Mr. I. ex rel. L.I. v. Me. Sch. Admn. Dist. No. 55

• Decision Date: 05 March 2007
• Docket Number: No. 06-1368.,No. 06-1422.,06-1368.,06-1422.
• Citation: 480 F.3d 1
• Parties: MR. I., as parent and next friend of L.I., a minor; Mrs. I., as parent and next friend of L.I., a Minor, Plaintiffs, Appellees/Cross-Appellants, v. MAINE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICT NO. 55, Defendant, Appellant/Cross-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

480 F.3d 1

MR. I., as parent and next friend of L.I., a minor; Mrs. I., as parent and next friend of L.I., a Minor, Plaintiffs, Appellees/Cross-Appellants, v. MAINE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICT NO. 55, Defendant, Appellant/Cross-Appellee.

No. 06-1368.

No. 06-1422.

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Heard December 5, 2006.

Decided March 5, 2007.

Eric R. Herlan with whom Drummond Woodsum & MacMahon, was on brief, for appellant/cross appellant.

Richard L. O'Meara with whom Amy M. Sneirson, Staci K. Converse and Murray, Plumb & Murray, were on brief, for appellees/cross-appellees.

Diane C. Smith, on brief for amici curiae Autism Society of Maine, Council of Parent Advocates and Attorneys, Disability Rights Center, and National Disability Rights Network.

Brendan P. Rielly and Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry, on brief for amici curiae Maine School Management Association, Maine Education Association, Maine Administrators of Services for Children with Disabilities, and Maine Principals' Association.

Frank D'Alessandro and Kids Legal at Pine Tree Legal Assistance, on brief for amici curiae Asperger's Association of New England.

Before TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge, CYR, Senior Circuit Judge, and HOWARD, Circuit Judge.

HOWARD, Circuit Judge.

This case presents an issue of eligibility for benefits under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (Supp.2006) (the "IDEA"). We have previously noted that such issues can require a "difficult and sensitive" analysis. Greenland Sch. Dist. v. Amy N., 358 F.3d 150, 162 (1st Cir.2004) (not reaching the eligibility question). This case is no exception. The appellant, Maine School Administrative District No. 55 ("the district"), appeals the district court's determination that the appellees' daughter ("LI") qualifies as a "child with a disability" eligible for special education and related services under the IDEA as a result of her Asperger's Syndrome. The appellees ("Mr. and Mrs. I" or "the parents") cross-appeal the district court's rulings that (1) even though LI was entitled to IDEA services, her parents were not entitled to reimbursement of their expenses in unilaterally placing LI in a private school following the district's refusal to provide those services and (2) the district would not be separately ordered to provide compensatory education services to reverse the effects of that decision on LI's progress. We affirm the judgment of the district court.

I.

We begin with an overview of the statutory framework. The IDEA provides funding to each state "to assist [it] to provide special education and related services to children with disabilities," 20 U.S.C. § 1411(a)(1), provided that "[a] free appropriate public education is available to all children with disabilities residing in the state. . . ." Id. § 1412(a)(1)(A). In this sense, a "free appropriate public education" encompasses "special education and related services," id. § 1401(9), including "specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. . . ." Id. § 1401(29).

To receive special education and related services under the IDEA, a child must qualify as a "child with a disability." In relevant part, a "child with a disability" is a child

(i) with mental retardation, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance (referred to in this chapter as "emotional disturbance"), orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; and

(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.

Id. § 1401(3)(A). The Secretary of Education has promulgated a regulation defining each of the categories of disability set forth in § 1401(3)(A)(i). Those definitions, so far as they are relevant here, require that each of the enumerated conditions "adversely affect[ ] a child's educational performance" to constitute a disability. 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.8(c)(1)(i) (2006) (autism), (c)(4)(i) (emotional disturbance), (c)(9)(ii) (other health impairment).¹

The IDEA places the burden of identifying children with disabilities upon each state. 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(3)(A). In deciding whether a particular student has a disability under the IDEA, Maine uses a "pupil evaluation team," or "PET," 05-071-101 Me.Code. R. § 9.4 (2006), consisting of the student's parents, a representative from the school district, and a number of educational and other professionals. Id. § 8.6; see also 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(B). Though the members of the PET attempt to achieve consensus on this issue, the school district retains the "ultimate responsibility to ensure that a student is appropriately evaluated" for IDEA eligibility. 05-071-101 Me.Code. R. § 8.11(C).

