Larchmont Charter Denied Autistic Student FAPE: No Behavior Plan, Unimplemented Services

Parents of a 14-year-old student with autism and ADHD filed a due process complaint against Larchmont Charter School after the school failed to implement agreed-upon intensive counseling services, offered IEP amendments without proper parental participation, and neglected to develop a behavior support plan despite the student's escalating emotional and behavioral difficulties. The ALJ found multiple FAPE denials, including inadequate goals, missing behavior supports, and insufficient aids in the classroom. Larchmont was ordered to pay half of the private school tuition at Bridges Academy, mileage reimbursement, 16 hours of compensatory ERICS services, and staff training on IEP amendment procedures.

What Happened

A 14-year-old student with autism, ADHD, and significant social-emotional and anxiety challenges attended Larchmont Charter School through eighth grade. He was placed in general education with an IEP that included resource services, occupational therapy consultation, and monthly counseling. In February 2019, his mother emailed school staff describing a crisis: the student was crying before school, begging to stay home, and calling her repeatedly from school asking to be picked up. In response, Larchmont developed two amendment IEPs in March and May 2019 to add Educationally Related Intensive Counseling Services (ERICS). However, the school failed to properly implement those services, failed to develop a behavior support plan despite the student's known and escalating behavioral difficulties, and offered IEP amendments without adequate parental participation or required written notices.

By September 2019, parents disenrolled the student from Larchmont and enrolled him at Bridges Academy, a private school for twice-exceptional students. Parents then filed for due process, alleging that Larchmont had denied their son a FAPE across multiple dimensions. Los Angeles Unified School District, which authorized Larchmont as a charter school, settled separately before the hearing concluded. The case proceeded solely against Larchmont. The ALJ found that the student was denied a FAPE in several significant respects but also found that parents' own conduct — including failure to give the required 10-business-day notice before withdrawing, withholding a private assessment report from the school, and not cooperating in scheduling IEP meetings — reduced the remedies available to them.

What the District Did Wrong

Predetermination of May 2019 Amendment IEP: Larchmont did not hold an IEP team meeting before presenting the May 13, 2019 amendment to parents for signature. A behavior specialist simply showed up with a document correcting a "clerical error" in the level of ERICS, without convening the team. The ALJ found this bypassed the collaborative IEP process and constituted predetermination.
Failure to Provide Prior Written Notice for May 2019 Amendment: Larchmont did not provide the legally required prior written notice explaining the change in the level of ERICS services before implementing it. Parents were deprived of the procedural protections the IDEA guarantees.
Failure to Implement Consented-To ERICS Services: After parents signed consent to the March 2019 amendment IEP, Larchmont did not deliver the full 150 minutes per week of ERICS services the IEP promised. The student received only 255 minutes across May, June, and August — far less than the approximately 1,200 minutes he was owed between consent and disenrollment.
Inadequate Goals in Social-Emotional, ERICS, and Counseling Areas: The amendment IEPs lacked appropriate, measurable goals tied to the student's specific social-emotional needs. Goals did not address his school avoidance, emotional dysregulation, peer relationships, or social skills — all documented areas of need. The school psychologist and counselor could not identify a single skill the student acquired or mastered as a result of their services.
Failure to Offer a Behavior Support Plan: Despite knowing that the student yelled out in class, interrupted others, made inappropriate jokes, shut down emotionally, refused schoolwork, and repeatedly called home asking to leave school, neither the March nor May 2019 amendment IEPs included positive behavioral interventions, supports, or strategies. A prior 2016 independent evaluator had explicitly recommended a structured behavioral program at school. The ALJ found the omission of a behavior support plan was a FAPE denial.
Failure to Offer Sufficient Aids and Supports in the General Education Classroom: Even accounting for the addition of ERICS, Larchmont did not offer the range of additional supports it had available, including modified schedules, additional accommodations, behavioral intervention services, or one-to-one instruction. The ALJ found the school waited passively to see if ERICS alone would work, rather than offering the full continuum of supports Student needed.

