Opinion ID: 8414553
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Procedural Violations of the IDEA

Text: Procedural safeguards are built into the IDEA to ensure that a child’s education is fair and appropriate and the parents have an opportunity to participate in the IEP formulation process. Doug C., 720 F.3d at 1043. The record in this case reflects some serious violations of these safeguards by the School District. The School District failed to disclose .assessments, treatment plans, and progress notes from L.J.’s time at Lincoln. The district court erred in concluding that this failure did not interfere with L.J.’s mother’s opportunity to participate in the IEP formulation process. Under the IDEA, parents have the right to informed consent. 20 U.S.C. § 1414(a)(1)(D). Consent means that the parent has been fully informed of all information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought. 34 C.F.R. § 300.9(a). To guarantee parents the ability to make informed decisions about their child’s education, the IDEA gives them the right to examine all pertinent education records relating to their child. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(1). The Lincoln records constitute such education records and should have been disclosed to LJ.’s mother. Parents also have the right to invite to attend IEP meetings individuals with knowledge or special expertise regarding their child. 34 C.F.R. § 300.321(a)(6), L.J.’s mother had the right to have L.J.’s mental health providers at both the May and October IEP meetings. Id. Without knowledge of the Lincoln records, however, L.J.’s mother waived the attendance of his mental health clinicians at the IEP meetings. At the very least, L.J.’s parent should have received complete copies of the Lincoln records so that she could provide informed consent regarding the exclusion of his mental health providers from the IEP team. Had L.J.’s mother been aware of the content of the Lincoln records, she may well not have waived the mental health providers’ attendance. The School District also failed to. conduct a health assessment for the purpose of determining how L.J.’s health, and particularly his medications, affected his performance. The district court held that this error did not infringe on L.J.’s mother’s ability to participate in the IEP process because L.J.’s medications were not administered at school. We fail to see that the need for a health assessment should depend on where medications are administered, and we are cited to nothing in support of the proposition. Under the IDEA, the School District must conduct a “full and initial evaluation,” one which ensures the child is assessed in “all areas of suspected disability.” 20 U.S.C. §§ 1414(a)(1)(A), (b)(3)(B). This requirement allows the child’s IEP team to have a complete picture of the child’s functional, developmental, and academic needs. When a student has been diagnosed as having a chronic illness, as L.J. was, the student may be referred to the School District for a health assessment. 5 Cal. Code Reg. § 3021.1. A health assessment focuses on diagnoses, health history, and those specific health needs while in school which are necessary to assist a child with a disability. The regulations then require that the IEP team review, among other things, the “possible medical side effects and complications of treatment that could affect school functioning.” Id. The district court erred when it dismissed the School District’s failure to conduct a health assessment, depriving L.J. of an educational benefit. See Doug C., 720 F.3d at 1043 (a FAPE is denied where procedural inadequacies result in loss of educational benefits). Here, there is reason to believe that alternative services would have at least been more seriously considered during the IEP process if the School District had assessed L.J.’s health, including the effects of his medication on his health. The record evidence showed that L.J. continually had needs associated with his medication and treatment, which adversely impacted his academic, behavioral, and social performance. Because his health and the impacts of his medication were never assessed, no matter what assistance L.J. received, the School District would remain unable to appropriately address those needs. In sum, the School District clearly violated important procedural safeguards set forth in the IDEA. The School District failed to disclose assessments, treatment plans, and progress notes kept by Lincoln, which deprived L.J.’s mother of her right to informed consent. The School District also failed to conduct a health assessment, which rendered the School District and IEP team unable to evaluate and address L.J.’s medication and treatment related needs. When this matter returns to the School District for the preparation of an IEP, the School District must comply with the IDEA’S procedural safeguards. Additional procedural violations can only result in the further protraction of proceedings and costly financial and emotional burdens for all those involved.