Holmes v. Millcreek Township School Dist.
| Decision Date | 24 February 2000 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 98-3428,s. 98-3428 |
| Citation | 205 F.3d 583 |
| Parties | (3rd Cir. 2000) REBECCA H. HOLMES, a minor by parents and natural guardians ED HOLMES and DEBBY HOLMES, his wife; ED HOLMES; DEBBY HOLMES, in their own right v. MILLCREEK TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT, Appellant /3482 |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Civil Action No. 95-cv-00214E) District Judge: Honorable Maurice B. Cohill, Jr. [Copyrighted Material Omitted]
Attorney for Appellees: Antoinette Szarek, Esquire (Argued) 511 Orchard Way Lansdowne, PA 19050
Attorneys for Appellant: Joanna K. Budde, Esquire (Argued) Patricia K. Smith, Esquire Knox, McLaughlin, Gornall & Sennett 120 West 10th Street Erie, PA 16501
Before GREENBERG and ROTH, Circuit Judge POLLAK,1 District Judge
Appellees Ed and Debbie Holmes brought an action under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. SS 1400 et seq ., to recover attorney's fees and costs. These fees and costs were incurred by the Holmeses in challenging the re-evaluation of their daughter, Rebecca Holmes, which was to be done by the Millcreek Township School ("School District"), and in protesting the qualifications of a sign language interpreter whom the School District had assigned to work with their daughter. In addition, the Holmeses sued for reimbursement by the School District of the costs of the 1994 Independent Educational Evaluation ("IEE"), which the Holmeses had had performed on Rebecca. After a bench trial, the District Court held that the Holmeses were entitled to attorney's fees and certain costs associated with the 1994 IEE and with the Holmeses' challenge to the interpreter's qualifications.
The School District appealed the award of fees and costs to the Holmeses. We will reverse the District Court's conclusion that the Holmeses were entitled to reimbursement for the 1994 IEE, but we will affirm their entitlement to an award of attorney's fees and costs. Because we find the amount of the award excessive, however, we will reduce it.
Rebecca H. Holmes is severely deaf. In the fall of 1992, as she entered the 5th grade, Rebecca transferred to the Millcreek School District and was assigned to the School District's Belle Valley Elementary School.
Because of Rebecca's disability, School District officials made arrangements for her to undergo a comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation was to assist the School District in creating a suitable Individualized Educational Plan ("IEP") for Rebecca, as required by IDEA.2 Personnel at the Center for Deafness at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (the "WPSD") performed an IEE, which was paid for by the School District. The IEE was the basis for Rebecca's IEP for the 1992-93 school year.
Rebecca's 1992-93 IEP included hearing impaired support, speech theory, and language therapy. In addition, Rebecca used a hearing aid and part-time interpreter services in the classroom. The interpreter, Kevin Feyas, was employed by the School District. In addition, on September 1, 1992, Chris DiFilippo was hired by the School District as an interpreter for deaf students at Belle Valley. DiFilippo also worked with Rebecca during the 1992-93 school year.
Rebecca continued with the same IEP during the 1993-94 school year. During 1994, however, the School District would be obligated to do a multi-disciplinary re-evaluation of Rebecca. The re-evaluation would determine Rebecca's continued eligibility for special education services and recommend a plan for the 1994-95 school year. The Holmeses did not agree with the method of re-evaluation proposed by the School District because a sign language interpreter would be used. The Holmeses believed that Rebecca should be assessed only by people who could communicate directly with her by sign language while she was being tested.
On December 6, 1993, mid-way through Rebecca's 6th grade year, Mrs. Holmes asked the School District to have the WPSD conduct an IEE of Rebecca as part of the reevaluation. Mrs. Holmes asked the School District to pay for this second IEE. The School District refused to pay for additional assessments by the WPSD but proposed to perform its own re-evaluation. The School District informed the Holmeses that the School District could perform an appropriate re-evaluation with its own experts, who were familiar with Rebecca, her academic progress, and the School District's curriculum.
After the School District refused their request to have the WPSD evaluate their daughter, the Holmeses made arrangements themselves for a WPSD evaluation of Rebecca on February 10, 1994. The resulting IEE consisted of two reports. The first, a two-page re-evaluation of Rebecca's sign language skills, was authored by Marlene SchecterConnors. The second, a ten-page "Interview Summary," was prepared by a psychologist, Dr. Paul Loera. Dr. Loera met with Rebecca and her parents and reviewed various materials produced in 1992 by the WPSD in connection with its first evaluation of Rebecca.
On March 4, 1994, the School District filed a request for a due process hearing on the appropriateness of its proposed re-evaluation of Rebecca. Prior to the hearing, the parties engaged in mediation but were unable to reach an agreement. The Holmeses then obtained a continuance of the hearing because they were involved in another due process proceeding concerning the education of their son, Matthew, who is also hearing-impaired.
