2008 D e c i sion s O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Thir d C ir c uit 2-7-2008 

# M .S . v . M ullic a T wp B d E d P r e c e de nt i al or N on-P r e c e de nt i al : N on-P r e c e de nt i al D ocke t N o . 07-2466

F o llow thi s and a dd it ion al work s at : http://d i git alc ommon s .l a w . vi ll anova . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2008

Thi s de c i sion i s br ou ght t o you for f r e e and ope n a c c e s s b y the O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Thir d C ir c uit at V i ll anova U nive r sity S choo l of L a

w Di git al Reposit ory

. It h as be e n a c c ept e d for inclusion in 2008 D e c i sion s b y an author i z e d a dmini s tr at or of V i ll anova U nive r sity S choo l of L a

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. F or mor e inform at ion, p le as e c ont a ct Be n j amin . C arl s on@l a

w . vi ll anova . e du . Re c omme nde d C it at ion " M .S . v . M ull ica T wp Bd E d " (2008). 2008 D e cisio n s . P ape r 1631. http://d i git alc ommon s .l a

w . vi ll anova . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2008/1631NOT P RE CE DE NT I AL UN I TED STATES CO UR T OF A PP EALS F O R T H E T H IR D C IR C U IT

___________ N o. 07- 2466

___________ M .S ; D .S ., in d iv id u a lly a n d o n b e h a lf o f M .S ., J r., A p p e llan ts

v. M UL L I CA T OWNS HI P BO AR D OF E DUC AT I ON

________________________ A p p ea l from the U n it ed S tat es D istri ct C o u rt fort he D i s t r i ctof N ew J er s ey ( D . N . J . C i vi l N o. 06- cv- 00533) D i stri ctJudg e: H on orabl e Joseph E . Ir enas

________________________ Subm i tt ed Pur s uantt o T hi r d C i r cui tL A R 34. 1( a)

February1, 2008 B efor e: R E N D E L L , J O R D A N and G A R T H , C i r cui tJ udges

( Fi l ed: February7, 2008)

___________ OPI NI ON O F THE COURT

___________ P E R C UR I AM M . S. and D . S. , i ndi vi dual l yand on beha l f of thei rs on M . S. , J r . , appea l an or derof the U ni t ed St at es D i s t r i ctC our tforthe D i s t r i ctof N ew J er s eygr ant i ng j udgm entfor M ul l i ca Tow ns hi p B oar d of Educat i on on t he admi ni s t r at i ve age ncyr ecor d i n t hei ract i on2

u n d e r t h e In d iv id u a ls w ith D is a b iliti e s E d u c a tio n A c t, 2 0 U .S .C . § § 1 4 0 0 -1 4 9 1 (“ ID E A ” ). W e wi l l a f

f i r m. M .S . Jr. w a s b o rn p re m a tu re lya n d su f f e re d se rio u s h e a lth p ro b lem s th a t re su lted in d e v e lo p m e n tal d e lays in h is g ro ss a n d f in e m o to r sk ill s, sp e e c h -la n g u a g e d e v e lo p m e n t, an d sen so ryinteg rati o n . W h en h e w as a b o u t th ree y ea rs old , a M u ll ica T o w n sh ip B o ard o f E d u c a tio n C h ild S tu d yT e a m d e te rm in e d th a t M .S . J r. w a s p re s c h o o l d is a b le d . M .S . J r. enr ol l ed i n t he Tow ns hi p’ s pr es chool . A n I ndi vi dual i zed Educat i on Pr ogr am (“ I E P”) w as cr eat ed, and ea r l yi nt ervent i on s ervi ces w er e pr ovi ded. M . S. J r . ’ s I E P w as r evi ew ed one y earl at er , and the C hi l d StudyT eam r ecomm ended thatear l yi nt ervent i on s ervi ces c o n tin u e . D . S. agr eed w i t h t he r ecomm ended s ervi ces , buts he al s o s oughtan i ndepende nt eval uat i on of M . S. J r . byan occ upat i onal ther api s t . T he ther api s tr ecomm ended 60 mi nu t e s of

