Brandy ChanceMarcella Helgeson

Joe KingMichael A MacKinnon

Jennifer Andrea Trujillo

Seattle S.D. vs. B.S.

SEATTLE SCHOOL DISTRICT vs. B.S., 82 F. 3d 1493 (9th

Cir. 1996).Administrative Law Judge Made Initial Ruling

Federal District Court for Western Washington Affirmed ALJ Decision

Appealed to 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

Relevant Facts A.S. qualified for special education due to an

emotional and behavioral disorderThroughout her childhood, A.S. experienced

physical and sexual abusein school she exhibited physical/verbal

aggression, oppositionality, inappropriate affection toward adults, and attention difficulties

B.S. (A.S.'s caregiver) requested her daughter receive an evaluation to determine the best possible placement for A.S.

Seattle School District refused and proceeded with A.S. in the special education classroom

Relevant Facts B.S. paid for a private evaluation which determined the

best possible placement for A.S. was a residential facility in Montana

Seattle School District denied this requestTherein, B.S. requested a hearing with the

Administrative Law Judge claiming A.S. was not honored a free and public education under IDEA

ALJ confirmed such and determined Seattle Public School pay for A.S.'s placement at the residential facility and reimburse B.S. for evaluation costs

Seattle School District appealed the decision in district court......

Issues The three primary procedural issues are:

Whether the Seattle School District was required to pay for the independent evaluation of A.S. under IDEA, after the parent B.S. was dissatisfied with the District’s assessment of A.S. as behaviorally disabled and not in need of residential schooling;

Whether the School District was required to pay for residential schooling at Intermountain or whether an alternate proposal provided A.S. a free appropriate public education under IDEA; and 

Whether A.S.’s parent B.S. was entitled to attorneys’ fees paid by the court under IDEA.

Holdings The district court affirmed the ALJ’s decision in its

entirety. Questions:Whether the School District was required to pay

for Dr. Schoettle’s independent evaluation of A.S.The court decided that the ALJ properly concluded that

the School District failed to include on the assessment team anyone with knowledge in the disorders known to be the cause of A.S.’s problems and that the district court properly affirmed the ALJ’s order that the School District reimburse B.S. for the costs of Dr. Schoettle’s evaluation.

HoldingsWhether the School District was required to pay for

A.S.’s placement at Intermountain or whether an alternative proposal provided A.S. a free appropriate public educationThe court decided that the ALJ properly found that

the School District’s day-schooling proposal was inadequate, that A.S. could not receive an appropriate education outside a residential placement, and that intermountain was an appropriate placement. So, the School District was responsible under the IDEA for the nonmedical costs of A.S.’s placement at Intermountain.

Whether A.S.’s parent was entitled to attorney’s fees.They granted B.S.’s request for attorney’s fees and

referred the setting of the amount to the appellate commissioner.

Reasoning A. The Adequacy of the School District's

Evaluation and A.S.'s Right to an Independent EvaluationSchool District did not fulfill duty to "ensure . . . [that

the] evaluation [of the student] is made by a multidisciplinary team . . . including at least one teacher or other specialist with knowledge in the area of suspected disability." Smith, 15 F.3d at 1523 (quoting 34 C.F.R. S 300.532(e))

ReasoningB. The Appropriate Educational Placement for

A.S.the School District asserts that it should not be

responsible for the costs of Intermountain because Intermountain is essentially a "medical" rather than an "educational" program. To the contrary, Intermountain is an accredited educational institution under state law. 6 See Taylor v. Honig, 910

ReasoningAppropriate Educational Placement (Cntd)

Witnesses testified that it is not a psychiatric hospital and is not based on a "medical model." That A.S.'s disability, like most disabilities under the IDEA, stems from medical or psychiatric disorders, 34 C.F.R. S 300.7(b)(1)-(13), and that Intermountain's program addresses these disorders in an attempt to ensure that A.S. is able to benefit from her education, does not render the program invalid or remove the District's financial responsibility. See, e.g., Tilton v. Jefferson County Bd. of Educ., 705 F.2d 800, 803 (6th Cir. 1983)

Reasoning The School District failed to reconcile the parent's

experts' recommendation that A.S. be placed in a residential facility

The School District did not satisfy its burden of proposing a specific alternative placement and establishing that it was appropriate for A.S.5 Thus, it was appropriate for the district court to order that A.S. be placed at Intermountain.

C. Attorneys' FeesThe School District purports to challenge the award of

fees but presents no explanation in support of its contention of error. Accordingly, the issue is waived. Northwest Acceptance Corp. v. Lynnwood Equip., Inc., 841 F.2d 918, 923-24 (9th Cir. 1988).

Significance School must provide independent assessment with a

professional who is knowledgeable in the disability the child has

School must provide a residential placement when it is appropriate and cannot “try” or “test” other methods.

Schools do not have to pay the cost of medical treatment but “If placement in a public or private residential program is necessary to provide special education and related services to a child with a disability, the program, including non-medical care and room and board, must be at no cost to the parents of the child.”

Sometimes a residential placement is the “least restrictive environment” for some students.