Dall. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Woody

• Decision Date: 27 July 2017
• Docket Number: No. 16-10613,16-10613
• Citation: 865 F.3d 303
• Parties: DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, Plaintiff–Appellant v. Michelle WOODY, as next of friend to K.W., Defendant–Appellee
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

865 F.3d 303

DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, Plaintiff–Appellant

v.Michelle WOODY, as next of friend to K.W., Defendant–Appellee

No. 16-10613

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

FILED July 27, 2017

Dianna Dawn Bowen, Thompson & Horton, L.L.P., Dallas, TX, Janet Little Horton, Attorney, Thompson & Horton, L.L.P., Houston, TX,for Plaintiff–Appellant.

Roy Tress Atwood, Atwood Gameros, L.L.P., Dallas, TX, for Defendant–Appellee.

Selene Ann Almazan-Altobelli, Council of Parent Attorneys & Advocates, Incorporated, Towson, MD, Catherine Merino Reisman, Reisman Carolla Gran, L.L.P., Haddonfield, NJ, for Amicus Curiae Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates.

Meredith Prykryl Walker, Esq., Walsh Gallegos Trevino Russo & Kyle, P.C., Irving, TX, for Amicus Curiae Texas Association of School Boards Legal Assistance Fund.

Before REAVLEY, OWEN, and SOUTHWICK, Circuit Judges.

LESLIE H. SOUTHWICK, Circuit Judge:

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA" or the "Act") requires public school districts to provide all resident disabled students with a "free appropriate public education," or "FAPE." Arguing that Dallas Independent School District impermissibly failed to offer her high-school daughter FAPE during her senior year, Michelle Woody sought reimbursement for the cost of her daughter's private-school tuition. The hearing officer found for Woody, awarding her $25,426.93. The district court affirmed but reduced the award to $11,942.50. The school district appealed. Woody did not. We AFFIRM in part, REVERSE in part, and REMAND.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Kelsey Woody was a high-school student with learning disabilities. After starting high school at a Dallas private school, she moved to Los Angeles, California, with her mother, Michelle Woody ("Woody"). Once there, Woody enrolled Kelsey at private school and then at a Los Angeles Unified School District ("LAUSD") public school. Upon learning of Kelsey's educational history, LAUSD evaluated Kelsey in April 2012. That evaluation uncovered learning problems, so LAUSD recommended that Kelsey be referred to an Individual Education Program ("IEP") team to determine her special-education options. In May 2012, the IEP team met and concluded that Kelsey was eligible for services under the Act. The resulting IEP designated general education, which meant a public school, as her proper instructional setting.

Kelsey's situation worsened that summer. While in South Korea visiting her sister, she had a psychotic break. She returned to California yet continued to experience "dramatic symptoms of an emotional breakdown despite mood stabilization medication[.]" She was therefore admitted to the UCLA Psychiatric Hospital, where she was diagnosed with "schizophrenia

in addition to her previously diagnosed learning disabilities[.]" As a result, her doctors recommended a specialized learning environment with significant support and close monitoring, noting in a September 2012 follow-up that Kelsey was "far too fragile to be placed on a general education campus."

Still, LAUSD offered only general-education services. At this point, Woody moved Kelsey back to Dallas to live with her godparents. One of them is a psychiatrist, likely equipping them to better provide Kelsey with the support necessary to transition her out of the hospital setting. Woody, who was finishing an advanced degree at the University of Southern California, remained in Los Angeles for the 2012–13 school year.

After moving her to Dallas, Woody enrolled Kelsey at the private Winston School, which offered a specialized learning environment for students with learning disabilities. Kelsey's performance improved, but she continued to receive psychiatric treatment. In January 2013, Children's Medical Center in Dallas evaluated Kelsey, finding her to be psychologically vulnerable and recommending "continued follow-up with her psychiatrist for medication management, consistent structure with no significant life changes, and family and individual therapy."

Meanwhile, Woody initiated a due-process action against LAUSD to challenge its failure to offer Kelsey private-school placement. The parties settled in April 2013, and LAUSD agreed to reimburse Woody for educational costs associated with Kelsey's placement at the Winston School and for counseling services during the 2012–13 school year. LAUSD also agreed to place Kelsey at an appropriate non-public school for the 2013–14 school year. LAUSD's May 2013 IEP placed Kelsey at the Westview School in California, not the Winston School in Dallas.

