A federal appeals court has ruled that a Colorado school district must reimburse parents for the cost of an out-of-state residential treatment program.
The case involves a high-school student, now an adult, with learning disabilities and severe behavioral and emotional disabilities. When she was in the 11th grade, the girl’s parents placed her in an out-of-state residential program after it became clear that the district was not able to provide an appropriate program.
Under IDEA, parents who unilaterally place a child in a private school can be reimbursed by the district for tuition and other costs if the district failed to provide an appropriate program.At issue in this case was whether a school district is liable for such costs when the residential placement is needed to address both educational and mental health needs when they are “significantly intertwined” — a term used by the courts.
Initially, the district refused to pay for the placement because, it said, the student was hospitalized out-of-state and therefore, not a responsibility of the district. Later, the district argued that it should have to pay only for special education and not for services to treat the girl’s mental illness.
After an administrative hearing officer ruled in favor of the parents, the district filed a federal lawsuit.
A federal district court held that the district must reimburse the parents for the costs at the program, except for those medical expenses involving a licensed physician.
The school district then appealed to the 10th Circuit Court, where the National School Boards Association (NSBA) filed as amicus in support of the district’s position.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed its own amicus brief in support of the parents, writing that a district is liable under the IDEA for the cost of a residential placement if “a child’s mental health needs are so significantly intertwined with his or her educational needs that educational services cannot be provided without some mental health treatment.”
The brief adds,
The very small number of children for whom residential placement is the least restrictive environment are among the most vulnerable and historically under-served children in need of IDEA services.
In its 38-page decision the court held that the program into which the parents placed their daughter is an accredited educational facility, and that the student received instruction designed to meet her needs.
In addition, the mental health services she received were required for her to benefit from her instruction, and thus they were reimbursable “related services” under IDEA.
