Ferren C v. Sch. Dist. Of Philadelphia
| Decision Date | 13 July 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 09-1587.,09-1587. |
| Parties | FERREN C.; Ronald C.; Leslie C.v.SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PHILADELPHIA, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit |
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Kara H. Goodchild (Argued), Miles H. Shore, School District of Philadelphia, Office of General Counsel, Philadelphia, PA, for Appellant.
Dennis C. McAndrews, Gabrielle C. Sereni (Argued), McAndrews Law Offices, Berwyn, PA, for Appellees.
Before FISHER, HARDIMAN and COWEN, Circuit Judges.
This appeal arises from an order of the District Court, entered January 28, 2009, reversing in part the Opinion of the Special Education Appeals Panel and granting equitable relief under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA” or “the Act”), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., to Appellee Ferren C. The District Court ordered Appellant, the School District of Philadelphia, to annually do the following for the duration of the three years of Ferren's previously awarded compensatory education: reevaluate her, develop and issue an Individualized Education Plan, and serve as her Local Education Agency. The School District argues that the relief granted was not appropriate because Ferren is no longer entitled to the protections of the IDEA since she is over the age of twenty-one, and that the District Court's order is inconsistent with the purposes of the IDEA. Because we find that the District Court had the equitable power under the IDEA to grant relief of this nature and because the relief furthers the purposes of the IDEA, we will affirm the order of the District Court.
Appellee Ferren C. (“Ferren”) is a twenty-four-year-old woman who suffers from various disabilities, including autism, speech and language deficits, and pervasive developmental disorder. Ferren requires highly structured, systematic instruction that is specifically keyed to her particular educational needs. Ferren's parents lack the training and experience to develop a compensatory education program for her.
At all relevant times, Ferren lived within the jurisdiction of the School District of Philadelphia (the “School District”). The School District identified Ferren as eligible for special education services under the IDEA. Failures on the part of the School District to provide adequate special education to Ferren gave rise to various legal disputes between the School District and Ferren's family. In resolution of these past disputes, the School District established a trust fund in excess of $200,000 to provide Ferren with three years of compensatory education past her twenty-first birthday. There is no dispute between the parties as to the amount of the trust fund or whether Ferren is entitled to the three years of compensatory education.
For three school years from 2004 to 2007, Ferren attended the Elwyn-Davidson School (“Elwyn”), which is an Approved Private School under the IDEA, and received a basic academic program, transition activities, and speech and occupational therapy. Elwyn requires all enrolled students to have an Individualized Education Plan (“IEP”) and is capable of performing much of the underlying work required to develop and revise an IEP. When Elwyn develops an IEP, a school district is not involved in the drafting, but because Elwyn is not a Local Education Agency (“LEA”), it nevertheless requires a student's home school district to sign the IEP and serve as the student's LEA. The student's parents, the School District, and Elwyn staff do, however, work together to determine if the IEP is appropriate under the IDEA.
The 2006-07 school year was the last year Ferren attended Elwyn with an IEP issued by the School District. It was during that school year that Ferren turned twenty-one. Per the terms of its license, Elwyn does not typically educate students past the age of twenty-one, but has previously done so in cases of compensatory education. The School District has acknowledged that Elwyn provided Ferren with appropriate education and is capable of providing Ferren with compensatory education in the future. Ferren's parents hoped to keep Ferren enrolled at Elwyn, despite her age, and planned to utilize the compensatory education trust funds for her tuition.
On September 6, 2006, shortly before Ferren turned twenty-one, the School District agreed with Elwyn to schedule Ferren's graduation for 2010, which was three years beyond the school year during which she turned twenty-one. On January 3, 2007, the School District reversed course and informed Elwyn that Ferren should graduate at the end of the 2007 school year because she was over the age of twenty-one and was no longer entitled to an IEP under the IDEA. Elwyn informed the School District that it would not graduate Ferren until the School District confirmed that it had satisfied its compensatory education obligations to Ferren. Elwyn received no response from the School District and, consequently, did not graduate Ferren in the spring of 2007.
