District Failed to Implement IEP During COVID Closures for Student with Multiple Disabilities

A 15-year-old student with cerebral palsy, legal blindness, seizure disorder, and multiple other disabilities attended a specialized Orange County program through Bellflower Unified. The parent filed a due process complaint alleging the district failed to implement her IEP during her recovery from hip surgery, during COVID-19 school closures, and into the 2020-2021 school year. The ALJ found FAPE denials during COVID distance learning (April–June 2020) and the reopening period (August–October 2020), awarding compensatory services, while ruling in the district's favor on most other issues.

What Happened

The student in this case was a 15-year-old girl enrolled in a highly specialized Orange County Department of Education program (Mann Special Classes, transitioning to Trident Special Classes for high school) through a placement arranged by Bellflower Unified School District. She had an extraordinarily complex profile: cerebral palsy, legal blindness, seizure disorder, quadriparesis, optic nerve atrophy, developmental delay, and a cognitive level assessed between birth and seven months old. She was nonverbal, non-ambulatory, fed through a gastrostomy tube, and required full adult assistance for all daily living and medical needs. Her IEP included specialized academic instruction, speech-language therapy, occupational and physical therapy, vision services, adapted physical education, nursing services, a full-time one-to-one aide, and transportation.

The parent filed a due process complaint in May 2021 covering several time periods: (1) the spring and summer of 2019, when the student could not attend school after hip surgery; (2) the COVID-19 distance learning period beginning April 2020; (3) the 2020 and 2021 IEPs themselves; (4) the 2020-2021 school year when the campus reopened but the student could not return because she had not yet been vaccinated; and (5) a transportation dispute at the start of the 2021-2022 school year. The case was litigated over nine hearing days and produced an 83-page decision with a mixed outcome: the student won on two implementation issues but lost on the IEP content challenges, the surgery-era claims, the transportation issue, and most of the reopening period.

What the ALJ Found

The outcome differed significantly across the six issues litigated.

Issue 1 — Hip Surgery Period (May–August 2019): District Prevailed. The district did not implement the IEP as written while the student was recovering from hip surgery, but it could not have done so without medical clearance. The student's highly movement-based program required physical activities the surgeon had not cleared her to perform. The ALJ found the district was not required to implement an IEP that would have been medically unsafe. As for the district's failure to notify the parent about home-hospital instruction and convene an IEP team meeting, the ALJ found this claim was barred by the two-year statute of limitations — the parent knew about the problem by March 2019 at the latest and did not file until May 2021, more than two years later.

Issue 2 — COVID Distance Learning (April–June 2020): Student Prevailed. The district failed to implement key parts of the May 2019 IEP during the initial COVID-19 school closure period. Occupational therapy, health and nursing services, vision services, adapted physical education, and intensive individual services were not delivered as required. The ALJ found this was a material FAPE denial for the roughly 11-week period from April 1, 2020 through June 16, 2020.

Issue 3 — May 2020 IEP Content: District Prevailed. The parent argued the 2020 IEP had insufficient present levels of performance and unmeasurable or inappropriate goals. The ALJ rejected all four sub-issues. The slight overlap between the 2020 and prior IEP present levels was explained by the student's extremely low developmental ceiling. Goals were found to be objectively measurable and appropriately based on the student's actual functioning.

Issue 4 — 2020-2021 School Year Implementation: Partially Student Prevailed. When school campuses physically reopened in August 2020, the district was obligated to implement the IEP in person. The student could not attend because she had not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine and had a medical vulnerability. The ALJ found the district failed to provide an appropriate alternative from August 25, 2020 through October 25, 2020 — a roughly nine-week period. After October 25, 2020, however, the ALJ found the district prevailed because the parent's ongoing refusal to facilitate virtual sessions and the parent's rejection of equipment deliveries significantly undermined the district's ability to provide services. The parent repeatedly cancelled or failed to sign onto Zoom sessions, refused equipment sent to the home, and did not engage with the educational program, which the ALJ weighed heavily in determining both liability and remedy.

Issue 5 — May 2021 IEP Content: District Prevailed. The parent again challenged the present levels of performance and goals in the 2021 IEP. The ALJ found the district was significantly hampered by the parent's refusal to consent to a triennial reassessment and her pattern of cancelling sessions that would have generated data. The seven goals developed — covering functional academics, receptive communication, gross motor skills, receptive language, social-emotional development, vocational skills, and adaptive daily living — were all found to be measurable and appropriate given the student's current functioning.

Issue 6 — Transportation (August–September 2021): District Prevailed. An appropriate wheelchair-accessible van with a masked one-to-one aide arrived on the first day of school. The parent refused to allow the student to board because the aide disclosed she was unvaccinated. The ALJ found the district fulfilled its transportation obligation and that the parent's preference for a vaccinated aide, while understandable, was not required by law and did not constitute a FAPE denial.

What Was Ordered

Bellflower Unified shall fund 50 hours of specialized academic instruction as compensatory education, to be provided by a certified non-public agency of the parent's choosing.
Bellflower shall fund 20 hours of speech and language therapy as compensatory education.
Bellflower shall fund 13.5 hours of physical therapy as compensatory education.
Bellflower shall fund 10 hours of adaptive physical education/physical therapy as compensatory education.
Bellflower shall fund 93.5 hours of one-to-one aide support to allow the student to access the above compensatory services.
Bellflower shall provide accessible transportation with an aide for all compensatory sessions that are not held in the student's home.
Bellflower shall contract with the parent-selected non-public agency within 45 days of receiving written notice from the parent identifying the chosen provider.
All compensatory services must be used by March 13, 2024. Unused hours after that date are forfeited.
All other requests for relief were denied, including the parent's requests for 500 hours of academic instruction, 575 hours of aide services, 40 hours of speech, 21 hours of occupational therapy, 11 hours of vision services, and 3 hours of physical therapy, as well as attorney's fees.

