District Denied FAPE to Medically Fragile Preschooler by Offering Virtual-Only Services Without In-Person Support

What Happened

Student was a four-year-old child with Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, a complex genetic condition that caused intellectual disability, orthopedic impairment, epilepsy, immune deficiency, a gastrostomy tube for feeding, and profound delays in cognition, language, and motor skills. Student was non-verbal, could not sit up independently, could not grasp objects without prompting, and was susceptible to life-threatening seizures triggered by common illnesses. When Student turned three in December 2019, Enterprise Elementary School District became responsible for providing special education services. After a lengthy evaluation process, the district held an IEP meeting and on May 21, 2020, made its first formal offer of special education services.

The district offered specialized academic instruction, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy consultation — but proposed to deliver all services remotely through distance learning, with no in-person support of any kind. Parent objected, arguing Student could not access a computer, maintain attention, or participate in virtual learning without someone physically present. The district maintained that Parent could provide that assistance at home, and that it lacked sufficient medical information to safely offer in-person services. Student went without any services from May 2020 through May 2021 while the dispute continued. A separate fight also erupted over a health assessment the district proposed but failed to complete after Parent signed consent in March 2021.

What the District Did Wrong

Virtual-only services without in-person support denied Student a FAPE. Every member of the district's own IEP team who testified at hearing acknowledged that Student could not access virtual learning independently. Student could not turn on a computer, navigate to a virtual classroom, complete assignments, or sustain attention without consistent hands-on support. Despite this, the district offered no in-person aide, no in-home assistant, and no accommodation to bridge that gap — instead assuming Parent would fill that role. The ALJ found this legally unacceptable: a district cannot delegate its obligation to provide a FAPE to a parent, especially for a child with Student's level of medical and educational need. The COVID-19 pandemic did not excuse this failure; state guidance specifically permitted in-person services for students in exceptional circumstances, and Student plainly qualified.

The district's assessment plan was legally defective, and the district failed to conduct the health assessment it requested. The district's May 2020 assessment plan did not include the required notice that no IEP would result from the assessment without parental consent — a statutory requirement. This made the plan non-compliant, meaning the district could not force the assessment over Parent's objections. Separately, after Parent signed consent to the health assessment in March 2021, the district never contacted a single one of Student's doctors — not by letter, not by phone — claiming Parent's written-communication-only requirement on the medical releases made the consent "conditional." The ALJ rejected this argument: Parent allowed written communication freely and allowed verbal communication with Parent or counsel present. The district simply chose not to use the releases it had, then blamed Parent for the delay.

What Was Ordered

1. Enterprise must fund 40 hours of direct, individual, in-person, in-home specialized academic instruction through a nonpublic agency of Parent's choice.
2. Enterprise must fund 40 hours of direct, individual, in-person, in-home speech and language services through a nonpublic agency of Parent's choice.
3. Enterprise must fund 20 hours of direct, individual, in-person, in-home occupational therapy through a nonpublic agency of Parent's choice.
4. Enterprise must fund 4 hours of direct, individual, in-person, in-home physical therapy through a nonpublic agency of Parent's choice.
5. Enterprise must fund an independent health evaluation by a licensed physician of Parent's choice (not to exceed $5,000), including time to attend the IEP meeting to present findings.
6. All compensatory hours must be used by February 1, 2024, or they are forfeited.
7. Parent must select an assessor and notify the district within 30 days; the district must contract with the assessor within 15 days of that notice.

Why This Matters for Parents

1. A district cannot make a FAPE offer it knows the child cannot access. If your child cannot independently use the technology or setting the district is proposing, the district must provide support to bridge that gap — it cannot simply assume you will do it. This case makes clear that delegating that responsibility to a parent is not legally acceptable.

2. You are not required to be your child's in-school assistant. Even if you are willing to help, the district cannot count on your assistance to make its program a FAPE. This is especially true for children with significant medical and educational needs who require consistent support throughout the school day.

3. Check every assessment plan for required legal language. California law requires assessment plans to explicitly state that no IEP will result from the assessment without parental consent. If that language is missing, the plan is defective — and the district cannot override your consent conditions using a flawed document.

4. Limiting how a district communicates with your child's doctors is not the same as refusing consent to an assessment. This ALJ drew a clear line: restricting the mode of communication (e.g., requiring things in writing) is different from blocking the assessment entirely. The district still had a duty to actually use the releases it had before claiming they were insufficient.