oc c up a t i on a l t he r a pype rw e e k i ns t e a d o f the 30 mi nu t e s pr ov i de d f ori n M . S. J r . ’ s I E P. D . S. w r ot e the C hi l d StudyT eam and as ked w hetheri tw oul d coverthe cos tof add i t i on al t herapy . In r espon se, t he C hil d S tud yT eam held a Prog ram R eview t o d i scuss D .S .’s c o n c e rn s a n d d e te rm in e w h e th e r M .S . J r.’ s c u rr e n t p ro g ra m w a s a p p ro p ri a te . B ec au se M . S . Jr. w as n o t exh ibit ing the p rob lem s ide n ti fied in the p ri v ate the rap ist ’s re p o rt , th e C h ild S tu d yT e a m s u g g e s te d a re -e v a lu a tio n o f M .S . J r.. D . S. di d notcons entt o a r e- eval uat i on, and w r ot e a l ett ert o t he C hi l d StudyT eam s t at i ng thats he di d notr eques ta Pr ogr am R evi ew , and thats he onl yw ant ed t o ext end the3

curr ents ervi ces t o an out s i de pr ovi der . D . S. s t at ed thatM . S. J r . ’ s devel opm ent al i s s ues w er e t oo compl i cat ed fort he s chool t o handl e, thatthe C hi l d StudyT eam di d not re c o g n ize th e se iss u e s, a n d th a t M .S . Jr.’s m o to r sk ill s b e g a n to im p ro v e w ith p riv a te th e ra p y . M .S . J r. h a d a lr e a d yb e g u n p ri v a te th e ra p ya t th e tim e o f th e P ro g ra m R e v ie w . D . S . then w rote to th e sc h o o l distri ct S u p erinten d en t and stat ed that M . S . Jr. r equi r ed occ upat i onal t her apyt w i ce a w eek w i t h equi pm entnotavai l abl e ats chool orat hom e. D . S. as ked thatt he s chool di s cont i nue occ upat i onal ther apybeca us e the ther apy ther e w as i neff

ect i ve and ha r m ful . M . S. J r . ’ s s chool pr i nci pal r epl i ed thatthe C hi l d Study T eam had cr eat ed a r e- eval uat i on pl an t o det erm i ne w hetherM . S. J r . r equi r ed di ffe r ent serv ices, an d that the s ch o o l w o u ld h o n o r he r req u est t o d isco n ti n u e the rap y . M . S . Jr. began pr i vat e occ upat i onal t her apyt w i ce a w eek. T h e C h il d S tud yT ea m lat er h eld a re-ev alua ti o n m ee ti n g to d eterm ine M . S . Jr. ’s ther apyneeds . A new I E P w as cr eat ed, w hi ch i ncl uded a r ecomm endat i on that occupa t i onal t her apybe pr ovi ded once a w eek f orthi r t ym i nut es . D . S. then w r ot e t o t he C h ild S tu d yT e a m a n d s ta te d h e r b e lie f th a t th e s c h o o l w a s u n a b le to p ro v id e M .S . J r. a fr ee a nd appr opr i at e publ i c educ at i on, and thathe mustbe pl ace d i n an out - of- di s t r i ct s chool . D . S. encl os ed i nform at i on aboutthe O r char d Fr i ends School , w hi ch off er ed o cc u p ati o n al th era p yfiv e ti m es a w ee k alon g w ith o ther p rog ram s. In a sep ara te l ett er, D . S. i nform ed the C hi l d StudyT eam t hats he expe ct ed t o arr ange f orM . S. J r . ’ s pl ace m ent a t O rc h a rd F ri e n d s th e n e x t w e e k .4

T h e C h ild S tu d yT e a m m e t to d is c u s s a re -e v a lu a tio n o f M .S . J r. f

o r k in d e rg a rt e n . D . S . i nit i al l yw i t hh el d h er consent, bu tl at er agr eed to the re- evaluat i on . T he p art i es’ l aw y er s appea rt o have di s cus s ed pl aci ng M . S. J r . atO r char d Fr i ends , buttheydi d not re a c h a n a g re e m e n t. D .S . the n in f o rm e d th e S u p e rin ten d e n t th a t sh e in ten d e d to re q u e st a du e pr oc e s s he a r i ng a nd s e e k r e i mbur s e mentfo rtui t i on , e va l ua t i on s , a nd l e ga l fe e s . M . S. J r . enr ol l ed i n O r char d Fr i ends ki nder gar t en, buts t opped att endi ng t ow ar ds the end of t he s chool y eardue t o non- paym entof tui t i on. T he C hi l d StudyT eam m ett o r e- eval uat e M . S. J r . ’ s cl as s i fi cat i on and cr eat e an I E P forfi r s tgr ade. D . S. s entt he C hi l d StudyT eam pr i vat e eva l uat i ons of M . S. J r . and r eques t ed thatt he s chool di s t r i ctpayforpr ogr ams r ecomm ended i n t he eva l uat i ons . T hat s a me d a y , D. S . f

