Case of the Month:
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Is reimbursement for an independent educational evaluation (IEE) an appropriate remedy when a district should have but did not evaluate a student for special education eligibility? Here, the court says yes, although the parent did not disagree with an evaluation by the district.
D.L. was a kindergarten student who had just returned home after three years in foster care. He had a difficult adjustment to kindergarten, frequently acting out at school. The parent requested a special education assessment early in the school year but the district refused because the student had limited school experience and no history of general education interventions. The court found that D.L.'s behavior (roaming the playground, falling out of his chair, making noises, not following directions, walking on tables, tearing up other students' work), along with D.L.'s ADD diagnosis, should have prompted an evaluation. The court found that equitable considerations required the district to fund D.L.'s IEE.
Lesson Learned: "Equitable considerations" essentially means "fairness". The lesson here is that if a child is exhibiting signs of a disability, the district cannot delay an evaluation to complete general education interventions. If "specific learning disabilities" is suspected, the progress monitoring data may be collected as part of the evaluation process. This is one of those evaluations where the team may want an up front written agreement to extend the evaluation timeline to collect this type of data as part of the evaluation. Of course, if "other health impaired" is suspected (based on the ADD diagnosis), progress monitoring data is not required, at least in
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