Opinion ID: 2830308
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Progress Reporting

Text: The first procedural deficiency alleged by the parents is the District’s failure to adequately report Drew’s progress toward the annual goals and objectives listed in his IEPs. They contend the lack of progress reporting deprived them of meaningful participation in Drew’s education. We agree with -8- the District that, even assuming a procedural violation, 3 the District’s progress reporting did not result in the denial of a FAPE. As an initial matter, the District concedes that the progress reporting on Drew’s IEPs could have been more robust. As the ALJ found, Drew’s IEPs contain little or no progress reporting or measurement data and where progress was reported, it was “lacking in detail” or limited to “conclusory statements about whether [Drew] was on track to meet the expectations of the plan and whether the objective had been completed or would be continued.” R., Vol. I at 9, 15. But the District contends what was reported was sufficient for the parents to assess Drew’s progress and that whatever deficiencies existed, the parents’ involvement in Drew’s education did not suffer as a result. Drew’s parents were not absentee caretakers; they were just the opposite. The ALJ found that, in addition to the progress reporting that was included on Drew’s IEPs, there was substantial evidence of the parents’ awareness of Drew’s progress and of their active participation in his education. For instance, the ALJ found the parents were “in constant communication” with Drew’s special education teacher both through face-to-face meetings and a “back-and-forth 3 The Act requires that the IEP include “a description of how the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals . . . will be measured and when periodic reports on the progress the child is making toward meeting the annual goals (such as through the use of quarterly or other periodic reports, concurrent with the issuance of report cards) will be provided.” 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(III); see also 34 C.F.R. § 300.320(a)(3)(i). But neither the IDEA nor its implementing regulations actually prescribe the frequency or the content of progress reports. -9- notebook,” which was used to inform the parents of what occurred at school and to inform Drew’s teacher of what happened in the home. Id. at 16; see also id. at 96 (D. Ct. Op. at 23) (finding “significant informal communication with the parents as to [Drew’s] progress”). Drew’s teacher testified at the hearing that she sent home quarterly progress reports (concurrent with the timing of report cards). The parents also received Drew’s draft IEPs in advance of each team meeting and were active in suggesting what goals and objectives should be modified, added, or dropped from Drew’s IEPs. Accordingly, the ALJ did not err in concluding the gaps in the reporting on some of Drew’s IEPs did not inhibit the parents from meaningful participation in Drew’s education. The parents point us to a case where a district court concluded that a school district’s reporting deficiencies amounted to a substantive denial of a FAPE. See Escambia Cty. Bd. of Educ. v. Benton, 406 F. Supp. 2d 1248 (S.D. Ala. 2005). In that case, however, the student’s IEPs not only lacked progress reporting, but also included annual goals and objectives that were alternatively described by the district court as “mushy, ambiguous, [and] unquantifiable” and “[v]ague and unmeasurable.” Id. at 1274–75. The critical distinction between Escambia and Drew’s case is that the hearing officer there “plainly found adverse impacts” caused by the procedural defects on the IEP team’s ability to make necessary adjustments and interventions in the child’s education. Id. at 1273–74. Here, by -10- contrast, the ALJ found the deficiencies in the District’s reporting did not have an adverse impact on the IEP team’s ability to craft and implement Drew’s IEPs. In reaching this conclusion, we do not downplay the importance of regular and diligent progress reporting on IEPs. In a system built on the continuous revision of individualized plans meant to address disabled students’ unique needs, data on what is or is not working for a student is crucial. See Mitchell L. Yell et al., Individualized Education Programs and Special Education Programming for Students with Disabilities in Urban Schools, 41 Fordham Urb. L.J. 669, 709 (2013) (“Appropriate monitoring of a student’s progress . . . is essential because without measuring a student’s progress, it will be impossible to determine if the student’s program is working.”). Thus, while we do not endorse the District’s reporting in this case, without evidence that there was an impact on Drew’s education, we cannot say he was effectively denied a FAPE. In short, the record supports the ALJ’s conclusion the parents were aware of Drew’s progress and fully participated in his education.