i l e d a d u e p r o c e s s p e t i t i o n wi t h th e Of f i c e o f S p e c i a l Ed u c a t i o n P r o g r a ms of the N ew J er s eyD epart m entof Educat i on. D . S. s oughtan or derdi r ect i ng the B oar d of E d u c a tio n to p ro v id e M .S . Jr. w ith a f re e a n d a p p ro p ria te p u b lic e d u c a tio n , an d to r ei m bur s e D . S. fortui t i on pai d t o O r char d Fr i ends , the cos tof pr i vat e ther apy , and vari ou s pri vate eval uati on s. T he A dm i ni s t r at i ve Law J udge conduc t ed ni ne day s of hea r i ngs . I n a l engthy deci s i on, the A L J found thatM . S. J r . i s handi cappe d and el i gi bl e fora fr ee a nd appr opr i at e publ i c educ at i on, i ncl udi ng s ervi ces underthe I D E A . T he A L J fur t herfound tha tt he Boar d mad e e ve r ye ff ortt o p r ov i de M . S. J r . w i t h s uc h a n e du c a t i on , bu ttha tD . S. had obs truct ed the C hi l d StudyT eam ateveryturn. B ecaus e D . S. di d notgi ve the s choolT he A L J i ni t i al l yor der ed the C hi l d StudyT eam t o m eetand r evi s e thi s I E P bas ed on 1 i nfo rm at i on i n recent pr i vate eval uati on s. O urr efe r ence s t o M . S. J r . ’ s par ent s ar e t o t hem as i ndi vi dual s and i n t hei rr ol e as 2 rep rese n tat ives o f M . S . Jr. 5 d istric t th e o p p o rtu n ityto p ro v id e M .S . Jr. a m e a n in g f u l f re e a n d a p p ro p ria te p u b lic educa t i on, t he A L J s t at ed ther e w as no w ayof det erm i ni ng w hetherhi s I E P m etthe r equi r ement s of the I D E A . N ot i ng thatD . S. had uni l at er al l yr emoved M . S. J r . fr om t he publ i c s chool and enr ol l ed hi m i n pr i vat e s chool , the A L J hel d t hatD . S. w as notent i t l ed to tu iti o n re im b u rse m e n t. T h e A L J a lso ru led th a t th e B o a rd m u st p a yf o r c o sts re late d to M .S . Jr.’s e v a lu a tio n s to th e e x ten t th a t th e C h ild S tu d yT e a m h a d in c o rp o ra ted th e m in to M . S. ’ s fi r s t - gr a de I EP. 1 M . S. J r . ’ s par ent s fi l ed a c om pl ai nti n D i s t r i ctC our tagai ns tthe B oar d undert he 2 ID E A , alle g in g th a t th e B o a rd f a iled to p ro v id e M .S ., Jr. w ith a f re e a n d a p p ro p ria te publ i c educ at i on, and s eeki ng r ei m bur s ementforthe cos tof tui t i on atO r char d Fr i ends and occ upat i onal t her apy , and enf or cementof the A L J ’ s deci s i on thatthe B oar d payfor M . S . Jr. ’s ev alua ti o n s. T h e B o ard b rou g h t a co u n terclai m an d ap p ea led th e A L J’s d e c isio n th a t M .S . Jr.’s p a re n ts w e re e n tit led to re im b u rse m e n t o f c o sts re late d to eval uat i ons i ncorpor at ed i n M . S. J r . ’ s fi r s tgr ade I E P. T he part i es m oved forj udgm enton the admi ni s t r at i ve r ecor d. T h e D istri ct C o u rtfo u n d that a p rep o n d era n ce o f th e e v iden ce su p p o rt ed the A L J’s f in d in g th a t D .S . ref

