Alexis v. Board of Educ. for Baltimore County
| Decision Date | 06 October 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV. WDQ-02-2632.,CIV. WDQ-02-2632. |
| Citation | 286 F.Supp.2d 551 |
| Parties | Christian ALEXIS, et al. Plaintiffs, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
Holly Lynn Parker, Julie Ann Starbuck, Parker and Starbuck, PC, Kensington, MD, for plaintiff.
Eric William Gunderson, Leslie R. Stellman, Hodes Ulman Pessin and Katz PA, Towson, MD, for defendant.
This action under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA")1, is brought by a minor child, Christian Alexis ("Christian"), and his parents Nancy Britos and William Alexis (collectively, the "parents"). The Plaintiffs seek reimbursement from the Board of Education of Baltimore County, Maryland and its superintendent, Joe A. Hairston, in his official capacity (collectively, "the School District"), for private school tuition for Christian. In addition, the parents want the School District to pay for Christian's permanent placement in private school. Compl. 15-16. For the following reasons, the Defendant's motion for summary judgment will be granted.
Under the IDEA, states that receive federal funds for the education of disabled children must provide a free appropriate public education ("FAPE") to disabled children, with the goal of full educational opportunity for all. 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(1)-(2) (2003). Each child must receive an individualized education program ("IEP"), a written statement, particular to the child, that explains, inter alia, the child's current academic performance levels, education goals for the academic year, and types and amounts of special education to be provided. 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d) (2003).
Christian entered Rodgers Forge Elementary School in the second grade and attended school there until the fall of his fifth grade year. Christian worked with a reading specialist at school and with a tutor at the Sylvan Learning Center during the second grade. Def.'s Ex. 2 (). In October 1999 (Christian's third grade year), his parents met with his teachers, the school psychologist, and a reading specialist to discuss Christian's strengths and needs, and to develop an IEP for his ongoing reading problems. Id.
Christian needed to improve decoding skills, written expression, individual and peer assistance, reading, and spelling. Id. Christian's reading specialist noted that in spite of extensive support services, interventions, and modifications throughout the second grade, he continued to struggle with reading and writing. Id. Christian scored below the pre-primer level on an informal reading inventory. Id. The parents and school representatives agreed that Christian should undergo cognitive testing, behavioral screening, and an educational assessment. Id.
In December 1999, Christian's parents, teachers, and other school personnel involved with the development of his IEP (collectively, the "IEP team"), regrouped to discuss the results of Christian's tests and to establish the parameters of his IEP. Id. (). Christian's test results indicated overall high average cognitive abilities and no hearing disorders. A significant oral language disorder was not identified on a comprehensive oral language test but "Christian's frequent and significant [word] retrieval difficulty" was noted and the IEP team concluded that Christian had a perception and auditory memory disorder. Id.
The IEP team developed a plan for Christian's education based on his test results and classroom performance. In January 2000, the school's special education resource teacher reviewed the goals for Christian with his parents, and his parents approved the proposed IEP. The IEP was implemented, and Christian made progress on each of his objectives throughout the year. Id. ().
In January 2001 (Christian's fourth grade year), the IEP team met for an annual review of Christian's IEP. Id. Christian's teachers indicated that he still needed assistance decoding and making sense of what he was reading, had difficulty spelling, problems with handwriting, interpreting data, using math vocabulary to explain problems, and that he seemed to have poor visual memory. Christian's IEP was altered to respond to these problems, and his parents approved the IEP. Id. The new IEP was implemented, and Christian made satisfactory progress on most of his objectives throughout the year. Id. (June 12, 2001 IEP progress report). Christian made no progress, however, on the use of phonic and structural analysis to decode words during the two periods of the school year that followed the implementation of the new IEP. Id.
In response to this lack of progress, the parents obtained private tutoring and speech/language therapy for Christian from July through August of 2001. ALJ Hearing Tr. 230. In August 2001, the parents had Christian tested by a private speech/language pathologist at their expense. Pls.' Ex. D (report of July 2001 speech and language evaluation). The pathologist administered a variety of standardized tests and found that Christian was performing below his age level in auditory memory skills, language memory skills, receptive and expressive syntax/grammar skills, phonemic awareness skills, auditory discrimination skills, and word retrieval/verbal formulation skills. Id. Based on these findings the pathologist recommended that Christian have regular speech/language therapy sessions with a certified speech/language pathologist. Id. The parents sent a copy of the pathologist's report to the School District in September 2001.
Beginning in Christian's fifth grade year, the school provided Christian with direct one-on-one reading services using a multisensory approach to address his lack of improvement during the third and fourth quarters of the previous year. Def.'s Ex. 2 ().
In October 2001, another IEP team meeting was held, and the parents' pathologist attended and discussed Christian's test results. The School District's speech/language pathologist accepted the results and noted that Christian's teachers were addressing his reading and writing difficulties through the new reading program, and that goals specific to oral verbal language would be added to the IEP. Id. New goals and objectives were created based on this discussion. The parents also signed a permission form for Christian to be tested for central auditory processing disorders. Id.
Later that month, the person responsible for testing Christian phoned his mother to set up an appointment. Id. (). Christian's mother revoked her permission for the testing and stated that she was having the test performed at Johns Hopkins Hospital instead. Id.
Another IEP meeting was scheduled for October 25, 2001. On October 24, 2001, the School District was advised that the parents would not attend the meeting. Id. ().
On November 4, 2001, Christian's parents removed him from Rodgers Forge Elementary and placed him in the Lab school—Baltimore Campus. Compl. 8. The Lab School is a private special education school. Id.
The parents requested a due process hearing in November 2001 to address their dissatisfaction with Christian's education at Rodger's Forge Elementary. Id. at 9. The parents asserted, inter alia, that the School District had failed to: (1) provide Christian with a FAPE, (2) comprehensively and appropriately evaluate Christian, and (3) identify all areas of Christian's disability. Id.
An administrative due process hearing began in December 2001 and concluded in January 2002. In February 2002, the Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") decided that the Defendant had not violated the IDEA or applicable Maryland law. Id.
The Plaintiffs seek review of the ALJ opinion denying their requests for reimbursement from the School District and permanent placement for Christian in private school. Pending is the Defendant's motion for summary judgment.
When a complaint is filed in federal court under the IDEA challenging an administrative officer's opinion, the complaint is subject to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including the well-settled rules of summary judgment. Hanson v. Smith, 212 F.Supp.2d 474, 480 (D.Md.2002) (citing Cavanagh v. Grasmick, 75 F.Supp.2d 446, 457 (D.Md.1999)). Summary judgment requires that no issues of material fact be disputed; that the facts be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-movant; and that the movant be entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-49, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).
In reviewing the administrative opinion, the court examines the records of the administrative proceedings, hears additional evidence at the request of a party, and makes its decision based on a preponderance of the evidence. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(B) (2003).
A motion for summary judgment in an IDEA case, therefore, "may be more aptly described ... as a motion for summary adjudication, wherein the district court is required to conduct a de novo review of the administrative record while giving `due weight' to the administrative findings made below." Hanson, 212 F.Supp.2d at 480 (citing Cavanagh, 75 F.Supp.2d at 457).
Findings of fact by the hearing officer "are entitled to be considered prima facie correct, akin to the traditional sense of permitting a result to be based on such fact-finding, but not requiring it." Doyle v. Arlington County Sch. Bd., 953 F.2d 100, 105 (4th Cir.1991). If the court decides not to...
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