In June 2007, Elwyn informed the School District that it would provide compensatory education to Ferren past her twenty-first birthday if the School District paid the entire cost of the services, provided Ferren with annual IEPs, and served as her LEA. The School District agreed to provide the necessary funding for tuition through Ferren's previously established trust fund, but refused to provide IEPs and to serve as the LEA.
Ferren's parents requested a special education due process hearing to address the School District's refusal to provide Ferren with the additional services requested by Elwyn. The Hearing Officer issued a decision in October 2007, concluding that the School District was not required to provide Ferren with an IEP during the three-year compensatory education period. The family appealed this decision to the Pennsylvania Special Education Appeals Panel (“Appeals Panel”), which subsequently affirmed the Hearing Officer's decision.
On February 21, 2008, Ferren brought an action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania challenging the administrative decisions of the Hearing Officer and Appeals Panel. Both parties submitted motions for judgment on the administrative record. In a January 28, 2009 order, the District Court ordered the School District for the duration of her three years of compensatory education to annually reevaluate Ferren, provide her with annual IEPs, and serve as her LEA.
The School District filed a timely notice of appeal challenging the District Court's grant of equitable relief to Ferren.1
The District Court had jurisdiction over the appeal from the Appeals Panel under 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(A). We have appellate jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
We review the District Court's award of an equitable remedy under the IDEA for abuse of discretion. Lester H. v. Gilhool, 916 F.2d 865, 872 (3d Cir.1990). “An abuse of discretion occurs when a district court's decision rests upon a clearly erroneous finding of fact, an errant conclusion of law or an improper application of law to fact.” P.N. v. Clementon Bd. of Educ., 442 F.3d 848, 852 (3d Cir.2006) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). To the extent a district court's grant of equitable relief is based on a legal determination, we exercise plenary review. Id.
We must determine whether the compensatory education awarded to Ferren by the District Court was permitted under the IDEA.
The IDEA requires States that receive federal funding to provide a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) to all disabled students. 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(1)(A). Under the IDEA, a school district's obligations to provide and a student's right to receive a FAPE both terminate when the child reaches the age of twenty-one. 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(1)(A); Lauren W. v. DeFlaminis, 480 F.3d 259, 272 (3d Cir.2007). “The core of [the] entitlement [to a FAPE] is provided by the IEP, the package of special educational and related services designed to meet the unique needs of the disabled child.” Carlisle Area Sch. v. Scott P., 62 F.3d 520, 526 (3d Cir.1995). The IDEA does not set forth definitive guidelines for the formulation of an IEP, but at a minimum, “[t]he IEP must be ‘reasonably calculated’ to enable the child to receive ‘meaningful educational benefits' in light of the student's ‘intellectual potential.’ ” Shore Reg'l High Sch. Bd. of Educ. v. P.S., 381 F.3d 194, 198 (3d Cir.2004) ); see also 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A); Bd. of Educ. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 189, 102 S.Ct. 3034, 73 L.Ed.2d 690 (1982). The right to a FAPE ensures that students with special education needs receive the type of education that will “prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.” 20 U.S.C. § 1400(d)(1)(A).
Individuals who believe that their rights under the IDEA have been violated are permitted to bring a civil action in federal court. See 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2). To resolve these claims, the IDEA permits a court to “grant such relief as the court determines is appropriate.” 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(C)(iii). The Act is silent, however, as to what type of relief is “appropriate.” In addressing what is “appropriate” relief under the IDEA, the Supreme Court concluded that the “only possible interpretation [of section 1415(i)(2)(C)(iii)] is that the relief is to be ‘appropriate’ in light of the purposes of the act.” Burlington v. Massachusetts, 471 U.S. 359, 369, 105 S.Ct. 1996, 85 L.Ed.2d 385 (1985). The purposes of the Act are explicitly stated in its text. Two of these purposes are relevant to our analysis:
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