Opinion ID: 1453516
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Pervasive unhappiness or depression

Text: Acknowledging a long history of depression diagnoses, the SEHO nonetheless concluded that R.B. was not depressed during her fifth grade year because school personnel testified that R.B. generally seemed happy. The SEHO also relied on the District's failure to receive any documentation of depression diagnosis (including the Solomon report) until R.B. finished the fifth grade. However, licensed professionals who examined R.B. during the 2001-03 time frameincluding Solomon, Morrison, and Struvenall diagnosed R.B. with depression. Even if we accepted the opinion of the licensed professionals and rejected the SEHO's finding that R.B. was not depressed during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 school years, appellants would still fail to establish IDEA eligibility because they could not prove that R.B.'s depression was to a marked degree. The Struven report, which the SEHO found most persuasive, concluded that R.B. only had mild depression below the level required to establish a severe emotional disturbance. The SEHO heard the testimony of all the experts and was familiar with the various methodologies employed in each report. Therefore, we defer to the SEHO's thorough and careful analysis of the expert reports and accept the conclusion that R.B.'s depression was not to a marked degree. Finally, for all the reasons stated in Part III(B)(2)(b) of this opinion, R.B.'s depression did not adversely affect her educational performance. Therefore, R.B. was not eligible for IDEA relief under this prong.