R.L. ex rel. O.L. v. Miami-Dade Cnty. Sch. Bd.

• Decision Date: 02 July 2014
• Docket Number: No. 12–14880.,12–14880.
• Citation: 757 F.3d 1173
• Parties: R.L., S.L., individually, and on behalf of O.L., a minor, Plaintiffs–Appellees, Cross Appellants, v. MIAMI–DADE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, Defendant–Appellant, Cross Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

757 F.3d 1173

R.L., S.L., individually, and on behalf of O.L., a minor, Plaintiffs–Appellees, Cross Appellants,

v.MIAMI–DADE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, Defendant–Appellant, Cross Appellee.

No. 12–14880.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

July 2, 2014.

Tracey Spencer Walsh, Gary S. Mayerson, Mayerson & Associates, New York, NY, Matthew W. Dietz, The Law Office of Matthew W. Dietz, Stephanie Langer, Miami, FL, for Plaintiffs–Appellees, Cross Appellants.

Mary C. Lawson, Miami–Dade County School Board Attorney's Office, Edward S. Polk, Cole Scott & Kissane, PA, Miami, FL, Laura Esterman Pincus, School District of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach, FL, for Defendant–Appellant, Cross Appellee.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. D.C. Docket No. 1:07–cv–20321–JAL.

Before MARTIN, FAY, and SENTELLE,^* Circuit Judges.

MARTIN, Circuit Judge:

This appeal arises out of a lengthy and contentious dispute between the Miami–Dade County School Board (the Board) and R.L. and S.L., whose son O.L. has been diagnosed with developmental and digestive disorders that have greatly impacted his educational needs. After years of difficulties resulting at least in part from the growing size of his school environments, O.L.'s parents asked the Board to place him in a smaller high school than his 3600–student home high school. When the Board refused, and after the high school placement proved unworkable for O.L., his parents withdrew him from the public school system and arranged for him to receive one-on-one instruction outside the school setting. In this appeal, the Board challenges the District Court's decision to award O.L.'s parents reimbursement for that instruction as well as some of their attorney's fees. R.L. and S.L. cross appeal from the District Court's decision not to award O.L. compensatory education. After careful review, and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm.

I. Background

Before we reach the merits of this case, we review three important background matters. First, we review the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., in order to put the case in context. Next, we review the facts of O.L.'s disabilities, the history of his education in the Miami–Dade County School System, and the dispute between the Board and O.L.'s parents that gave rise to this litigation. Finally, we review the decisions of the District Court as well as the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).

A. Legal Background

The IDEA extends federal financial assistance to states that agree to provide an education to children with disabilities consistent with the standards and requirements set out in the statute. See20 U.S.C. § 1412(a). Procedurally, the IDEA requires (among other things) that the state ¹ develop and conduct a yearly review of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that addresses the student's unique needs. Id. §§ 1412(a)(4), 1414(d)(4)(A). The IEP is supposed to be the culmination of a collaborative process between parents, teachers, and school administrators outlining the student's disability and his educational needs, with the goal of providing the student with a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Id. §§ 1401(9), 1412(a)(1)(A), 1414(d)(1)(A)-(B), (d)(3). Among the decisions that must be made by the IEP team is the educational placement—that is, the setting where the student will be educated—which must be “based on the child's IEP.” 34 C.F.R. § 300.116(a)- (b). Once arrived at, the final IEP should comply with the procedural and substantive requirements set forth in the IDEA and should be “reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits.” JSK v. Hendry Cnty. Sch. Bd., 941 F.2d 1563, 1571 (11th Cir.1991) (quoting Bd. of Educ. of Hendrick Hudson Centr. Sch. Dist., Westchester Cnty. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 206–07, 102 S.Ct. 3034, 3051, 73 L.Ed.2d 690 (1982)).

The IDEA recognizes, however, that this collaborative process might not always yield results acceptable to all members of the IEP team. If the parents believe that the IEP does not comply with the IDEA's requirements, they may unilaterally withdraw their child from the school system and pursue alternative placement options. See Sch. Comm. of Town of Burlington, Mass. v. Dep't of Educ. of Mass., 471 U.S. 359, 369–70, 105 S.Ct. 1996, 2002–03, 85 L.Ed.2d 385 (1985). Whether or not the dissatisfied parents pursue alternative placement options, either the state or the parents can file a complaint with the appropriate state administrative agency and get a due process hearing before an ALJ to resolve the dispute. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(f)(1)(A); see alsoFla. Stat. § 1003.57(c) (describing Florida's administrative complaint process for children with special needs). If either party disagrees with the administrative agency's decision, they can appeal by filing suit either in state court or in United States District Court. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(A). O.L.'s parents chose the latter.

