Knable v. Bexley City School District
| Decision Date | 02 November 2000 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 99-4326,99-4394,s. 99-4326 |
| Parties | (6th Cir. 2001) Justin Knable, a minor by and through his mother and next friend Marilyn Knable, Plaintiff-Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. Bexley City School District; and Phillip E. Tieman, Superintendent, Bexley Board of Education, Defendants-Appellees/Cross-Appellants. Argued: |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at Columbus. No. 96-01159, Edmund A. Sargus, Jr., District Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted]
[Copyrighted Material Omitted]
[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Franklin J. Hickman, Janet L. Lowder, HICKMAN & LOWDER, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant.
Julie Carleton Martin, Gregorry B. Scott, SCOTT, SCRIVEN & WAHOFF, Columbus, Ohio, John Curtis Albert, CRABBE, BROWN, JONES, POTTS & SCHMIDT, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellees.
Before: KEITH, BOGGS, and COLE, Circuit Judges.
Parents of a behaviorally disabled boy brought this action under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA" or "Act"), 20 U.S.C. §a1400 et seq., against the Bexley, Ohio, school district ("Bexley"). The parents sought reimbursement for the costs of placing their child in private school after they withdrew him from Bexley public schools. The district court affirmed the findings of the state Impartial Hearing Officer and denied the parents' request for reimbursement. The parents appeal, arguing that the school district committed both procedural and substantive violations of the IDEA, and consequently denied their son the "free appropriate public education" to which he was entitled under the Act. For the reasons that follow, we REVERSE the decision of the district court and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
The facts of this case are largely undisputed. Justin Knable was born on February 3, 1982, and was adopted by Marylin and Robert Knable a few days after birth. When Justin reached school age, his parents enrolled him in a private school, the Columbus Torah Academy. Justin began exhibiting behavioral problems in the first grade, and thereafter began receiving therapy from a private doctor and a child psychologist associated with his school. In early 1992, Justin was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and dysthymia, and was prescribed medication for his conditions. In June of 1992, Justin was admitted to Upham Hall, an inpatient facility at The Ohio State University, due to his aggressive behavior at home.
Justin began attending Bexley public schools in the fifth grade (the 1992-93 school year) after Justin's doctor recommended placement in a more disciplined and structured school environment. Justin continued to demonstrate disruptive behavior while enrolled in Bexley schools.
At the beginning of Justin's sixth-grade year (1993-94), Bexley began the process of having Justin evaluated according to special education law. As early as August 31, 1993, a Teacher Conference Summary stated, "call Knables for permission to evaluate." Bexley officials signed a referral request on September 14, 1993, and mailed a parent-permission form on September 24, 1993. On September 30, 1993, the Knables consented to a multi-factored evaluation of Justin. On November 22, 1993, an evaluation team met and unanimously agreed that Justin was eligible for services for a Severe Behavior Handicap ("SBH"). Nadine Ross, the school psychologist, sent the results of the multi-factored evaluation to Justin's parents on November 23, 1993, and arranged to meet with them to discuss the evaluation and possible placements for Justin.
Because Bexley did not have an SBH unit within the school district at that time, Ms. Ross began investigating the availability of SBH placement settings for Justin outside the school district. Ms. Ross reviewed the SBH program at the Hannah Neil Center for Children ("Hannah Neil") and learned that the program had a space for an additional SBH student.
The Knables and Bexley officials met on December 8, 1993, to discuss the results of Justin's multi-factored evaluation as well as possible placement options. Dr. Hilliard, the principal of Maryland Elementary, recommended placing Justin in the SBH program at Hannah Neil. The Knables expressed doubts about the Hannah Neil program and asked about the possibility of a residential placement for Justin. Although the Knables agreed to visit the Hannah Neil facility and signed a release form so that Bexley might send Hannah Neil information about Justin, they never actually visited or spoke with the staff at Hannah Neil. At the conclusion of the December 8, 1993, meeting, Mr. Knable stated that he "would like to see an IEP" for Justin. 1
Five days after this meeting, on December 13, 1993, the Knables admitted Justin to Upham Hall because of aggressive behavior at home. That same day, the Knables informed Bexley that Justin had been hospitalized and requested another meeting. The next day, December 14, 1993, the Knables met with Dr. Hilliard; Dr. Anne Hyland, a psychologist in the Bexley school district; and Bill Bowman, Justin's teacher. The Knables stated that Hannah Neil was not an acceptable placement for Justin. Mr. Knable and Bexley officials agreed, however, that Bexley would work with officials at Upham Hall on Justin's educational program while he was hospitalized. During this meeting, Mr. Knable again noted that Justin had not received an IEP. Dr. Hilliard agreed that Bexley did not have an IEP for Justin, but stated that Bexley did have plans for working with Justin.