Why This Matters for Parents

File within two years — even if you are still hopeful things will improve. The statute of limitations in special education cases is strict. The ALJ dismissed the entire hip surgery claim because the parent knew the district wasn't providing services in early 2019 but didn't file until May 2021. Waiting to see if the situation resolves, or waiting until you understand your legal rights, does not restart the clock. If your child misses more than five consecutive school days due to a medical condition and the district hasn't contacted you about home-hospital instruction, consult an advocate or attorney promptly.
When your child is medically unable to attend school for more than five consecutive days, the district must notify you about home-hospital instruction and hold an IEP meeting. This is a legal requirement under California law (Ed. Code § 48206.3). In this case, the district failed to do this — but the claim was thrown out because the parent filed too late. Know this right exists, document whether the district honors it, and act quickly if they don't.
Your participation in virtual services during school closures is documented and can affect your child's remedy. The ALJ specifically reduced the compensatory education award and declined to award services for later periods because the parent repeatedly cancelled Zoom sessions, refused to accept equipment deliveries, and did not engage with the educational program. Even when a district is falling short, courts and ALJs look at whether the parent also did their part. Keep records of every session your child attended or missed and why, and communicate in writing with the school about any barriers you face.
Refusing a triennial assessment makes it harder to win on IEP content challenges. The parent declined the district's triennial assessment plan in February 2021. This directly weakened her ability to argue that the present levels of performance were inaccurate and the goals were inappropriate, because the district had no formal assessment data — and the ALJ said that was the parent's choice. If you have concerns about the quality of a proposed assessment, you can negotiate the plan or seek an Independent Educational Evaluation, but outright refusal can backfire.
Compensatory education awards are shaped by what evidence you present — bring specific numbers and expert support. The parent requested hundreds of hours of compensatory services across multiple categories. The ALJ awarded far fewer hours because the parent provided no evidence of the specific type, amount, duration, or educational need for those services. If you are seeking compensatory education, work with your advocate or attorney to document the specific services missed, present evidence of your child's educational regression, and support your requested remedy with expert testimony or a detailed written rationale tied to your child's individual needs.

What Happened

What the ALJ Found

The outcome differed significantly across the six issues litigated.

What Was Ordered

Bellflower Unified shall fund 50 hours of specialized academic instruction as compensatory education, to be provided by a certified non-public agency of the parent's choosing.
Bellflower shall fund 20 hours of speech and language therapy as compensatory education.
Bellflower shall fund 13.5 hours of physical therapy as compensatory education.
Bellflower shall fund 10 hours of adaptive physical education/physical therapy as compensatory education.
Bellflower shall fund 93.5 hours of one-to-one aide support to allow the student to access the above compensatory services.
Bellflower shall provide accessible transportation with an aide for all compensatory sessions that are not held in the student's home.
Bellflower shall contract with the parent-selected non-public agency within 45 days of receiving written notice from the parent identifying the chosen provider.
All compensatory services must be used by March 13, 2024. Unused hours after that date are forfeited.
All other requests for relief were denied, including the parent's requests for 500 hours of academic instruction, 575 hours of aide services, 40 hours of speech, 21 hours of occupational therapy, 11 hours of vision services, and 3 hours of physical therapy, as well as attorney's fees.

Why This Matters for Parents

File within two years — even if you are still hopeful things will improve. The statute of limitations in special education cases is strict. The ALJ dismissed the entire hip surgery claim because the parent knew the district wasn't providing services in early 2019 but didn't file until May 2021. Waiting to see if the situation resolves, or waiting until you understand your legal rights, does not restart the clock. If your child misses more than five consecutive school days due to a medical condition and the district hasn't contacted you about home-hospital instruction, consult an advocate or attorney promptly.
When your child is medically unable to attend school for more than five consecutive days, the district must notify you about home-hospital instruction and hold an IEP meeting. This is a legal requirement under California law (Ed. Code § 48206.3). In this case, the district failed to do this — but the claim was thrown out because the parent filed too late. Know this right exists, document whether the district honors it, and act quickly if they don't.
Your participation in virtual services during school closures is documented and can affect your child's remedy. The ALJ specifically reduced the compensatory education award and declined to award services for later periods because the parent repeatedly cancelled Zoom sessions, refused to accept equipment deliveries, and did not engage with the educational program. Even when a district is falling short, courts and ALJs look at whether the parent also did their part. Keep records of every session your child attended or missed and why, and communicate in writing with the school about any barriers you face.
Refusing a triennial assessment makes it harder to win on IEP content challenges. The parent declined the district's triennial assessment plan in February 2021. This directly weakened her ability to argue that the present levels of performance were inaccurate and the goals were inappropriate, because the district had no formal assessment data — and the ALJ said that was the parent's choice. If you have concerns about the quality of a proposed assessment, you can negotiate the plan or seek an Independent Educational Evaluation, but outright refusal can backfire.
Compensatory education awards are shaped by what evidence you present — bring specific numbers and expert support. The parent requested hundreds of hours of compensatory services across multiple categories. The ALJ awarded far fewer hours because the parent provided no evidence of the specific type, amount, duration, or educational need for those services. If you are seeking compensatory education, work with your advocate or attorney to document the specific services missed, present evidence of your child's educational regression, and support your requested remedy with expert testimony or a detailed written rationale tied to your child's individual needs.