What Was Ordered

Tuition Reimbursement (50%): Larchmont must reimburse parents $23,542.50 — half of the $47,085 paid to Bridges Academy for the 2019–2020 school year. Full reimbursement was reduced because parents failed to give the required 10-business-day advance notice before withdrawing the student, withheld a private assessment report from Larchmont, and did not cooperate in scheduling IEP meetings.
Transportation Reimbursement (50%): Larchmont must reimburse parents $13.00 per day (half the full IRS mileage rate for two round trips) for each day the student physically attended Bridges. Parents must first provide Larchmont with documentation of each in-person attendance day within 15 calendar days of the decision.
16 Hours of Compensatory ERICS Services: Larchmont must contract — within 45 calendar days — with a California-certified nonpublic agency selected by parents to provide a block of 16 hours of ERICS. Parents may use the hours for direct services to the student, or split them between direct services and parent counseling. Associated assessment, materials, and fee costs are also covered. Services must be used within 18 months of contracting or hours are forfeited.
Staff Training on IEP Amendment Procedures: Within 45 calendar days, Larchmont must contract with a nonpublic agency or law firm to deliver 4 hours of training to its administrators and special education staff on the requirements and best practices for properly amending IEPs. Training must be completed by April 1, 2022.
All Other Relief Denied: Reimbursement for the cost of the private neuropsychological assessment ($4,000) was denied, as parents dismissed the assessment-related claims before hearing and did not share the report with Larchmont. Extended school year services were also denied — the ALJ found no evidence the student would regress over summer in a way that required ESY.

Why This Matters for Parents

Give the required 10-business-day written notice before pulling your child from a public school. If you plan to enroll your child in a private school and want any chance at full tuition reimbursement, IDEA requires you to notify the district in writing at least 10 business days before you remove your child, stating your concerns and your intent to seek reimbursement. In this case, parents' failure to do so cut their reimbursement in half — even though the school clearly violated the law. Do not rely on a last-minute email.
Share independent evaluations with the school. If you obtain a private assessment that documents your child's needs, share it with the school and request an IEP meeting to discuss it. In this case, parents had a report confirming their son's decline but kept it from Larchmont. The ALJ treated this as a factor justifying reduced remedies, even though the school was also at fault.
A behavior support plan is not optional when your child's behaviors interfere with learning. If your child is leaving class, refusing work, shutting down emotionally, or otherwise struggling behaviorally, the IEP team must consider positive behavioral interventions, supports, and strategies — not just counseling or emotional support. Demand that the team specifically discuss and document whether a behavior support plan is needed.
An amendment IEP is not just a form you sign — it must go through the full team process unless you explicitly agree otherwise. Schools cannot simply hand you an amendment and ask for your signature without a meeting. Changing your child's services through an amendment requires either a proper IEP team meeting or a written agreement between you and the school to bypass the meeting. If a school presents you with paperwork without a meeting, you have the right to request that the full team convene.
Document service delivery — and follow up in writing if services are not being provided. In this case, Larchmont never delivered the ERICS services it promised in the IEP. If your child's IEP includes specific services (number of minutes, frequency, type), track whether those services are actually happening. If they are not, send a written request to the school asking for an explanation and for make-up services. That paper trail matters enormously if you later need to prove an implementation failure in a due process hearing.

What Happened

What the District Did Wrong

Predetermination of May 2019 Amendment IEP: Larchmont did not hold an IEP team meeting before presenting the May 13, 2019 amendment to parents for signature. A behavior specialist simply showed up with a document correcting a "clerical error" in the level of ERICS, without convening the team. The ALJ found this bypassed the collaborative IEP process and constituted predetermination.
Failure to Provide Prior Written Notice for May 2019 Amendment: Larchmont did not provide the legally required prior written notice explaining the change in the level of ERICS services before implementing it. Parents were deprived of the procedural protections the IDEA guarantees.
Failure to Implement Consented-To ERICS Services: After parents signed consent to the March 2019 amendment IEP, Larchmont did not deliver the full 150 minutes per week of ERICS services the IEP promised. The student received only 255 minutes across May, June, and August — far less than the approximately 1,200 minutes he was owed between consent and disenrollment.
Inadequate Goals in Social-Emotional, ERICS, and Counseling Areas: The amendment IEPs lacked appropriate, measurable goals tied to the student's specific social-emotional needs. Goals did not address his school avoidance, emotional dysregulation, peer relationships, or social skills — all documented areas of need. The school psychologist and counselor could not identify a single skill the student acquired or mastered as a result of their services.
Failure to Offer a Behavior Support Plan: Despite knowing that the student yelled out in class, interrupted others, made inappropriate jokes, shut down emotionally, refused schoolwork, and repeatedly called home asking to leave school, neither the March nor May 2019 amendment IEPs included positive behavioral interventions, supports, or strategies. A prior 2016 independent evaluator had explicitly recommended a structured behavioral program at school. The ALJ found the omission of a behavior support plan was a FAPE denial.
Failure to Offer Sufficient Aids and Supports in the General Education Classroom: Even accounting for the addition of ERICS, Larchmont did not offer the range of additional supports it had available, including modified schedules, additional accommodations, behavioral intervention services, or one-to-one instruction. The ALJ found the school waited passively to see if ERICS alone would work, rather than offering the full continuum of supports Student needed.