Justin remained at Upham Hall from December 13, 1993, to December 22, 1993, and continued day treatment there from January 3, 1994, to February 23, 1994. After ending his treatment at Upham Hall, Justin returned to regular educational placement at Bexley, albeit with a plan intended to deal with his bad behavior. The plan was modified after Justin threatened to run away, and after he stated that he almost slit his wrists because of embarrassment. Justin did almost no work at school, spent a great deal of time in the principal's office, and failed three of his seven subjects. He was often disrespectful to teachers and students, swore regularly, and disrupted classes by talking. Although Justin was not behaviorally out of control at school, the Knables viewed Justin's behavior at home to be explosive and uncontrollable at times.
The Knables and Bexley officials met again on April 6, 1994, and June 8, 1994, to discuss Justin's behavior and possible SBH placement. At the April 6 meeting, Mr. Knable again raised the issue of an IEP for Justin, and stated that he desired more information about an SBH placement for Justin before he would be willing to sign an IEP. At the June 8, 1994, meeting, Mr. Knable again asked when Justin's IEP would be forthcoming. Dr. Hilliard responded that Bexley would work on an IEP and get it to the Knables over the summer.
On July 6, 1994, Bexley officials met with a representative of Upham Hall, Mary Sidman, to discuss possible placements for Justin. Ms. Sidman suggested several characteristics and goals for a seventh-grade program for Justin. Dr. Hyland concluded from this meeting that the Harding School Plus program in nearby Worthington, Ohio, would satisfy the criteria recommended by Ms. Sidman. The Knables were not present at this meeting.
Throughout Justin's sixth-grade year and the following summer, the Knables had been exploring, on their own, possible residential placements for Justin. On August 16 or 17, 1994, Mrs. Knable completed enrollment and student information forms for Grove School, a psychiatrically-oriented residential program in Connecticut. Grove School officially accepted Justin into its program on August 18, 1994, at a total cost of $51,300 per year.
Also on August 18, 1994, Mr. Knable faxed a letter to Bexley again requesting a written IEP. Dr. Hyland indicated that Bexley was considering the Harding School Plus program as a possible placement for Justin and suggested that Mr. Knable visit Harding to review the program. Mr. Knable visited Harding on August 22, 1994. At a follow-up meeting with Dr. Hyland to discuss the proposed placement at Harding, the Knables raised concerns about the short length of the school day in the program, and the requirement that they pay $80 per day in therapy costs. Mr. Knable also asked whether Bexley would pay for private residential placement in the event the Knables did not agree to Harding School Plus. According to Mr. Knable, Dr. Hyland responded negatively to this inquiry by stating, "you really don't expect that I would write a check to a private school, do you?" At the conclusion of this meeting, Mr. Knable reiterated his demand for an IEP for Justin.
Dr. Hyland faxed Mr. Knable a "draft" IEP for Justin on August 30, 1994. The draft IEP proposed services at Harding School Plus and noted that "Bexley Schools will assume costs beyond what parent insurance will cover associated with the Harding School Plus program."
On September 12, 1994, the Knables accepted Grove School's offer of admission to Justin by sending a check to guarantee Justin's place in the seventh-grade class. The Knables did not respond to Bexley's "draft" IEP, nor did they inform Bexley of their decision to enroll Justin in Grove School. On September 15, 1994, Dr. Hyland wrote a follow-up letter to the Knables regarding the proposed IEP. The Knables' attorney responded by letter on September 20, 1994, and requested an IEP conference. Bexley officials did not ignore that request for an IEP conference; however, Bexley and the Knables agreed that they would not disclose the content of any subsequent meeting or meetings for purposes of this litigation.
Justin attended Grove School for two years. By the fourth...
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