Tuolumne County Denied FAPE for Years; Student Ordered to Residential Placement

An 11-year-old student with emotional disturbance and specific learning disability attended a behavioral support program in Tuolumne County, where the district repeatedly failed to provide appropriate goals, occupational therapy, mental health services, and a timely behavioral assessment. The ALJ found the district denied the student a free appropriate public education across three school years and ordered residential placement at Madison Oaks, reimbursement for a private assessment, and transportation for the student and parents.

What Happened

Student was an 11-year-old fifth grader eligible for special education under the categories of emotional disturbance and specific learning disability. He had a history of severe behavioral episodes — including physical aggression toward staff and peers, elopement, and bringing a weapon to school — dating back to the start of his enrollment in the district. He attended the Nexus program, a specialized behavioral classroom on a general education campus. Despite the severity and frequency of his behaviors, Parents contended the district consistently failed to develop appropriate goals, provide necessary services, conduct timely behavioral assessments, and eventually offer a more restrictive placement when the Nexus program could no longer meet his needs.

Parents filed a due process complaint in January 2019. The district filed its own complaint seeking to conduct a new functional behavioral assessment without parental consent and requesting a release of Student's medical records. The cases were consolidated. After ten days of hearing, the ALJ found the district had denied Student a FAPE across the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school years on numerous grounds, and ordered residential placement as the primary remedy.

What the District Did Wrong

The district's failures were extensive and spanned three school years. During the 2016-2017 school year, the district developed IEP goals that were not clear or measurable, failed to address Student's significant executive functioning deficits, discontinued occupational therapy despite ongoing fine and gross motor needs, and reduced mental health counseling from 180 to 120 minutes per month without justification. The district also failed to timely complete a functional behavioral assessment after Parents consented in February 2017 — the assessment was not followed by an IEP team meeting until May 2017, past the statutory deadline — and the resulting behavior plan was inadequate because no target behaviors had actually occurred during observation.

During the 2017-2018 school year, the district failed to conduct an assistive technology assessment despite providing Student with electronic devices specifically to manage his behavior. The district also failed to offer occupational therapy goals or services, failed to develop goals addressing executive functioning, and continued to provide only 120 minutes monthly of mental health counseling, which was insufficient given Student's escalating needs. Student's behavior continued to deteriorate dramatically — he struck a teacher with a fire extinguisher, threw rocks at staff, and brought a pocket knife to school — yet the district did not seek a more restrictive placement.

By May 10, 2018, when the district agreed to subject Student to twice-daily pocket and sock searches to prevent him from bringing weapons, the ALJ found this was clear notice that the Nexus program was no longer appropriate. From that date forward, the district's failure to offer a more restrictive placement constituted a denial of FAPE. The district also violated procedural requirements in December 2018 by offering a placement change at Devereux residential facility outside the IEP process — without convening a team meeting after Parents declined to consent to the amendment.

What Was Ordered

Tuolumne County and Curtis Creek must jointly contract with Madison Oaks residential treatment center to pay Student's full daily fees — tuition, therapeutic services, and room and board — through the end of the 2019-2020 regular school year. Student must enroll within 15 days of the decision.
The district must pay for one round-trip airline ticket for Student to travel to Madison Oaks, and two round-trip airline tickets each for both Parents to escort Student to and from the facility, plus two nights of hotel accommodations.
If Madison Oaks becomes unavailable, the IEP team must identify and offer a comparable residential treatment center that provides licensed mental health clinicians, credentialed special education teachers, and facilities capable of managing elopement.
Within 45 calendar days, the district must reimburse Parents $11,025 for the cost of a private psychoeducational assessment conducted by Dr. Solomon.
Curtis Creek is permitted to conduct a functional behavioral assessment of Student, which may take place at Madison Oaks.
The district's request for access to Student's medical records was denied as overbroad and insufficiently specific.
All other requested relief — including reimbursement of out-of-pocket medical expenses, private counseling co-pays, placement consulting fees, and funding for a private goal writer — was denied.

