Source: https://www.specialedlaw.com/database/sharon-public-schools-v-student-bsea-09-3175/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 14:59:48+00:00

Document:
A hearing was held on December 9, 2008 at the Bureau of Special Education Appeals before Catherine M. Putney-Yaceshyn, Hearing Officer.
Sharon Public Schools requested an expedited hearing on November 19, 2008 and the hearing was held on December 9, 2008. Both Parents participated in the hearing via telephone conference call by agreement of the parties. Both parties made oral closing arguments and the record closed on December 9, 2008.
The official record of this hearing consists of Sharon Public Schools’ exhibits marked S-1 through S-15, Parent’s exhibits marked P-A through P-E; and approximately three hours of recorded oral testimony.
1. Whether the IEP proposed on November 3, 2008 for the period from November 3, 2008 through November 3, 2009 is reasonably calculated to provide Student with a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.
2. Whether Parents ongoing refusal to permit Sharon Public Schools to implement such services constitutes a denial of a free appropriate public education to Student.
9. Naami Turk, Psy.D, is a consulting clinical psychologist to the Sharon Public Schools and a Massachusetts licensed clinical psychologist. She was asked to conduct a safety evaluation of Student and was familiar with him from prior evaluations she had conducted. She described Student’s mental status during the evaluation as stable and based in reality. She explained that Student did not show any remorse regarding the incident and also did not indicate any intent to act aggressively. Instead, he flatly denied that the incident occurred. He did not feel badly about the incident because he did not think he had done anything wrong. She explained that Student’s thinking can be very inflexible. Additionally, he does not feel safe at Sharon Middle School. Student thinks that staff members try to get him mad intentionally. He could not understand why the rules regarding reading out loud are different in the general education classroom than in the substantially separate classroom. He was not able to shift his cognitive perspective of how others may have felt during the scissors incident. Dr. Turk observed inappropriate self-stimulatory behaviors such as hair pulling, shifting in his seat, and repeating things in a perseverative manner.
11. The Team convened on November 3, 2008 to review Dr. Turk’s safety evaluation. Sharon staff expressed their desire for Student to participate appropriately and safely as a sixth grader in the Sharon Middle School community and utilize all of the supports and services he requires for optimal academic and social success. Father’s expressed his desire for Student to have as much of a “normal schedule” as possible. He requested that Student be permitted to attend all classes within general education, with small groups for reading and math. Additionally, Father advocated for Student to be taught the sixth grade curriculum and be held to the same standards as other sixth graders in all of his academic work.
The Team discussed the fact that Student had returned to Sharon and attended school for approximately four weeks. He was suspended for over ten days during that period. He had been very disruptive and non-compliant in all of his sixth grade classes. He handed in incomplete homework and his test and quiz scores have been extremely low. His teachers were unclear as to what Student understood in his sixth grade classes due to his sporadic attempts at homework, classwork, and projects. Student often becomes belligerent when offered assistance, such as a scribe or a suggestion to type his work in school. On several occasions Student has had outbursts and has not been able to return to the classroom because he has become increasingly agitated and full of rage. The staff is concerned about Student’s safety and the safety of others when he raises his arms in a threatening manner and when he verbally screams threats to them.
The Team recommended a number of accommodations to assist Student in the classroom. The accommodations included but were not limited to providing positive reinforcement at all times to foster appropriate behavior, providing sensory motor activities/motor breaks to facilitate attention and compliance, utilizing a multisensory approach to teaching, providing Student with an adult scribe for writing tasks or allowing Student to use a keyboard. Father objected to Sharon’s providing Student with accommodations and insisted that Student work at grade level with no modifications.
The Team recommended that Student receive small group instruction for all academics and specials. It recommended facilitated social interaction with peers and adults to reinforce appropriate behavior. The Team also recommended Student receive individualized support for instruction and reinforcement of receptive/expressive language and articulation skills, reading and math. A daily behavioral plan with appropriate rewards and reinforcement was recommended. The Team recommended a modified sixth grade curriculum including homework and tests.