u se d to c o o p e ra te w ith th e C h ild S tu d yT e a m to su c h a n e x ten t th a t itW e exe r ci s e pl enaryr evi ew of w hetherthe D i s t r i ctC our tappl i ed the corr ectl egal 3 s t andar ds undert he I D E A , and w e r evi ew the D i s t r i ctC our t ’ s fac tual fi ndi ngs forcl ear err or . L . E . v. R amseyB oar d of Educ. , 435 F. 3d 384, 389 ( 3d C i r . 2006) . T he D i s t r i ct C our tappl i ed a modi fi ed de novo r evi ew and w as r equi r ed t o gi ve due w ei ghtt o t he A L J ’ s fac tual fi ndi ngs . I d. 6 w as unr eas onabl ypr event ed fr om cr eat i ng an I E P forthe s chool y earthatD . S. enr ol l ed M .S . Jr. a t O rc h a rd F rie n d s. B e c a u se o f D .S .’s u n re a so n a b len e ss , the D istric t C o u rt h e ld th a t M .S . J r.’ s p a re n ts s h o u ld n o t b e re im b u rs e d f o r p ri v a te tu itio n a n d re la te d s e rv ic e s . S ee 2 0 U . S . C . § 1 4 1 2 (a)(10 )(C ). T h e D istri ct C o u rtfu rth er h eld th at, ev en ab sen t D . S . ’s un reas on ableness, t he p repond erance of the evidence d i d n ot s up po rtM . S . Jr . ’s parent s’ ar gum entthatt he I E P i n pl ace w hen D . S. deci ded t o enr ol l M . S. J r . atO r char d Fr i ends f a ile d to p ro v id e M .S . J r. a f re e a n d a p p ro p ri a te p u b lic e d u c a tio n . T h e D istric t C o u rt a lso c o n c lu d e d th a t M .S . Jr.’s p a re n ts w e re n o t en tit led to r ei m bur s ementfort he eva l uat i ons per form ed af t erD . S. r emoved M . S. J r . fr om the s chool dis tri ctand w hil e he w as at t end i ng O rchar d F ri end s. T he D i stri ctC ou rtno t ed thatthese eval uat i ons w er e s oughtt o es t abl i s h thatthe B oar d’ s s ervi ces w er e i nadequa t e, and not w ith the in tention that M . S . Jr. w o u ld return to the d istri ct. F inally , the D istri ct C o u rt deni ed M . S. J r . ’ s par ent s ’ r eques tforl egal fee s . T hi s appea l fol l ow ed. 3 M .S . Jr.’s p a re n ts’ a p p e llate b rie f c o n sis ts o f

m e d ica l re c o rd s a n d o th e r d o c u m e n ts al ong w i th s um m ar i es of, and comm ent s about , thes e document s . W e w i l l addr es s the few i s s ues r ai s ed forourr evi ew . Fi r s t , M . S. J r . ’ s par ent s m ake the bas el es s al l egat i on thatthe A L J i ns t ruct ed the s chool di s t r i ctt o fal s i fydocument s . T heyal s o cont end thatA ppel l ant s ’ M ot i on forPr ot ect i ve O r derand Seal i ng of R ecor ds i s gr ant ed t o t he 4 ext entthatt heyr eques tt hatal l admi ni s t r at i ve exhi bi t s , tr ans cr i pt s , educa t i onal , and other document s r egar di ng M . S. J r . be s eal ed. 7 the A L J s houl d have r ecus ed hi m s el f bec aus e he w as a form erpubl i c s chool a d m in istra to r. M .S . Jr.’s p a re n ts d id n o t ra ise th e se iss u e s in D istric t C o u rt. In a n ye v e n t, th e A L J’s f

o rm e r p o sitio n in a n d o f itse lf is in su f f icie n t to e sta b lish b ias re q u irin g re c u sa l. M . S . Jr. ’s pa ren ts al so arg u e tha t th e D istri ct C o u rtign o red the f ac t th at M . S . Jr. h a s a b ra in in

ju ry , an d f

a iled to re v iew M .S . Jr.’s p riv a te e v a lu a tio n s. T h e D istric t C o u rt, h o w e v e r, re c o g n ize d M .S . Jr.’s b ra in in ju ryin its o p in io n a n d d isc u ss e d th e c o n ten t o f h is p ri v ate e v alua ti o n s in d eterm ining that the e v iden ce fa il ed to es tablish tha t M . S . , Jr. r ece i ved i nadequa t e s ervi ces fr om t he s chool di s t r i ct . Fi nal l y , M . S. J r . ’ s par ent s cont end thatthe D i s t r i ctC our tei t herfai l ed t o cons i derorm i s appl i ed s ect i ons of the N ew J er s ey A dm i ni s tr at i ve C ode. T heyhave notexpl ai ned, how ever , how thes e al l eged e r r or s have anybear i ng on t he D i s t r i ctC our t ’ s concl us i on thattheyar e notent i t l ed t o r ei m bur s ement of tui t i on and t heirothercost s due to theirun reas on ableness, or al t ernat i vely , becau se th e yd id n o t sh o w th a t th e T o w n sh ip d id n o t p ro v id e M .S . Jr. a f re e a n d a p p ro p ria te e d u c a tio n . A ccor di ngl y , w e s hal l aff i r m the j udgm entof the D i s t r i ctC our tforthe r eas ons s et for th in th a t C o u r t’s c o m p r e h e n s iv e a n d

ex c e lle n t o

p in io n . See 485 F. Supp. 2d 555 (D . N . J. 2 0 0 7 ). 4