Jerry M. v. Riesel Indep. Sch. Dist.

• Decision Date: 07 March 2019
• Docket Number: C.A. NO. 6:18-CV-00061-ADA-JCM
• Citation: 379 F.Supp.3d 570
• Parties: CANDI M. and Jerry M. as parents/guardians/next friends of J.M., a minor child with a disability, Plaintiffs v. RIESEL INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT and Falls Education Cooperative, Defendants
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas

379 F.Supp.3d 570

CANDI M. and Jerry M. as parents/guardians/next friends of J.M., a minor child with a disability, Plaintiffs

v.RIESEL INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT and Falls Education Cooperative, Defendants

C.A. NO. 6:18-CV-00061-ADA-JCM

United States District Court, W.D. Texas, Waco Division.

Signed March 7, 2019

Sonja Darling Kerr, Hollingsworth & Zivitz, P.C., Austin, TX, for Plaintiffs.

Meredith Prykryl Walker, Walsh Gallegos Trevino Russo & Kyle P.C., Irving, TX, for Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD AND DENYING PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

ALAN D. ALBRIGHT, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is Defendants' Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record (Document No. 49), Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (Document No. 49), Plaintiffs' Response to Defendants' Motion (Document No. 62), Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Motion (Document No. 61), Defendants' Reply (Document No. 66), and Plaintiffs' Reply (Document No. 65). After carefully reviewing the Parties' briefs and the relevant law, the Court has decided that Defendants' Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record should be granted, and Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment should be denied for the reasons set forth below.

I. Background

In 2014, J.M. met eligibility for special education services as a student with Other Health Impairment ("OHI") based on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

("ADHD") and as a student with a Specific Learning Disability ("SLD") in the areas of basic reading and reading comprehension. Respondent's Exhibit 3.¹ Riesel Independent School District (the "District") added "co-occurring dyslexia" to the SLD classification on the basis of a July 24, 2014 private evaluation, which identified J.M. as a student with dyslexia. R. 38. J.M.'s Admission Review and Dismissal ("ARD") committee met on June 2, 2016 to review J.M.'s educational program, discuss his schedule for the upcoming 2016–17 school year, conduct transition planning, review the decision of the hearing officer in a prior case involving J.M., consider J.M.'s needs for Extended School Year ("ESY") services, and discuss upcoming summer evaluations. Joint Exhibit 1, at 21, 25.² J.M.'s parents attended the ARD meeting. Id. at 21. J.M. was invited to the ARD meeting but did not attend. Id. The June 2016 ARD committee meeting addressed J.M.'s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance ("PLAAFP") in the following areas: physical, behavioral, discipline, functional, and academic. Id. at 2.

At the June 2016 ARD committee meeting, it was discussed that J.M. did not meet the state standard on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness ("STAAR") for End of Course ("EOC") exams for Biology, Algebra I, and English I. Id. at 21. The STAAR tests are based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills ("TEKS"), which is the state mandated curriculum. Administrative Record at 13.³ The TEKS contains the content and skills students need to learn in order to make academic progress from year to year and to succeed post-graduation. Id. Students in Texas must pass the STAAR EOC exams in Algebra I, English I and II, Biology, and U.S. History to graduate high school. Id. The ARD agreed J.M. would take the summer 2016 administration of the STAAR tests—those results were to be reviewed at the ARD committee meeting scheduled prior to the beginning of the 2016–17 school year. J.1 at 21.

Transition services and planning were discussed prior to the June 2016 meeting. Id. The transition plan addressed J.M.'s post-graduation plans, parental involvement, postsecondary options, and J.M.'s employment/independent goals and objectives. Id. at 8, 21. The June 2016 transition plan included measurable post-secondary goals in the following areas: training, education, employment, and transition services. Id. at 8.⁴ J.M.'s measurable post-secondary goals were as follows: (1) Training: "[u]pon graduation from high school, [J.M.] will enroll in an institution of higher learning to pursue training in the field of welding"; (2) Education: "[u]pon graduation from high school, [J.M.] will enroll in an institution of higher learning to pursue a welding certification"; and (3) Employment: "[u]pon completion of certification/degree, [J.M.] will seek to obtain employment in order to live independently and support himself financially." Id. J.M.'s plan referred to his Schedule of Service in his Individualized Education Plan ("IEP") as the set of transition of services that would help him attain his measurable post-secondary goals. Id.