The Team proposed that Student be educated in a substantially separate classroom. They proposed a weekly consultation in speech and language, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and by the special education teacher. They recommended direct services in a separate setting for speech and language 1 x 40 minutes per cycle to address social skills and pragmatics; occupational therapy 1 x 30 minutes per cycle; classroom instruction by a special education teacher and/or special education assistant 5 x 45 minutes per cycle in a substantially separate classroom for math, English Language Arts, science, and social studies; a 1:1 instructional assistant 5 x 45 minutes per cycle in a substantially separate classroom for math, English Language Arts, science, and social studies; and adapted physical education with the physical therapist 1 x 40 minutes per cycle.
The Team determined that Student is very frustrated in the general education classes which may explain the increase in his acting out behaviors. The Team feels very strongly that an inclusive environment is detrimental to Student and that he requires a smaller, more contained environment where he can receive individualized assistance and work on a modified curriculum that meets his academic needs. They also determined that he required a behavior intervention plan which they indicated was attached to the IEP5 .
14. Steven Kaplan is the Director of Special Services at Sharon Public Schools. He became aware of Student’s behavioral issues very soon after Student began attending Sharon Middle School. He has had two or three telephone conversations with Father, most recently on December 15, 2008. During that conversation he relayed Sharon’s concern that Student is frustrated by the demands that he do grade level work. He explained to Father that Sharon wanted to provide Student with instruction that would enable him to learn. Either he, Mr. O’Rourke, or Ms. Cohen have responded every time he received a communication from Father.
15. Mr. Kaplan testified that he has had to intervene during Ms. Mathews’ sessions with Student on may occasions. His office is right outside of the room where the tutorial is held and he often hears Student screaming. He has received two e-mails from department chairs requesting that he find an alternate location for Student’s tutoring because of the disruption he causes. He has also overheard Student perseverating about different issues and noted that it is difficult for Student to shift once he is focused on one task.
Student is an individual with a disability, falling within the purview of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)6 and the state special education statute.7 As such, he is entitled to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Although Parents do not acknowledge that Student has significant disabilities, they did not challenge his eligibility in this hearing. Thus, neither his status nor his entitlement is in dispute. Under the FAPE standard, the IEP proposed by the school district must offer the student a free appropriate public education that meets state educational standards. This education must be offered in the least restrictive environment appropriate to meet the student’s individual needs8 . Federal law also requires that the student be able to fully participate in the general curriculum to the maximum extent possible. 20 USC § 1415(d)(1)(A)(iii); 34 CFR 300.347(a)(2)(I) and (a)(3)(ii); 64 Fed. Reg. No. 48, page 12595, column 1; See also, In Re: Worcester Public Schools, BSEA # 00-1912, 6 MSER 194 (2000).
Additionally, the student’s education must be offered in the least restrictive environment appropriate to meet his/her individual needs9 . 20 USC §1414(d)(1)(A)(iii); 34 CFR 300.347(a)(2)(i) and (a)(3)(ii); 64 Fed. Reg. No. 48, page 12595, column 1; MGL c. 71B § 1; 603 CMR 28.02 (12). See In re: Worcester Public Schools , BSEA # 00-0912, 6 MSER 194 (SEA MA 2000) and In re: Gill-Montague Public Schools District , BSEA # 02-1776, August 28, 2002.
As stated by the federal courts, the LEA is responsible to offer students meaningful access to an education through an IEP that provides “significant learning” and confers “meaningful benefit” to the student10 , through “personalized instruction with sufficient support services …”11 . The requirements of the law assure the student access to a public education rather than an education that maximizes the student’s individual potential. Lenn v. Portland School Committee , 998 F.2d 1083 (1 st Cir. 1993); GD v. Westmoreland School District , 930 F.2d 942 (1 st Cir. 1991).
The burden of persuasion in an administrative hearing challenging an IEP is placed upon the party seeking relief. Schaffer v. Weast , 546 U.S. 49, 126 S. Ct. 528, 534, 537 (2005) In this case, Sharon is the party seeking relief, and thus has the burden of persuading the hearing officer of its position.
