Opinion ID: 770963
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Appropriateness of Private School Placement

Text: 43 Once it is established that a school district's IEP is inappropriate, we must consider whether the private education services obtained by the parents were appropriate to the child's needs. Walczak, 142 F.3d at 129. We have not previously decided who bears the burden of proving that the private school placement is appropriate. The SRO stated that the burden rests with M.S., and the parties have not briefed the issue. The Third Circuit has held that this burden rests on the parents of learning disabled children. See Carlisle Area Sch. v. Scott P., 62 F.3d 520, 533 (3d Cir. 1995). We agree that the burden falls on M.S. as the party who selected the Stephen Gaynor School. Cf. School Comm. of Burlington v. Department of Educ., 471 U.S. 359, 373-74, 85 L. Ed. 2d 385, 105 S. Ct. 1996 (1985) (Parents who unilaterally change their child's placement . . . without the consent of state or local school officials, do so at their own financial risk.). Because M.S. chose a private school for S.S. that educated learning disabled students only, M.S. bears the burden of proving that such a restrictive, non-mainstream environment was needed to provide S.S. with an appropriate education. 44 The SRO found that the Stephen Gaynor School was an inappropriate alternative placement for S.S. because M.S. failed to demonstrate that the school addressed his son's special education needs during the 1997-98 school year, or that S.S.'s placement in the Stephen Gaynor School was consistent with IDEA's requirement that children with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive appropriate educational environment. 45 The SRO based his finding on evidence that S.S.'s reading level had not improved and his spelling level had declined during that school year, as well as the fact that the restrictive environment at the Stephen Gaynor School was inappropriate in light of S.S.'s relatively mild disabilities. 46 The district court reweighed the evidence in the record and reversed the SRO's finding that the Stephen Gaynor School was an inappropriate placement under IDEA. The district court concluded that (i) the SRO's finding that S.S.'s special education needs were not addressed during the 1997-98 school year was not supported by the preponderance of the evidence in the record and (ii) the SRO's finding that the Stephen Gaynor School was not the least restrictive environment did not bar reimbursement because the test for parents' private placement is not perfection, and, in any event, although not abundantly clear from the record before this Court, given S.S.['s] documented learning disabilities, the environment of the Stephen Gaynor School may well be the least-restrictive environment necessary to provide S.S. with a meaningful education and not just trivial advancement. We believe that the district court did not afford appropriate deference to the SRO. See Briggs, 882 F.2d at 693. 47 As to the issue of S.S.'s special education needs, the district court did not explain why it discredited the SRO's interpretation of the objective evidence, and the court based its findings primarily on non-objective evidence, such as M.S.'s testimony that his son had an increased joy of reading and that he was happier with his friends. We believe the district court thus inappropriately substituted its own subjective judgment about what are appropriate measures for educational progress. See e.g. Walczak, 142 F.3d at 130 (The district court did not point to any objective evidence that led it to reject the administrative officers' conclusions . . . .); Kerkam v. McKenzie, 274 U.S. App. D.C. 139, 862 F.2d 884, 887 (D.C. Cir. 1989) ([A] court upsetting the [administrative] officer's decision [about an IEP] must at least explain its basis for doing so.); Town of Burlington v. Department of Educ., 736 F.2d 773, 792 (1st Cir. 1984) (noting that in making its own independent ruling, a court must carefully consider the findings made during administrative review and endeavor to respond to the hearing officer's resolution of each material issue), aff'd, 471 U.S. 359, 85 L. Ed. 2d 385, 105 S. Ct. 1996 (1985). An assessment of educational progress is a type of judgment for which the district court should defer to the SRO's educational experience, particularly where, as was the case here, the district court's decision was based solely on the record that was before the SRO. 48 As to the restrictive nature of the Stephen Gaynor School, we recognize that parents seeking an alternative placement may not be subject to the same mainstreaming requirements as a school board. See Warren G. v. Cumberland County Sch. Dist., 190 F.3d 80, 84 (3d Cir. 1999) (The test for the parents' private placement is that it is appropriate, and not that it is perfect.); Cleveland Heights-University Heights City Sch. Dist. v. Boss, 144 F.3d 391, 399-400 (6th Cir. 1998) (holding private placement's failure to meet IDEA's mainstreaming requirement does not bar parental reimbursement). Nonetheless, IDEA's requirement that an appropriate education be in the mainstream to the extent possible, see 20 U.S.C. 1412(5)(B) (1994), remains a consideration that bears upon a parent's choice of an alternative placement and may be considered by the hearing officer in determining whether the placement was appropriate, as it was here. 49 Given the deference we owe to the SRO's conclusions regarding the formulation of educational programs, and our review of the record, we defer to and accept the SRO's supportable finding that the Stephen Gaynor School was an inappropriate placement for S.S. Because tuition reimbursement is available only for an appropriate private-school placement, and the SRO made the supportable finding that the Stephen Gaynor School was not appropriate, we reverse the district court's judgment ordering the School Board to reimburse M.S. for the cost of S.S.'s tuition at the school.