Scituate School Committee v. Robert B., Civ. A. No. 83-0333.

• Decision Date: 22 October 1985
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 83-0333.
• Parties: SCITUATE SCHOOL COMMITTEE and the Town of Scituate, Rhode Island v. ROBERT B., Judith B., and Todd B.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Rhode Island

620 F. Supp. 1224

SCITUATE SCHOOL COMMITTEE and the Town of Scituate, Rhode Island v. ROBERT B., Judith B., and Todd B.

Civ. A. No. 83-0333.

United States District Court, D. Rhode Island.

October 22, 1985.

Edmund Alves, Jr., Providence, R.I., for plaintiffs.

Marguerite Dolan, Turners Fall, Mass., H. Francis Kleiner, Providence, R.I., for defendants.

OPINION

PETTINE, Senior District Judge.

This is an appeal by the Scituate School Committee and the Town of Scituate from an adverse ruling by a review officer of the Rhode Island Department of Education. The appeal is brought pursuant to § 615(e)(2) of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA), 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(2). The dispute revolves around the education of Todd B., a learning disabled teenager.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. Facts

Todd B. and his parents are residents of Scituate R.I. At age 6, Todd entered the Scituate school system; he attended kindergarden at Clayville Elementary School during the 1973-74 school year, and first grade at the same school during 1974-75. He received remedial assistance in reading during first grade. In September of 1975, Todd's parents removed him from the Scituate school system and placed him in the Cranston-Johnston Catholic Regional School, where he remained through the first half of third grade. While at the school he received tutoring from a volunteer in both reading and language. In March 1976, at Mrs. B's request, Todd was evaluated by Claire Tuttle, a school psychologist with the Scituate School Department and Dr. Alan Berman, a clinical psychologist affiliated with the University of Rhode Island. Both experts agreed that Todd was learning disabled.

In December 1976, Todd's parents conferred with the Scituate Special Education Director and discussed Todd's reading problems. Todd was placed at Hope Elementary School (part of the Scituate public school system) since full and part time learning disability teachers were available to him there. Todd entered the second half of the third grade in January of 1977. He repeated the third grade at the same school during 1977-78.

An Individual Education Program (IEP) conference was held on April 3, 1978, to review Todd's IEP and to plan his program for the 1978-79 school year. Mrs. B. agreed to the school officials' proposal to have Todd continue at Hope Elementary with resource assistance. Todd's reading ability had been tested by a Scituate reading specialist in January of 1977, when he re-entered the school system, and was retested in May of 1978. The results indicated that Todd was reading at pre-primer level when he came to Hope and that by May of 1978 he was reading at the first grade, second month level.

Although Mrs. B. agreed to the 1978-79 IEP developed for Todd in April 1978, she changed her mind in May and informed Scituate officials that she was placing Todd, along with his two brothers, at the Gordon School, a private day school. Todd never returned to the Scituate school system. In September 1980, Todd's parents enrolled him in a residence program at the Linden Hill School in Northfield Massachusetts, a private school specializing in education of learning disabled boys. The initial placement was at the private expense of the parents and they do not seek reimbursement for that year's tuition. The Scituate School Department was not consulted concerning the decision to enroll Todd at Linden Hill.

B. Procedural History

In April 1981, Todd's parents applied to the Northwest Special Education Region for financial assistance for Todd's placement at Linden Hill for the upcoming 1981-82 school year. During the application process, Mrs. B. expressed a number of negative feelings relative to her experience with and confidence in the services available in Scituate.

On May 5 and May 12, 1981, the special education multi-disciplinary team (MDT) met to discuss Todd's case. The MDT concluded that new evaluations would be required to determine what services were most appropriate for Todd. In the MDT's opinion, prior test results were flawed or too dated. Mrs. B. objected to further testing of her son and withheld consent until June 16, 1981, the date of the last scheduled MDT meeting. The signed consent form was received by the School Department on June 18, 1981. A psychological evaluation and a partial educational evaluation of Todd were conducted on June 22, 1981. Repeated attempts were made in June and July to complete the evaluations, but these attempts were stymied by parental resistance.