The parents of a child deemed ineligible for IDEA benefits can challenge that determination before an impartial hearing officer. 20 U.S.C. §§ 1415(b)(6), (f)(1)(A), (f)(3)(A). After the hearing, the officer issues a final administrative decision, accompanied by findings of fact. Id. §§ 1415(h)(4), (i)(1)(A). Any party aggrieved by the decision can then file a civil action in federal district court. Id. § 1415(i)(2)(A). Then the "trial court must make an independent ruling based on the preponderance of the evidence, but the Act contemplates that the source of that evidence generally will be the administrative hearing record, with some supplementation at trial." Town of Burlington v. Dep't of Educ., 736 F.2d 773, 790 (1st Cir.1984), aff'd sub nom. Sch. Comm. v. Dep't of Educ., 471 U.S. 359, 105 S.Ct. 1996, 85 L.Ed.2d 385 (1986) ("Burlington"); see also 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(C).

In keeping with this approach, the district court referred the case to a magistrate judge for proposed findings and a recommended disposition, see 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) (2006), which were made based on the facts adduced at the due process hearing and supplemental evidence submitted by the parents. The district court, in the absence of an objection from either side, accepted the magistrate's proposed findings wholesale. In the continued absence of any challenge to these factual findings, we take the same tack.

II.

A.

LI attended Cornish Elementary School in Cornish, Maine, until 2003. Though she excelled academically, by the fourth grade she began to experience sadness, anxiety, and difficulty with peer relationships. These problems persisted into the fifth grade, when LI sought to distance herself physically from most of her classmates. Her parents sought psychological counseling for LI and she started taking a prescription anti-depressant. Her grades also dropped from "high honors" to "honors." As the school year progressed, however, LI became more successful at interacting with her peers and participating in class.

During the summer recess preceding sixth grade, LI asked her mother, as she had the previous summer, to allow her to be home-schooled. LI also expressed her desire to attend The Community School ("TCS"), a private school in South Tamworth, New Hampshire, where her older sister had matriculated. Nevertheless, LI started the 2003-2004 school year at Cornish, where Mrs. I believed her daughter would benefit, in particular, from her assigned sixth grade teacher.

By mid-September, however, LI was "slacking off" in her academic work and regularly missing school, prompting a meeting between her teacher and Mrs. I. At this meeting, also attended by LI, Mrs. I noticed cuts or scratches on her daughter's arms; the teacher offered that LI might have inflicted those wounds on herself during her "lengthy bathroom breaks" from class. According to the teacher, LI was also having continued trouble relating with her peers due to a "serious lack of awareness" of their social and emotional states, which bordered on "hostility." The teacher added that she could not "reach" LI, who had refused to complete assignments and shown a "passive resistance to meeting learning goals." Yet the teacher considered LI "a very bright young girl with strong language and math skills . . . capable of powerful insights in her reading and writing. . . ."

The teacher and Mrs. I came up with a "contract" that would have entitled LI to study more advanced topics in her areas of interest in November if she satisfactorily completed her assignments for October. As October approached, however, LI refused to sign the contract and stayed home from school on both September 30 and October 1. On October 1, following an argument with Mrs. I over one of LI's academic assignments, LI deliberately ingested excessive quantities of one her prescription drugs and two over-the-counter medications in a suicide attempt.

LI spent the balance of the day in the emergency room at a nearby hospital and was discharged with instructions to remain out of school for two days under high safety precautions. The hospital social worker also directed Mr. and Mrs. I to "share with [LI] something that would change in her life, and produce a positive impact on her emotional functioning." Based on LI's comments to hospital personnel that she hated school, Mr. and Mrs. I told her that she would not have to return to Cornish Elementary and discussed enrollment at TCS as an alternative.

In the wake of her attempted suicide, LI met with a new counselor, who, suspecting that LI might suffer from Asperger's Syndrome, referred her to Dr. Ellen Popenoe for neuropsychological testing.² Mr. and Mrs. I conveyed this information, as well as the news of LI's suicide attempt, to the district's director of special services, Jim McDevitt. They added that LI would not return to Cornish Elementary "for the time being" and that they were looking at other options, including TCS. McDevitt explained the process for seeking reimbursement from the district for placing LI in a private school and also told the parents that the district...