Opinion ID: 1027636
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Year-by-Year Analysis and Partial Reimbursement

Text: The parents contend that the district court erred by failing to evaluate each year of the Lindamood-Bell placement on an independent basis. We agree. As noted, when evaluating whether reimbursement is appropriate for a parental placement, we determine (1) whether the IEP provided by the school district failed to provide a FAPE, and, if so, (2) whether the parental placement was appropriate. Burlington, 471 U.S. at 369, 105 S.Ct. 1996. By statute, IEPs are evaluated periodically, but not less frequently than annually. 20 U.S.C.A. § 1414(d)(4)(A)(i); Honig v. Doe, 484 U.S. 305, 311, 108 S.Ct. 592, 98 L.Ed.2d 686 (1988). Of course, because the finding of an invalid IEP for a particular school year is a necessary precursor to reimbursement for a parental placement, we necessarily must also consider the appropriateness of a particular placement on the same year-by-year basis. Evaluating both IEPs and parental placements on a yearly basis simply acknowledges that what is reasonably calculated to confer some educational benefit on the child may change over time. [10] Here, the district court considered M.S.'s time at Lindamood-Bell in its entirety instead of separating out each year. We believe this was error, and, accordingly, we vacate the district court's decision that Lindamood-Bell was an inappropriate placement and remand the case for year-by-year analysis of whether Lindamood-Bell was an appropriate placement. Because the district court has found that Fairfax County's IEPs violated the IDEA, it may award reimbursement if it finds any year of instruction at Lindamood-Bell to be reasonably calculated to confer some educational benefit on M.S. Moreover, the district court must also consider whether, given the equitable nature of the IDEA, see Burlington, 471 U.S. at 374, 105 S.Ct. 1996 (noting that equitable considerations are relevant in fashioning relief), some partial reimbursement is appropriate for any given year. [11] A district court has the power to grant such relief as [it] determines is appropriate, 20 U.S.C.A. § 1415(i)(2)(C)(iii), in light of a school system's failure to provide educational benefit to a disabled student. This language confers broad discretion on the court in fashioning an appropriate remedy. Burlington, 471 U.S. at 369, 105 S.Ct. 1996; see also Draper v. Atl. Indep. Sch. Sys., 518 F.3d 1275, 1283-90 (11th Cir.2008) (upholding an award of six years of prospective compensatory education at a private placement); L.E. v. Ramsey Bd. of Educ., 435 F.3d 384, 394 (3d Cir.2006) (upholding an award of partial reimbursement for the difference between the amount of time actually offered by the school board's IEP and the amount of time that should have been offered to a disabled student for speech therapy); Adams v. Oregon, 195 F.3d 1141, 1151 (9th Cir.1999) (remanding to determine whether partial reimbursement is appropriate where parents supplemented the school program). And, the Supreme Court has instructed that [c]ourts fashioning discretionary equitable relief under IDEA must consider all relevant factors, including the appropriate and reasonable level of reimbursement that should be required. Florence County Sch. Dist. Four v. Carter, 510 U.S. 7, 16, 114 S.Ct. 361, 126 L.Ed.2d 284 (1993) (emphasis added). In determining whether partial reimbursement is appropriate, the district court may consider the following factors, among others: the existence of other, perhaps more appropriate, substitute placements, the effort expended by [the] parents in securing alternative placements[,] and the general cooperative or uncooperative position of [the school board]. Adams, 195 F.3d at 1151. [12] The equitable nature of the IDEA statute does not mean, of course, that courts are at liberty to award reimbursement out of the blue. Rather, as noted above, it is clear that the IDEA provides for reimbursement only if (1) the school district fails to provide a FAPE and (2) the parental placement is reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits. Carter, 950 F.2d at 163 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Burlington, 471 U.S. at 369, 105 S.Ct. 1996. These two findings lie at the heart of the statute. In this regard, we note that the hearing officer and district court made findings that Lindamood-Bell had fallen short in several significant respects, namely in the failure to provide the life skills and vocational training and the group interaction needed by M.S. for his instruction. We accord great deference to such findings under our precedent. See MM ex rel. DM, 303 F.3d at 531 (holding that findings of fact made in administrative proceedings are considered to be prima facie correct, and that where a district court has heard and considered additional evidence,... we review its findings of fact for clear error). Whether the identified shortcomings of Lindamood-Bell were of such a nature as to preclude the realization of an educational benefit for M.S. is, of course, for the trier of fact to determine on remand. However, they do not preclude as a matter of law the possibility that the one-on-one instruction provided by Lindamood-Bell warranted some reimbursement. Therefore, if the district court, on remand, again determines that full reimbursement for Lindamood-Bell is inappropriate for one or more school years, it must nonetheless consider whether partial reimbursement is appropriate in any year for the one-on-one services that Lindamood-Bell provided to M.S. Here, the HO and the district court concluded that M.S. needed significant one-on-one instruction that Fairfax County failed to provide for 2002-2005. M.S. v. Fairfax County Sch. Bd., No. 1:05cv1476, 2007 WL 1378545, at -, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33735, at - (E.D.Va.2007). Lindamood-Bell provided thirty hours per week of one-on-one instruction in the building blocks of communication. If the district court determines that any time spent at Lindamood-Bell during any or all of the 2002-2005 school years was reasonably calculated to enable [M.S.] to receive educational benefits, M.S.'s parents may be reimbursed for such period as the district court deems appropriate. Carter, 950 F.2d at 163 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Burlington, 471 U.S. at 369, 105 S.Ct. 1996.