In the most recently proposed IEP, Sharon proposes Student be placed in a substantially separate classroom to address his academic and behavioral needs. The settings that they have considered are out-of-district settings because Sharon does not have a program that can provide the services the Team deems necessary for Student. Both state and federal law require that special education students are educated in the least restrictive environment. This means that to the maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities must be educated with students who do not have disabilities. Programs and services can only be implemented in separate settings when the nature and severity of the child’s special needs is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. See 20 U.S.C. 1412 (5)(A).
The evidence before more resoundingly shows that Student is not able to make progress in the general education setting. Although Parents do not acknowledge Student’s disabilities, his disabilities are significant and impact his learning to a large degree. Student was not successful during his time in Texas nor was he successful in the general education environment in Sharon as evidenced by the significant number of behavioral episodes he experienced in both settings and his lack of academic success. He is also not successful in the one to one tutoring sessions with Ms. Mathews. He is apparently frustrated by the grade-level academic demands even in the one to one environment.
The IEP proposed by Sharon for the period from November 3, 2008 through November 3, 2009 proposes supports for Student in all of his areas of need. It proposes modified curriculum to address Student’s academic weaknesses and address his frustration. It proposes speech language therapy to address his deficits in that area. It proposes occupational therapy to address his weaknesses in visual motor and fine motor skills, motor speed and sensory modulation. Additionally, the IEP proposes that Student receive all of his academic instruction in a small setting with a special education teacher and a 1:1 instructional assistant. Additionally, the IEP included a behavioral plan, which has proven to be effective for Student in the past.
Steven Kaplan credibly testified that the IEP would meet all of Student’s identified needs. I relied upon Dr. Turk’s testimony regarding her evaluation of Student. I found her to be credible and knowledgeable of Student’s needs especially given her prior history of evaluating him. The IEP is responsive to her clinical recommendations for an appropriate program for Student, namely a small and structured setting with clear expectations.
Sharon has identified the Charms Collaborative as having a program that would be appropriate to meet Student’s needs. Although Sharon did not provide extensive information about the program, it appears that the program would be able to provide all of the services required by Student’s IEP and as such it would be an appropriate placement for him.
It is unfortunate that Parents do not recognize Student’s significant needs and the way they impact his ability to learn. Student appears to be becoming increasingly frustrated with his academic limitations and clearly requires special education services. It is also apparent that Student has developed the opinion that he should not accept help from teachers and instructional assistants at school. His belief that he should not accept help from those whose job it is to assist him is not going to aide him in his learning. The Team should consider adding a weekly counseling session to Student’s IEP to assist Student in recognizing his learning differences and assure him that it is appropriate to seek assistance from teachers, instructional assistants, and other school staff.
I find that the IEP proposed by Sharon for the period from November 3, 2008 through November 3, 2009 is reasonably calculated to provide Student with a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. I further find that insisting that Student be educated in the general education setting does a great disservice to Student and has created an environment that has been unsafe for Student, staff, and peers. Student has demonstrated that he is unable to access the curriculum in the general education environment and that he has become frustrated by his difficulty. Student requires supports and services to access the curriculum.
Based upon the foregoing, I find that Sharon’s proposed IEP for the period from November 3, 2008 through November 3, 2009 is reasonably calculated to provide Student with a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. Sharon shall take whatever steps it deems necessary to allow it to implement this IEP. Additionally, the Team shall consider whether Student requires counseling to address his refusal to accept assistance from staff.
I further find that Parents ongoing refusal to permit Sharon Public Schools to implement such services constitutes a denial of a free appropriate public education to Student and that his continued attendance in the regular education public school environment poses a substantial risk of danger and disruption to Student and others.
Mother participated in the entire hearing via telephone conference call.
Father participated in the entire hearing via telephone conference call.
The record in the instant case does not otherwise contain evaluation reports other than the Safety Evaluation completed by Dr. Turk. However, the decision rendered in BSEA # 08-4524 (May 15, 2008) is part of the record and its findings were based upon a thorough review of medical, developmental, psychological, and educational evaluations. (S-15) There is no evidence that Student’s profile has changed since May 2008.

References: § 1415
 §1414
 § 1
 v. 
 v. 
 v.