covered one parent's round-trip airfare for that trip. Gilroy also refused to reimburse $16.80 in toll and eToll convenience fees, saying tolls were not mentioned in the agreement. Parents filed for due process to recover both disputed amounts.

What the ALJ Found

On the airfare dispute — the district violated the IEP. The ALJ found that Gilroy's interpretation of the travel agreement was unreasonable and contradicted by its own conduct. The district's Director of Student Services argued that Item 4's heading — "One (1) parent visit" — meant a total of only two round-trip tickets across both the October and February visits combined. But the ALJ rejected this reading for several reasons: (1) the agreement explicitly listed "(2) Round trip plane tickets for parents" in the subsections; (2) Gilroy had already reimbursed both parents' tickets for the October visit without objection; and (3) the director could not explain why the agreement would only cover two round-trip tickets total if it also provided four days of lodging and car rental per visit. The ALJ found that the word "parent" in the Item 4 heading referred to both parents traveling together, not just one. Refusing to reimburse the second ticket was a material failure to implement the IEP — which constitutes a denial of FAPE.

On the eToll fees — the district prevailed. The travel agreement listed a car rental allowance and a gas allowance, but said nothing about toll fees. Because the agreement was silent on tolls, and because the toll and convenience fee were billed separately from the car rental itself, the ALJ found Parents did not prove Gilroy was required to cover those costs. This part of the claim was denied.

What Was Ordered

Within 30 days of the order, Gilroy Unified must reimburse Parents $406.50 for the remaining cost of one parent's round-trip airfare to attend the February 2018 parent conference at Student's out-of-state placement.
No additional documentation regarding the plane ticket cost is required.
The request for reimbursement of the $1.00 toll and $15.80 eToll convenience fee was denied.

Why This Matters for Parents

What your IEP says in writing is binding — and so is how the district has been honoring it. The ALJ gave significant weight to the fact that Gilroy had already reimbursed both parents' airfare for prior trips without dispute. A district cannot suddenly reinterpret an agreement to pay less than it has been paying without reconvening the IEP team and formally changing the document.
Get every travel, transportation, and reimbursement commitment in writing as part of the IEP. This case turned entirely on the written language of the travel agreement. Because the agreement clearly listed "two round-trip plane tickets for parents," Parents were able to prove their entitlement. Verbal promises or informal understandings are much harder to enforce.
If an agreement is silent on a cost, you may not be covered. Parents lost on the eToll fees because tolls weren't mentioned anywhere in the travel agreement. When negotiating reimbursement agreements for out-of-state placements, ask that all reasonably foreseeable travel expenses — including tolls, baggage fees, or transportation between the airport and school — be explicitly listed.
Parents have independent legal rights under the IDEA and can enforce IEP commitments on their own behalf. Even though Student was 18, her parents were still able to file and prosecute this case themselves to enforce rights that were granted to them personally under the IEP agreement. You do not always need to file on behalf of your child — some IEP rights belong to parents directly.

What Happened

What the ALJ Found

What Was Ordered

Within 30 days of the order, Gilroy Unified must reimburse Parents $406.50 for the remaining cost of one parent's round-trip airfare to attend the February 2018 parent conference at Student's out-of-state placement.
No additional documentation regarding the plane ticket cost is required.
The request for reimbursement of the $1.00 toll and $15.80 eToll convenience fee was denied.

Why This Matters for Parents

What your IEP says in writing is binding — and so is how the district has been honoring it. The ALJ gave significant weight to the fact that Gilroy had already reimbursed both parents' airfare for prior trips without dispute. A district cannot suddenly reinterpret an agreement to pay less than it has been paying without reconvening the IEP team and formally changing the document.
Get every travel, transportation, and reimbursement commitment in writing as part of the IEP. This case turned entirely on the written language of the travel agreement. Because the agreement clearly listed "two round-trip plane tickets for parents," Parents were able to prove their entitlement. Verbal promises or informal understandings are much harder to enforce.
If an agreement is silent on a cost, you may not be covered. Parents lost on the eToll fees because tolls weren't mentioned anywhere in the travel agreement. When negotiating reimbursement agreements for out-of-state placements, ask that all reasonably foreseeable travel expenses — including tolls, baggage fees, or transportation between the airport and school — be explicitly listed.
Parents have independent legal rights under the IDEA and can enforce IEP commitments on their own behalf. Even though Student was 18, her parents were still able to file and prosecute this case themselves to enforce rights that were granted to them personally under the IEP agreement. You do not always need to file on behalf of your child — some IEP rights belong to parents directly.