Court Opinion

ID: 9489504
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 13:17:19.996936+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:53:34.007014
License: Public Domain

*1469MARSH, District Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. While the majority acknowledges that there is no “principled reason upon the basis of which the County should be excluded” from the SED classification process, its holding conflicts with that acknowledgment. There is no question that the County is an aggrieved party within the meaning of the statute. The issue is whether an aggrieved party may raise an issue not raised by the parent in her civil action.
I cannot agree that the phrase “any matter relating to” a complaint as set forth in 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(1)(E) is one of limitation. “Any matter” suggests that it encompasses both direct and indirect issues raised with a complaint. Such a liberal construction is consistent with due process protections in that the County clearly has a financial interest in the outcome of the proceeding. This is particularly so where the statute is capable of more than one reasonable interpretation, as is the case here. A broader construction is appropriate where prohibiting the County from raising this issue results in a deprivation of rights arising from the county’s interest. More importantly, however, restricting this right fails to recognize two critical factual elements present in this ease. First, SED status and placement are inextricably intertwined. It is inconceivable that responsible mental/educational agencies could be expected to compartmentalize these two designations since the child’s individual needs and special abilities are precisely the factors that decide the issue of placement. To limit the County to raising only the placement issue would impose an impractical legal fiction on an extremely delicate and complex fact specific process. Even if the county’s concern is considered collateral to the issue raised by the parent, I see no benefit achieved by such a topical restriction.
Second, but for the parent’s unilateral use of self-help to remove the child, establish a placement and then file a complaint, the County would have participated in the SED decision-making process under state law. California law provides that when the IEP team determines that a child is SED and recommends residential placement, the IEP team “shall be expanded to include a representative of the county mental health department.” Cal. Govt.Code § 7572.5. After the County is added, the team “shall review the assessment” and then determine whether the child’s needs may best be met through residential, non-residential, or a combination of services. § 7572.5(b). By using self-help, the parent effectively bypassed the County’s right to participate in the review of the SED determination. Had the IEP team recommended residential placement prior to Fox’s self-help, the County would have had the opportunity under California law to not only participate in the decision to place the child in residential treatment, but also to review the child’s SED assessment. California, by bringing the County into the IEP process for this purpose, has acknowledged that the SED assessment and residential placement are related matters.
Although the IDEA clearly recognizes that parents have the right to take such action, the statute otherwise encourages parental/state cooperation. The result reached by the majority frustrates the cooperation so intended by Congress.
Based on the foregoing, I would find that the County has the right to challenge SED status under terms of the federal statute and under California law.