Why This Matters for Parents

When a district provides assistive technology devices to a student, it triggers the obligation to conduct a formal assessment. In this case, the district gave Student a tablet and an iPad to manage his behavior without ever assessing his assistive technology needs. The ALJ found this was a FAPE denial from the moment the devices were provided. If your child's school is giving them devices informally, you can request a formal assistive technology assessment in writing.
Discontinuing a related service like occupational therapy requires evidence the student no longer needs it — meeting some goals is not enough. The district stopped OT after Student met two of three goals, but he continued to have fine and gross motor needs. If the district wants to discontinue a service at an IEP meeting, ask what evidence shows your child no longer needs it, and whether all areas of need have been addressed.
A pattern of severe, escalating behavior is legal notice to the district that the current placement may not be working. The ALJ found that by the time the district was performing daily weapons searches on a fourth-grader, it was legally required to consider a more restrictive placement. If your child's behaviors are escalating and the school is resorting to increasingly extreme management strategies, document everything and request an IEP meeting to formally discuss placement.
If a district wants to change a student's placement and parents do not agree, the district must convene an IEP team meeting — it cannot simply send an amendment and wait. The district's failure to hold a meeting after Parents declined the December 2018 placement offer was found to be a procedural FAPE denial. Parents have the right to participate in every placement decision through the full IEP process.
Remedy requests must be backed by documentation and legal authority. The ALJ denied several reimbursement claims — including private counseling co-pays and a placement consultant's fees — because the invoices lacked sufficient detail and Parents provided no legal basis for the award. If you are seeking reimbursement, keep organized, itemized records of every expense and consult with an advocate or attorney about what categories of costs are recoverable under IDEA.

What Happened

What the District Did Wrong

What Was Ordered

Tuolumne County and Curtis Creek must jointly contract with Madison Oaks residential treatment center to pay Student's full daily fees — tuition, therapeutic services, and room and board — through the end of the 2019-2020 regular school year. Student must enroll within 15 days of the decision.
The district must pay for one round-trip airline ticket for Student to travel to Madison Oaks, and two round-trip airline tickets each for both Parents to escort Student to and from the facility, plus two nights of hotel accommodations.
If Madison Oaks becomes unavailable, the IEP team must identify and offer a comparable residential treatment center that provides licensed mental health clinicians, credentialed special education teachers, and facilities capable of managing elopement.
Within 45 calendar days, the district must reimburse Parents $11,025 for the cost of a private psychoeducational assessment conducted by Dr. Solomon.
Curtis Creek is permitted to conduct a functional behavioral assessment of Student, which may take place at Madison Oaks.
The district's request for access to Student's medical records was denied as overbroad and insufficiently specific.
All other requested relief — including reimbursement of out-of-pocket medical expenses, private counseling co-pays, placement consulting fees, and funding for a private goal writer — was denied.

Why This Matters for Parents

When a district provides assistive technology devices to a student, it triggers the obligation to conduct a formal assessment. In this case, the district gave Student a tablet and an iPad to manage his behavior without ever assessing his assistive technology needs. The ALJ found this was a FAPE denial from the moment the devices were provided. If your child's school is giving them devices informally, you can request a formal assistive technology assessment in writing.
Discontinuing a related service like occupational therapy requires evidence the student no longer needs it — meeting some goals is not enough. The district stopped OT after Student met two of three goals, but he continued to have fine and gross motor needs. If the district wants to discontinue a service at an IEP meeting, ask what evidence shows your child no longer needs it, and whether all areas of need have been addressed.
A pattern of severe, escalating behavior is legal notice to the district that the current placement may not be working. The ALJ found that by the time the district was performing daily weapons searches on a fourth-grader, it was legally required to consider a more restrictive placement. If your child's behaviors are escalating and the school is resorting to increasingly extreme management strategies, document everything and request an IEP meeting to formally discuss placement.
If a district wants to change a student's placement and parents do not agree, the district must convene an IEP team meeting — it cannot simply send an amendment and wait. The district's failure to hold a meeting after Parents declined the December 2018 placement offer was found to be a procedural FAPE denial. Parents have the right to participate in every placement decision through the full IEP process.
Remedy requests must be backed by documentation and legal authority. The ALJ denied several reimbursement claims — including private counseling co-pays and a placement consultant's fees — because the invoices lacked sufficient detail and Parents provided no legal basis for the award. If you are seeking reimbursement, keep organized, itemized records of every expense and consult with an advocate or attorney about what categories of costs are recoverable under IDEA.