A judge has ordered a Morris County School district to reimburse the parents of a child with disabilities for four years of private school tuition and transportation as a result of the district’s failure to provide FAPE. The parents had unilaterally placed their son in a state-approved private school in 2016 after years of poor progress in a public school program.
The case involves a boy, now 12, with mild cognitive disabilities and severe expressive and receptive language deficits. He was placed by his district in an inclusive setting with pull-out reading, therapies and ESY service.
The administrative law judge found that while the student did make some progress, he fell short of the standard of “meaningful progress,” because the reading program offered by the district was not appropriate to the student’s needs. The district was relying on a sight word reading program, while experts and the child’s parents were recommending a decoding and phonics-based program. In addition, the judge found that the placement itself was not appropriate, given the students extreme receptive and expressive language deficits.
In 2015, and for eah school year thereafter, the parents unilaterally placed their son in a private school. In just one year, he had built and retained skills. While the judge ordered reimbursement of tuition and transportation, she denied the parents’ request for reimbursement for home reading tutors and compensatory education.
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