On appeal, the District Court reviews the evidence presented to the ALJ and may hear additional evidence if needed. Id. § 1415(i)(2)(C)(i)-(ii). After reviewing all the evidence, the District Court may grant relief without a trial by issuing what we have called a “judgment on the record.” Loren F. v. Atlanta Indep. Sch. Sys., 349 F.3d 1309, 1313 (11th Cir.2003). A District Court may issue a judgment on the record based “on the preponderance of the evidence,” 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(C)(iii), even when facts are in dispute. Loren F., 349 F.3d at 1313. When weighing the evidence, the District Court gives “due weight” to the ALJ decision, and “must be careful not to substitute its judgment for that of the state educational authorities.” Walker Cnty. Sch. Dist. v. Bennett, 203 F.3d 1293, 1297 (11th Cir.2000). But the ALJ is not entitled to blind deference. The District Court is free to accept the ALJ's conclusions that are supported by the record and reject those that are not. Loren F., 349 F.3d at 1314. At the same time, when the District Court rejects the ALJ's conclusions, it is “obliged to explain why.” Id. at 1314 n. 5 (quotation mark omitted).

District Courts have broad discretion to fashion whatever relief is “appropriate” in light of the IDEA's purpose. Burlington, 471 U.S. at 369, 105 S.Ct. at 2002. This relief can include reimbursement for costs incurred by parents while pursuing an alternative placement. See id. Also available to the District Court is an award of compensatory education, by which the Court orders extra educational services designed to compensate for a past deficient program. Draper v. Atlanta Indep. Sch. Sys., 518 F.3d 1275, 1280 (11th Cir.2008).

B. Educational Background

O.L. has been diagnosed with different disorders at different times in his life. These include Asperger Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This combination of disorders causes O.L. to have serious trouble with anxiety, obsessive compulsive behavior, and sensory processing. Because of his sensory processing challenges, he suffers from sensory overload when there is too much going on in his surrounding environment—for example, when he is in a crowded place with a lot of background noise. When O.L. becomes anxious or overwhelmed by his surroundings, he experiences extreme fatigue, headaches, stomach aches, vomiting, muscle tics, and behavioral problems.

O.L. began his education in the Miami–Dade County public schools. His most debilitating symptoms did not emerge until his last year of elementary school, where about 700 students attended. In fifth grade, anxiety and sensory overload caused him to vomit frequently. O.L.'s symptoms got worse the next year, when he moved to Palmetto Middle School, which had 1700 students. He continued to deteriorate as he entered the seventh grade, and his muscle tics, obsessive compulsive behavior, headaches, and vomiting became progressively worse. Eventually, he became exceptionally violent and destructive at home, sometimes requiring his parents to administer emergency medication to calm him down. O.L.'s symptoms became so bad during the seventh grade that his parents removed him from school in December 2004 and considered admitting him to a psychiatric hospital. There was a consensus among his private treatment team, which included a psychiatrist, an audiologist, and a school psychologist, that this regression resulted from the sensory overload he experienced in the large school environment.

During O.L.'s medical leave, the Board provided him with a couple hours of one-on-one home instruction each day, which O.L.'s parents supplemented at their own expense. Within three months, his symptoms were under control and O.L. was able to return to school on a modified schedule. Under this modified schedule, O.L. received a few hours of instruction at Palmetto Middle School and then returned home each day for a few more hours of one-on-one home instruction.

O.L. continued at Palmetto Middle School for eighth grade, at the recommendation of his psychiatrist. In the beginning, he split his day between school and home instruction, like he had done at the end of seventh grade. After several weeks, the IEP team increased school instruction, but O.L. still spent part of the day in one-on-one home instruction. Unfortunately, O.L. did not respond well to the increased school instruction, and the symptoms that necessitated his withdrawal the year before re-emerged. Even so, the IEP team increased his school and home instruction even more in response to O.L.'s poor academic performance. Despite the IEP team's persistence, O.L. did not progress much during his eighth grade year.

Against this backdrop, R.L., S.L., and the rest of O.L.'s IEP team met to craft O.L.'s IEP for his transition from middle school to high school. If O.L. continued in his local public school, he would attend Palmetto...