Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 281 - Education Department › Title VII - Special Education › Chapter 41 - Special Education › Rule 281-41.148 - Placement of Children by Parents When Fape Is at Issue

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
General.
An LEA or AEA is not required to pay for the cost of
				education, including special education and related services, of a child with a
				disability at a private school or facility if that agency made FAPE available
				to the child and the parents elected to place the child in a private school or
				facility. However, the public agency must include that child in the population
				whose needs are addressed consistent with rules
				281-41.131 (256,256B, 34CFR300)
				to 281-41.144(256,256B, 34CFR300) and Iowa Code section
				256.12.
(2)
Disagreements about
				FAPE.
Disagreements between the parents and a public agency regarding
				the availability of a program appropriate for the child, and the question of
				financial reimbursement, are subject to the due process procedures in rules
				281-41.504 (256B, 34CFR300) to
				281-41.520(256B, 34CFR300).
(3)
Reimbursement for private school placement.
If the parents of
				a child with a disability who previously received special education and related
				services under the authority of a public agency enroll the child in a private
				preschool, elementary school, or secondary school without the consent of or
				referral by the public agency, a court or an administrative law judge may
				require the agency to reimburse the parents for the cost of that enrollment if
				the court or administrative law judge finds that the agency had not made FAPE
				available to the child in a timely manner prior to that enrollment and that the
				private placement is appropriate. A parental placement may be found to be
				appropriate by an administrative law judge or a court even if it does not meet
				the state standards that apply to education provided by the SEA and
				LEAs.
(4)
Limitation on
				reimbursement.
The cost of reimbursement described in subrule
				41.148(3) may be reduced or denied in any of the following cases.
a. At the most recent IEP team meeting that
				the parents attended prior to removal of the child from the public school, the
				parents did not inform the IEP team that they were rejecting the placement
				proposed by the public agency to provide FAPE to their child, including stating
				their concerns and their intent to enroll their child in a private school at
				public expense;
b. At least ten
				business days, including any holidays that occur on a business day, prior to
				the removal of the child from the public school, the parents did not give
				written notice to the public agency of the information described in paragraph
				41.148(4)
"a"
;
c.
				If, prior to the parents' removal of the child from the public school, the
				public agency informed the parents, through the notice requirements described
				in paragraph 41.503(1)
"a,"
of its intent to evaluate the
				child, including a statement of the purpose of the evaluation that was
				appropriate and reasonable, but the parents did not make the child available
				for the evaluation; or
d. Upon a
				judicial finding of unreasonableness with respect to actions taken by the
				parents.