Opinion ID: 2974961
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: First- and second-grade FAPE claim

Text: The district court affirmed the Appeals Board’s finding that the appropriate time for a referral was at the end of T.D.’s second-grade school year. It reasoned that “[i]t is difficult to assess whether a very young child is disabled or merely developing at a rate different from his peers, and the educational experts involved all seem to indicate that a hasty referral for special education can be damaging to a child.” On appeal, T.D. and his guardian offer an exhaustive review of T.D.’s educational and behavioral problems in support of their contention that the School District ignored “clear signs” of his ADHD and reading disability as early as kindergarten. None of this evidence, however, is new information that the hearing officer did not already consider, nor does any of it show why the hearing officer’s factual findings are clearly erroneous. An educational expert testified that T.D.’s performance in kindergarten should not have caused teachers to “jump to conclusions.” The hearing officer, and later the Appeals Board, also gave due weight to expert testimony concluding that “the nature of ungraded primary school recognizes the progress of very young students is not uniform.” No. 06-5534 Bd. of Educ. of Fayette County, Kentucky v. L.M., et al. Page 5 As the hearing officer noted, virtually all of the witnesses who testified at the due process hearing, including T.D.’s own expert, stated that T.D.’s difficulties would not necessarily indicate a disability or a need for special education, and that it would be inappropriate to rush to identify a child that young as disabled. School personnel similarly testified that T.D.’s behavioral and learning problems were not atypical of immature young boys. The School District did not ignore T.D.’s early problems. It took appropriate action by implementing specialized reading instruction, Reading Recovery Program participation, and behavior-management strategies. Under the IDEA, the School District was required to provide a basic floor of educational opportunity consisting “of access to specialized instruction and related services which are individually designed to provide educational benefit to the handicapped child.” Rowley, 458 U.S. at 201. There is no additional requirement, however, “that the services so provided be sufficient to maximize each child’s potential commensurate with the opportunity provided other children.” Id. at 198 (citation and quotation marks omitted) (emphasis added). The School District provided additional services designed to aid T.D. in catching up to his peers in kindergarten and first grade, even though at that point he was not identified as being disabled within the meaning of the IDEA. We agree with the district court that these services provided a basic floor of educational opportunity through T.D.’s second-grade school year. The interventions in kindergarten and first grade were moderately successful, at least during those years. By the end of kindergarten, for example, T.D. was meeting expectations in all academic areas. T.D. did not start to fall significantly below grade level until the middle of his second-grade year. No teacher suggested that he repeat a school year until after the third grade. In short, nothing in the record compels the conclusion that the School District either overlooked clear signs of disability before T.D. entered second grade or had no rational justification for failing to evaluate him prior to that time. See Clay, 952 F. Supp. at 823.