Blind Student's Braille and Mobility Assessments Found Inadequate; District Must Fund Independent Evaluation

A 16-year-old totally blind student's family challenged Bellflower Unified School District's triennial assessments as inadequate. The ALJ found the district's evaluations of the student's braille skills, learning media technology, and orientation and mobility were incomplete, denying her a FAPE. As a remedy, the district was ordered to fund an independent vision and orientation and mobility assessment up to $6,000.

What Happened

Student is a 16-year-old, totally blind since birth due to a congenital eye condition. She was eligible for special education primarily as a student with a visual impairment and secondarily as a student with a speech and language impairment. She attended Bellflower Unified School District and, as of the hearing, was in 11th grade but receiving instruction at a first and second grade level despite years of intensive services. In early 2019, Bellflower conducted a required triennial reassessment — the comprehensive evaluation every school district must do at least every three years to determine a student's current needs and update her IEP.

Parent grew concerned that the assessments were not thorough enough to capture what Student truly needed, especially given that Student was approaching the transition to adulthood and would soon need real-world skills for independent living, work, and further education. Parent filed for a due process hearing, challenging both the adequacy of the triennial assessments and whether the district was properly implementing Student's IEP services during the 2019-2020 school year.

What the District Did Wrong

Braille and Learning Media Technology Assessment Was Incomplete. The district's vision specialist conducted a learning media technology assessment that failed to assess Student's ability to read and write braille contractions or perform math using the Nemeth Braille code (the braille system for math). The report was too vague to give the IEP team a clear picture of Student's present levels, making it impossible to write meaningful, measurable braille goals. The assessment also failed to evaluate Student's use of a computer, screen reader, or typing skills — essential tools for any high school student with a visual impairment preparing for life after graduation.

Orientation and Mobility Assessment Left Out Critical Real-World Skills. The district's orientation and mobility assessment covered some school campus and community skills, but it missed key areas that matter enormously for a blind student nearing adulthood. Specifically, it did not assess Student's ability to analyze intersections, cross at lighted signals, use public transportation, or navigate directions (north, south, east, west). It also failed to assess daily living skills like cooking, cleaning, laundry, personal hygiene, and banking — all areas of the "expanded core curriculum" that blind students must be deliberately taught because they cannot learn these skills incidentally through observation the way sighted students do.

Why This Mattered. Because these assessments were incomplete, the IEP team lacked the information it needed to write appropriate goals and design services matched to Student's real needs. Parent also could not meaningfully participate in IEP decisions without accurate data. The ALJ found these failures were a denial of FAPE.

What the District Got Right. The district's second psychoeducational evaluation — conducted in April 2019 by an experienced school psychologist who had known Student for years — was found to be adequate. The ALJ rejected Parent's argument that assessing Student in English (rather than Spanish) was discriminatory, finding that English was clearly Student's preferred and primary language in all settings. The ALJ also found that the district properly implemented the 165 minutes per day of specialized academic instruction required by Student's June 2019 IEP, with a qualified vision teacher providing services beginning August 21, 2019.

What Was Ordered

Bellflower Unified School District must fund an independent vision and orientation and mobility assessment by Dr. Sonja Biggs, at a cost not to exceed $6,000.
Student must submit an invoice and proof of payment to the district. Within 15 days, the district must reimburse Parent or pay the assessor directly.
Within 15 days of paying for the assessment, Parent must provide the district with a copy of the completed assessment report.
Within 30 days of receiving the report, the district must convene an IEP team meeting to review the results and determine next steps.
Student's request for compensatory education services was denied because no evidence was presented of specific services Student missed out on as a result of the inadequate assessments.

Why This Matters for Parents

Triennial assessments for blind students must cover the "expanded core curriculum" — all of it. California law requires that students with visual impairments be assessed across a specific set of skill areas, including braille, orientation and mobility, assistive technology, daily living skills, and more. If an assessment skips major areas — especially for a high school student approaching adulthood — that is a legal violation, not just a gap. Parents should review assessment reports against the expanded core curriculum checklist and ask specifically what was and was not evaluated.
Age and transition matter when judging whether an assessment is adequate. The ALJ emphasized that Student was in 9th grade at the time of assessment and would need real-world skills within a few years. An assessment that might have been acceptable for a younger student was found inadequate here precisely because it failed to capture what a teenager approaching adulthood needs. Parents of older students with disabilities should push for assessments that look forward to post-secondary life, not just the current school year.
Requesting a publicly funded independent evaluation is a powerful tool — but you must raise it as a formal issue. In this case, Parent asked for an independent evaluation and won the right to have it funded, but only as a remedy tied to a proven assessment failure. The ALJ also rejected Parent's attempt to raise the district's obligation to fund or challenge an IEE as a separate legal issue, because it was not formally included in the hearing. Parents should clearly identify all issues they want decided when filing a due process complaint.
Compensatory education requires evidence of specific missed services. Parent requested compensatory education (make-up services) but the request was denied because no evidence was presented showing exactly what services Student lost as a result of the assessment failures. If you believe your child missed out on services, document what was offered, what was delivered, and what the gap looks like — that evidence is essential to winning compensatory education at a hearing.

What Happened

What the District Did Wrong

What Was Ordered

Bellflower Unified School District must fund an independent vision and orientation and mobility assessment by Dr. Sonja Biggs, at a cost not to exceed $6,000.
Student must submit an invoice and proof of payment to the district. Within 15 days, the district must reimburse Parent or pay the assessor directly.
Within 15 days of paying for the assessment, Parent must provide the district with a copy of the completed assessment report.
Within 30 days of receiving the report, the district must convene an IEP team meeting to review the results and determine next steps.
Student's request for compensatory education services was denied because no evidence was presented of specific services Student missed out on as a result of the inadequate assessments.

Why This Matters for Parents

Triennial assessments for blind students must cover the "expanded core curriculum" — all of it. California law requires that students with visual impairments be assessed across a specific set of skill areas, including braille, orientation and mobility, assistive technology, daily living skills, and more. If an assessment skips major areas — especially for a high school student approaching adulthood — that is a legal violation, not just a gap. Parents should review assessment reports against the expanded core curriculum checklist and ask specifically what was and was not evaluated.
Age and transition matter when judging whether an assessment is adequate. The ALJ emphasized that Student was in 9th grade at the time of assessment and would need real-world skills within a few years. An assessment that might have been acceptable for a younger student was found inadequate here precisely because it failed to capture what a teenager approaching adulthood needs. Parents of older students with disabilities should push for assessments that look forward to post-secondary life, not just the current school year.
Requesting a publicly funded independent evaluation is a powerful tool — but you must raise it as a formal issue. In this case, Parent asked for an independent evaluation and won the right to have it funded, but only as a remedy tied to a proven assessment failure. The ALJ also rejected Parent's attempt to raise the district's obligation to fund or challenge an IEE as a separate legal issue, because it was not formally included in the hearing. Parents should clearly identify all issues they want decided when filing a due process complaint.
Compensatory education requires evidence of specific missed services. Parent requested compensatory education (make-up services) but the request was denied because no evidence was presented showing exactly what services Student lost as a result of the assessment failures. If you believe your child missed out on services, document what was offered, what was delivered, and what the gap looks like — that evidence is essential to winning compensatory education at a hearing.