Woody moved back to Dallas in August 2013, and Kelsey became a resident of the Dallas School District, which hereafter we will call the "District." On September 16, 2013, Woody notified the District of Kelsey's new residence and of Woody's desire for Kelsey to receive FAPE in the form of tuition reimbursement. She provided the IEP from May 2013 that placed Kelsey in a non-public school for her senior year and indicated that she was a student with a disability. She also provided the Children's Hospital evaluation from January and other background information. In turn, she asked the District to provide her with the necessary forms.

Kelsey remained at the Winston School that fall. As the district court found, "[t]he record is clear that Woody believed it critical for Kelsey to remain at the Winston School and intended, from the beginning, to pursue funding for her tuition from" the District. The District responded to Woody's letter on October 4 requesting additional information, including the complete IEP team document from 2012, the most recent Full and Individual Evaluation ("FIE"), and all records from the Winston School. Woody provided those documents on November 5. On November 13, the District sought consent from Woody to obtain LAUSD records, which Woody granted on November 19.

On November 18, the District contacted Woody to schedule an Admission, Review, and Dismissal Committee ("ARD Committee") meeting.¹ An important purpose of such a meeting is to allow parents to participate in the shaping of an IEP for their children. See 34 C.F.R. § 300.322. The parties agreed to meet on December 17. The District asked that Winston School personnel attend the meeting, but that school had a policy requiring payment of staff for offsite meetings. By November 22, Woody had a copy of this policy but did not inform the District of its existence until December 13. Neither party was willing to pay for Winston staff to attend, so none of Kelsey's teachers were present at the meeting.

Woody learned when she arrived at the meeting that the District considered it to be a "student transfer meeting," not an ARD Committee meeting. The District's purpose in having the meeting, which apparently is not required under the IDEA, was "to document a student transfer into the district and plan for comparable services." In turn, the transfer document provided that Kelsey would receive temporary special-education services. No such services were offered or provided, though, and it is unclear whether the District actually determined Kelsey to be eligible. The District did not offer FAPE at the meeting.

The minutes from the December meeting show that the District rejected LAUSD's IEP and planned to evaluate Kelsey and develop its own IEP. The District was aware of Kelsey's disabilities (including her diagnosis of schizophrenia

) and Children Medical Center's recommendations. It was also aware that LAUSD had found her to be eligible for special-education services under IDEA. It did not offer temporary services but instead sought consent to evaluate Kelsey. Woody gave consent on January 24, 2014, and the District completed an FIE and provided it to Woody on April 8. The initial FIE found Kelsey to be IDEA-eligible. On April 16, though, the District gave Woody a revised FIE in which its psychologist concluded Kelsey was not IDEA-eligible due to her successful performance in the "mainstream" environment at the Winston School. The FIE did not acknowledge Children's recommendation that any significant life change could place Kelsey at high risk for a relapse of psychosis. The ARD Committee agreed that Kelsey did not require special-education services.

Woody disagreed and asked for an Independent Educational Evaluation ("IEE"), which the District denied. Woody then sought a psychological consultation from a different psychologist, who reviewed relevant materials and observed Kelsey at school. That psychologist concluded that the District's FIE was defective, specifically taking issue with the FIE's description of the Winston School as a "mainstream setting." She concluded that a change in schools would have been devastating, that Kelsey needed special-education services, and that the Winston School was a proper placement. She provided a report (not an IEE) reflecting these conclusions to the District on May 20.

As a result, the ARD Committee reconvened on May 22. It determined that Kelsey was IDEA-eligible and developed an IEP for Kelsey to be implemented at a District high school from April 2014 to April 2015. Kelsey was to graduate in May 2014, though. Woody disagreed with the IEP for four reasons: (1) the IEP was futile so close to graduation; (2) the IEP offered inadequate services and supports; (3) the IEP's goals and objectives failed to address Kelsey's needs; and (4) the IEP placed Kelsey at a public school for the last week of high school.

The May 22 proposed IEP was the District's first attempt to offer FAPE. That summer, Woody's psychologist completed an IEE and provided it to the District. The District never reconvened the ARD Committee to consider the IEE, so the district court found that the District "never finalized the May 2014 IEP, thereby never finalizing its offer of FAPE."

In October 2014, Woody requested a due-process hearing. The hearing officer concluded that the District "had a legal obligation to make a timely offer of FAPE available to [Kelsey] for...