The ARD committee formulated the aforementioned goals based on functional vocational evaluations conducted by the District that included J.M., his mother, and one of his teachers. Id. J.M. expressed an interest in studying welding at a college or technical/trade school. Id. at 9. J.M. had previously held a job performing manual labor—moving trash and hauling hay—and sometimes performed chores. Id. J.M. was active in school and in the community and had numerous hobbies. Id. J.M.'s mother confirmed that he had previously held a job, expressed a desire to learn a skill or trade, and wished to attend college or technical/trade school. Id. at 11. J.M.'s mother also expressed she did not want J.M. to take vocational or career education classes. Id. After conducting these evaluations, the District provided J.M.'s parents with information from local colleges, the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, and a college preparation checklist. Id. at 8.

At the June 2016 meeting, the ARD committee proposed conducting evaluations for math achievement and speech in order to collect more information to determine J.M.'s needs. J.2 at 1. J.M.'s mother consented to the proposed assessments. Id. The ARD committee also discussed the passing standards required to participate in the Universal Intercollegiate League ("UIL") extracurricular activities. In the ninth grade, J.M. was not allowed to participate in an event at the county fair because of his failing grades. J.1 at 25. The District agreed to contact the UIL to determine whether the ARD committee could modify eligibility standards in response to J.M.'s mother's inquiry. Id.

The ARD committee confirmed that J.M. was under the care of a physician because of his Crohn's disease

at the June 2016 meeting. J.1 at 2. The ARD committee provided J.M.'s mother with another OHI form to consider adding Crohn's disease to J.M.'s OHI eligibility. Id. The ARD committee also reviewed an Individualized Healthcare Plan ("IHP"), which addressed J.M.'s medical needs related to Crohn's disease. Id. at 2–5. J.M.'s teachers reviewed the IHP with the school nurse—the nurse was available to any teacher or staff who needed clarification on the IHP. Id. at 2. J.M.'s mother also provided the ARD committee with a list of recommended accommodations related to J.M.'s medical condition. Id. These proposed recommendations were to be reviewed and considered at the August 2016 ARD meeting before the start of the 2016–17 school year. Id.

The June 2016 ARD documents included a Prior Written Notice ("PWN") page explaining the decisions of the ARD, the basis for those decisions, the options considered and why they were rejected or not, the evaluation procedures, tests, records, and reports used as the basis for their decisions, and any other relevant factors that were considered when making their decisions. Id. at 25–26. The PWN included a procedural safeguards statement with the name and phone number of the Co-Op Directors as the parental contact for questions or other information to assist J.M.'s parents in understanding the procedural safeguards. Id. at 26.

The District completed a Full Individual Evaluation ("FIE") about two weeks after the June 2, 2016 ARD meeting. J.3 at 1. The purpose of the June 2016 FIE was to conduct testing in the areas of math and articulation. Id. The FIE was conducted by a speech/language pathologist and an educational diagnosticiation—a special education and general education teacher were also members of the FIE multi-disciplinary team. Id. The FIE was conducted in English, which is J.M.'s primary language. Id. The assessment instruments used were: (i) selected and administered so as not to be discriminatory; (ii) administered in the form most likely to yield accurate information as to J.M.'s academic, developmental, and functional performance; (iii) used for the purposes of which they were valid and reasonable; (iv) administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel; and (v) administered in accordance with instructions by the assessments' producers. Id. at 6. These instruments were also tailored to assess J.M.'s specific areas of educational need in math and speech/language and selected and administered to accurately reflect J.M.'s aptitude or achievement level. Id. J.M. was assessed in all areas of suspected disability identified by the June 2016 ARD. Id. at 1–6.

The June 2016 FIE showed that J.M.'s receptive and expressive language, pragmatic language, articulation, voice, and fluency were age appropriate. Id. at 4. J.M. scored below what was expected for his age on the math component of the June 2016 FIE. Id. However, this was likely because he was prohibited from using a calculator on the test, and J.M. was accustomed to using a calculator for math on a daily basis. Id.⁵ The June 2016 FIE confirmed J.M.'s continued eligibility for special education as a student with OHI and a SLD in basic reading skills and reading comprehension. Id. at 5–6. However, the June 2016 FIE also found that J.M. no longer met eligibility criteria as a student with a Speech Impairment ("SI") because his articulation and speech/language skills were age appropriate. Id. at 6.

The District provided J.M. with dyslexia

compensatory services in the summer of 2016. R.32 at 2. The dyslexia teacher implemented the Dyslexia Intervention Program ("DIP"). Id. at...