On April 4, during the period of the continuance, the School District asked the Holmeses for permission to reevaluate Rebecca. Mrs. Holmes requested that the School District not perform any testing, evaluating, or other procedures that would result in a written report that could be incorporated into Rebecca's multi-disciplinary team ("MDT") report. Mrs. Holmes also informed the School District that she would require that WPSD-approved personnel be members of the MDT and that she had not yet received the reports of 1994 assessment which the Holmeses had had done by the WPSD. In addition, Mrs. Holmes advised the School District that she opposed the use of an interpreter in the re-evaluation.
During April, May, and June, Dr. Richard Lansberry, a school psychologist, compiled Rebecca's Comprehensive Evaluation Report ("CER") for the MDT. The data in the CER included the WPSD 1992 IEE of Rebecca, evaluations from Rebecca's speech therapist, and a language evaluation of Rebecca by Kevin Feyas. Dr. Lansberry also informally interviewed Rebecca, with Kevin Feyas serving as interpreter.
On April 28, Mrs. Holmes again requested a detailed description of any testing of Rebecca by the School District. She also reminded the School District that she would not consent to any testing to re-evaluate Rebecca. A copy of the draft CER was sent to the Holmeses on July 7, 1994, nine days after the WPSD's 1994 IEE reports was transmitted to the School District.
At the start of the 1994-95 school year, two MDT meetings were held, with the Holmeses present, to develop an IEP for Rebecca. The resulting four-page CER stated that Rebecca "will have access to a sign language interpreter throughout all of her school day" and access to structured study guides. In response to the CER, the Holmeses wrote a dissenting opinion in which they stated that they were dissatisfied with Dr. Lansberry's report. They contended that the CER contained errors of fact, excluded important information, and did not include information about their goal of exposing Rebecca to "the deaf community."
The new plan, based on the CER, was implemented on September 14, 1994, and was valid through June 7, 1995. Despite their dissent to the CER, the Holmeses did not object to the implementation of this plan.
In January 1995, the Holmeses requested due process consideration of their request for reimbursement for the 1994 IEE performed by the WSPD. The bill for the 1994 IEE was $400. The Holmeses presented this bill to the School District on May 16, 1995. In January 1995, the Holmeses had also raised concerns with the School District about the qualifications of Rebecca's interpreter, Chris DiFilippo. DiFilippo had become Rebecca's full-time interpreter in December 1994 after her prior interpreter, Tina Hammer, left. DiFilippo began working with Rebecca on a daily basis on January 3, 1995. On January 23, after Rebecca complained about DiFilippo, the Holmeses requested a due process hearing regarding his qualifications. Prior to the hearing, the School District provided the Holmeses with evaluations to demonstrate that DiFilippo was qualified. The Department of Education had advised the School District to contact Beverly Hollrah of Washington, D.C., to conduct an evaluation of DiFilippo's skills. Hollrah viewed a tape of DiFilippo interpreting for Rebecca in several classes. On February 16, 1995, Hollrah informed the School District that DiFilippo had done "a very nice and satisfactory job of communicating the material presented in all classes videotaped." When later deposed, however, Hollrah stated that she did not know whether DiFilippo was qualified, that she had been unaware that a student had challenged his interpreting skills when she reviewed the tape, and that, had she been aware of the student's complaint, she would have wanted to meet with the student and get further information before rendering an assessment of DiFilippo's skills.
The due process hearing began on February 21, 1995. The Holmeses had also requested leave to obtain an independent evaluation of DiFilippo's skills. In addition, they had asked to present evidence regarding the IEE reimbursement issue. Although the School District had not yet received a bill for the IEE, the Holmeses' counsel advised the School District of the approximate cost of...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
P.G. v. Brick Tp. Bd. of Educ.
...Party The test to determine prevailing party status is well established in this Circuit. See, e.g., Holmes v. Millcreek Township Sch. Dist., 205 F.3d 583, 593 (3d Cir.2000); Metro. Pittsburgh Crusade for Voters v. City of Pittsburgh, 964 F.2d 244, 250 (3d Cir.1992); B.K., 998 F.Supp. at 474......
-
J.D.G. v. Colonial Sch. Dist.
...services designed to meet those goals, and a timetable for reaching the goals by way of the services.” Holmes v. Millcreek Twp. Sch. Dist., 205 F.3d 583, 589 (3d Cir.2000) (citation omitted). A team consisting of the student's parents and teachers, a curriculum specialist from the local sch......
-
G.A. v. River Vale Bd. of Educ.
...services designed to meet those goals, and atimetable for reaching the goals by way of the services." Holmes v. Millcreek Twp. Sch. Dist., 205 F.3d 583, 589 (3d Cir.2000). The IEP must provide a "basic floor of opportunity" and not necessarily the "optimal level of services." Carlisle Area ......
-
CG v. Pa. Dep't of Educ.
...the IDEA does not require that children with disabilities receive “the optimal level of services.” Holmes ex rel. Holmes v. Millcreek Twp. Sch. Dist., 205 F.3d 583, 589–90 (3d Cir.2000) (quoting Carlisle Area Sch. v. Scott P. By and Through Bess P., 62 F.3d 520, 533–34 (3d Cir.1995)). Rathe......