What Was Ordered

Tuition Reimbursement (50%): Larchmont must reimburse parents $23,542.50 — half of the $47,085 paid to Bridges Academy for the 2019–2020 school year. Full reimbursement was reduced because parents failed to give the required 10-business-day advance notice before withdrawing the student, withheld a private assessment report from Larchmont, and did not cooperate in scheduling IEP meetings.
Transportation Reimbursement (50%): Larchmont must reimburse parents $13.00 per day (half the full IRS mileage rate for two round trips) for each day the student physically attended Bridges. Parents must first provide Larchmont with documentation of each in-person attendance day within 15 calendar days of the decision.
16 Hours of Compensatory ERICS Services: Larchmont must contract — within 45 calendar days — with a California-certified nonpublic agency selected by parents to provide a block of 16 hours of ERICS. Parents may use the hours for direct services to the student, or split them between direct services and parent counseling. Associated assessment, materials, and fee costs are also covered. Services must be used within 18 months of contracting or hours are forfeited.
Staff Training on IEP Amendment Procedures: Within 45 calendar days, Larchmont must contract with a nonpublic agency or law firm to deliver 4 hours of training to its administrators and special education staff on the requirements and best practices for properly amending IEPs. Training must be completed by April 1, 2022.
All Other Relief Denied: Reimbursement for the cost of the private neuropsychological assessment ($4,000) was denied, as parents dismissed the assessment-related claims before hearing and did not share the report with Larchmont. Extended school year services were also denied — the ALJ found no evidence the student would regress over summer in a way that required ESY.

Why This Matters for Parents

Give the required 10-business-day written notice before pulling your child from a public school. If you plan to enroll your child in a private school and want any chance at full tuition reimbursement, IDEA requires you to notify the district in writing at least 10 business days before you remove your child, stating your concerns and your intent to seek reimbursement. In this case, parents' failure to do so cut their reimbursement in half — even though the school clearly violated the law. Do not rely on a last-minute email.
Share independent evaluations with the school. If you obtain a private assessment that documents your child's needs, share it with the school and request an IEP meeting to discuss it. In this case, parents had a report confirming their son's decline but kept it from Larchmont. The ALJ treated this as a factor justifying reduced remedies, even though the school was also at fault.
A behavior support plan is not optional when your child's behaviors interfere with learning. If your child is leaving class, refusing work, shutting down emotionally, or otherwise struggling behaviorally, the IEP team must consider positive behavioral interventions, supports, and strategies — not just counseling or emotional support. Demand that the team specifically discuss and document whether a behavior support plan is needed.
An amendment IEP is not just a form you sign — it must go through the full team process unless you explicitly agree otherwise. Schools cannot simply hand you an amendment and ask for your signature without a meeting. Changing your child's services through an amendment requires either a proper IEP team meeting or a written agreement between you and the school to bypass the meeting. If a school presents you with paperwork without a meeting, you have the right to request that the full team convene.
Document service delivery — and follow up in writing if services are not being provided. In this case, Larchmont never delivered the ERICS services it promised in the IEP. If your child's IEP includes specific services (number of minutes, frequency, type), track whether those services are actually happening. If they are not, send a written request to the school asking for an explanation and for make-up services. That paper trail matters enormously if you later need to prove an implementation failure in a due process hearing.