In September of 1981, Todd began his second year at Linden Hill. When school opened in Scituate, Todd's mother was notified that the MDT would meet with her on September 15, 1981, to discuss Todd's evaluations. At that meeting the evaluators were present and they reviewed their reports. Todd's mother expressed her dissatisfaction with the Scituate School's past education of her son. Mrs. B. was advised that the MDT was recommending placement in the Scituate self-contained classroom. She objected and suggested that the members of the MDT visit Linden Hill to observe Todd before holding the IEP conference. The Scituate Special Education Director, Robert DeMagistris, visited Linden Hill on September 29. On October 5, he wrote to the Headmaster of Linden Hill inviting the school's staff to participate in Todd's upcoming IEP meeting.

On October 8, Todd's mother agreed that the IEP meeting could be scheduled for October 20. The Linden Hill Headmaster was sent notice of the scheduled date for the conference and was invited to attend and share input into the development of the program. No response was received to this letter or to a follow-up one sent to Linden Hill a week later.

The IEP meeting was held, as scheduled, on October 20, 1981. Mrs. B. was accompanied by her attorney. After the meeting, Todd's mother decided to take the proposed IEP home to review it in more detail, and she agreed to respond to the plan within 5 days as required by the Rhode Island Regulations. On October 23, Mrs. B., through her attorney, requested an extension of time until November 5, to respond to the recommendations in the proposed IEP. On November 5 the IEP was returned, without suggestions, comments or questions. When Mrs. B. was contacted, on November 9, to see if she would be responding to the IEP, she informed the school that she would be in touch through her attorney.

On December 11, 1981, Mrs. B.'s attorney wrote to the Scituate Superintendent of Schools and demanded a due process hearing relative to the proposed IEP. A hearing officer was appointed on December 15, 1981. The hearing took place on September 1 and 2, 1982. On January 28, 1983, the hearing officer rendered a decision favorable to the school department on all issues.

During the pendency of the hearing process, Todd's parents placed him at the Forman School in Connecticut. Todd was no longer eligible to attend Linden Hill as he had completed the program. Mrs. B. did not consult the Scituate School Department prior to choosing a new school for her son.

The parents appealed the Hearing Officer's decision to the Commissioner of Education on February 28, 1983. On March 7 a review officer was appointed and written arguments were submitted to the officer on or about April 1, 1983. On April 29, the review officer rendered a decision reversing the hearing officer, in favor or the parents. Scituate is here appealing the decision of the review officer.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Overview of Issues Raised and Proper Role of this Court

The EAHCA provides for de novo review by the courts after exhaustion of administrative processes. The statute mandates that "the court shall hear additional evidence at the request of a party, and, basing its decision on the preponderance of the evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines appropriate." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(2). The Court's role in EAHCA proceedings is to assess the evidence independently, not to affirm or reverse administrative decisions or to remand with instructions. Kruelle v. New Castle City School District, 642 F.2d 687, 692 (3rd Cir.1981); Anderson v. Thompson, 495 F.Supp. 1256, 1260-61 (E.D.Wis.1980), aff'd on other grounds, 658 F.2d 1205 (7th Cir. 1981). Although the role of the Court is to make an independent determination, this Court may properly consider the opinions of the state and local hearing officers, especially in making factual determinations requiring specialized knowledge. In such instances courts may feel less inclined to substitute their judgment for the conclusion of specially trained hearing examiners. Bazelon, Implementing the Right to Treatment, 36 U.Chi.L.Rev. 742, 744 (1969). In fashioning remedies, this court is empowered to order "such relief as it deems appropriate." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(2).

A court's inquiry in suits brought under § 1415(e)(2) is twofold. "First, has the State complied with the procedures set forth in the Act? And second, is the individualized educational program developed through the Act's procedures reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits? If these requirements are met, the State has complied with the obligations imposed by Congress and the courts can require no more." Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 102 S.Ct. 3034, 3051, 73 L.Ed.2d 690 (1982) (footnotes omitted).

I have reviewed all the transcripts, exhibits, correspondence, and numerous briefs pertaining to this case and have determined that the relevant legal issues are:

I. Did the Scituate School Department commit procedural errors during the IEP formulation process, and if so, what is the legal effect of these procedural deficiencies?

II. Was the proposed IEP adequate? (i.e. did the IEP meet the applicable state and federal standards and did Scituate education officials have an acceptable level of understanding about Todd's disability?)

III. Are the parents...