Charter School Wins Right to Assess Student with Autism Over Parent's Objection

What Happened

Student was an eight-year-old girl eligible for special education based on autism. She had also been diagnosed with conduct disorder, ADHD, and oppositional defiance disorder, and had a history of 45-minute meltdowns beginning at age five. She received private applied behavior analysis therapy, psychiatric services, and clinical trauma counseling outside of school. Over the course of the 2021-2022 school year at Sycamore Academy, Student's behaviors at school escalated significantly. Staff documented daily elopement from the classroom, refusal to follow staff directives, physical aggression toward staff and peers (including biting another student resulting in a three-day suspension), and extended incidents of screaming, destroying property, and locking herself in a bathroom. Staff reported that the classroom aide was spending nearly all of her time with Student alone, even though Student's IEP did not include a dedicated one-to-one aide.

In November 2021, Sycamore Academy presented Parent with an assessment plan proposing a functional behavior assessment and an educationally related mental health assessment. Parent refused to consent. She believed the school was failing to implement Student's existing IEP accommodations, that Student's behaviors were caused by staff not providing adequate food and water, and that Student's private therapist was already addressing her mental health needs. The relationship between Parent and school staff had become, in the ALJ's words, "toxic and openly hostile." Sycamore Academy ultimately filed for due process to obtain the right to conduct the assessments without parental consent.

What the ALJ Found

The ALJ ruled entirely in favor of Sycamore Academy on both issues. On the functional behavior assessment, the ALJ found overwhelming evidence that Student's maladaptive behaviors were serious, escalating, and affecting her access to education. Teachers, the educational specialist, and other staff provided consistent, credible testimony about daily elopements, physical aggression, prolonged meltdowns, and refusal to participate in services. The ALJ found that these behaviors — combined with Parent's own repeated safety concerns and requests for additional behavioral supports — made a functional behavior assessment not just appropriate but necessary.

On the educationally related mental health assessment, the ALJ found that Student's history of trauma (including a sexual assault on campus, a house fire, and multiple school transitions), combined with her mental health diagnoses of conduct disorder and oppositional defiance disorder, created a clear need for the school to assess her mental health needs in the educational setting. The ALJ noted that Parent's refusal to consent could not substitute for the school's obligation to assess all areas of suspected need in order to develop an appropriate IEP.

The ALJ also found the assessment plan itself was legally sufficient. Parents are entitled to a general understanding of the areas to be assessed and who will conduct the assessments — not a detailed list of every test, protocol, or assessor credential. Parent's demand for that level of detail exceeded what the law requires. Finally, the ALJ was clear that Parent's private functional behavior assessment, conducted clinically and outside of school, did not satisfy the school's right and obligation to conduct its own educationally related assessment.

What Was Ordered

1. Sycamore Academy may conduct a functional behavior assessment of Student without parental consent (with a 30-day delay after the start of the 2022-2023 school year permitted).
2. Sycamore Academy may conduct an educationally related mental health assessment of Student without parental consent.
3. Sycamore Academy must notify Parent within 15 business days of the decision regarding the days, times, and places Parent must make Student available for assessment.
4. Parent must cooperate in making Student available for the assessments and must timely complete and return any documents requested as part of the assessment process.
5. Both parties were ordered to communicate with each other in a cooperative and dignified manner.

Why This Matters for Parents

1. School districts and charter schools have an independent right to assess — they do not need your permission to fulfill their legal obligation. When a school identifies areas of suspected need, it can seek a due process hearing to conduct assessments over a parent's objection. Refusing consent does not end the matter; it may result in a hearing where the school can be granted permission to assess without you.

2. A standard assessment plan does not need to name specific tests or assessors to be legally valid. The law only requires that parents receive a general description of the areas to be assessed and the types of professionals who will conduct the assessment. Demanding a detailed list of every test and protocol is not a legally recognized basis for refusing consent.

3. Private assessments and private therapy do not automatically replace the school's right to conduct its own evaluations. Even if your child is receiving outside services, the school is entitled to gather its own educational data to develop an appropriate IEP. A clinically-focused private assessment may not address your child's specific school-based behaviors.

4. A hostile or adversarial relationship with school staff can affect how the ALJ weighs your testimony — and your child. In this case, the ALJ gave little weight to Parent's claims in part because they were based on what Student reported at home, and the ALJ found school staff more credible. The breakdown in the adult relationship also directly harmed Student, who was placed in the middle of the conflict and became distressed when called to testify.