When a Student Elopes, the District Must Assess Behavior Before Changing Placement

What Happened

A young girl with autism attended an SDC class at a Los Angeles elementary school. She had a history of attempting to leave the classroom and campus — a behavior called elopement — and she had a one-to-one aide assigned to her.

On February 4, 2008, the student managed to leave the campus entirely and crossed a busy street. It was a terrifying and dangerous incident. The student did not understand the danger she was in.

What the District Did Wrong

Instead of responding to this escalation by assessing the behavior — conducting a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) to understand why the student was eloping and what supports could prevent it — the district skipped that step entirely.

Seventeen days after the elopement, a single administrator met with the mother (through a translator) and told her the student was being moved to a nonpublic school with a more restrictive setting. No special education teacher was present. No general education teacher was present. No assessments had been conducted. No FBA had been done.

The district simply moved the child to a more restrictive placement without following any of the required procedures.

What the Judge Found

ALJ Christine Harwell found that the district denied FAPE on every issue:

"The off-campus elopement of February 4, 2008, was a 'serious' behavior problem, not only because of the danger that Student would be injured by traffic and because Student did not comprehend the danger but also because it demonstrated an escalation of eloping behavior."

"District had a legal obligation to perform an FAA to identify the reasons for the behavior and the types of positive supports that could be considered by the properly constituted IEP team. District's failure to do so denied Student a FAPE."

"By forgoing behavior interventions without determining whether District could meet Student's behavioral needs with supplemental services, District denied Student a FAPE."

The ALJ also found the February 21 meeting was not a valid IEP meeting because required team members were absent.

What Was Ordered

• The district must conduct an FBA and develop a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) within 60 days
• The student's placement stays at her current school through the end of the school year and ESY
• 20 hours of compensatory speech and language therapy from an independent provider at the district's expense

Why This Matters for Parents

A dangerous behavior incident is not a reason to skip the assessment process — it is a reason to conduct one. When your child's behavior escalates, the district is legally required to conduct an FBA to understand the behavior and develop a BIP with positive supports. The district cannot use a behavior incident as an excuse to dump your child into a more restrictive placement without assessment, without a full IEP team, and without your meaningful participation.

If a district tries to change your child's placement after a behavior incident without first conducting an FBA, that is a procedural denial of FAPE. You have the right to insist that the district assess the behavior, convene a full IEP team, and consider less restrictive alternatives before any placement change.