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School District Cannot Avoid Responsibility For Residential Placement Despite Availability Of Financial Assistance From A Non-Educational Agency

In a significant special education case published earlier this year, the California Court of Appeal ruled that a school district was responsible for funding the costs of residential placement for an adopted former foster child, despite funding assistance provided for the placement by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

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Department Of Labor Opinion Says Family Medical Leave Allowed For Parental Attendance At IEP Meetings At School

On August 8, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an opinion letter (Opinion Letter) stating that the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) covers intermittent leave to attend a child's Individual Education Program (IEP) meeting, so long as the child suffers from a qualifying "serious health condition" under the FMLA.

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New Law Will Allow Students With IEPs To Take Assistive Technology Devices Home With Them

Governor Newsom recently signed Assembly Bill (AB) 605, which will require local educational agencies (LEAs) to allow students to use school-purchased assistive technology devices at the student's home or in other settings when the student's individualized education plan (IEP) team decides on a case-by-case basis that access to those devices is necessary in order for the student to receive a free

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New Law Expands Ban On Suspensions For "Willful Defiance" And "Disruption" In Both Public And Charter Schools, Emphasizes Importance Of Alternative Means

Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 419, which expands the existing ban on suspending students in grades K-3 for disrupting school activities or committing an act of willful defiance. The ban on such suspensions now extends to grades 4-5 permanently and to grades 6-8 for five years.

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Ninth Circuit Addresses Impact Of Dismissals And Settlement Of Due Process Complaints On The IDEA's Administrative Remedy Exhaustion Requirement

The recent opinion of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Paul G. v. Monterey Peninsula Unified School District clarifies that dismissal or settlement of a special education due process hearing inadvance of a hearing and final administrative decision from the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), does not satisfy the requirement that a plaintiff exhaust administrative remedies under

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Ninth Circuit Upholds District's Unilateral Change Of Location Of IEP Services, Emphasizes Importance Of Academic Needs In LRE Analysis

On April 24, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) issued a decision inR.M. v. Gilbert Unified School District, No. 17-16722 (9th Cir. Apr. 24, 2019), in which the parents of a special education student (Plaintiffs) challenged the Gilbert Unified School District's (District) decisions to:...

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