Mother Disputes Autistic Son's Individualized Education Program
by
Joseph C. Maya on Apr. 07, 2017
Other Education Criminal Juvenile Law
Summary: Blog post about a case where a mother disputed her autistic son's Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
If you have a question or concern about special education law, school administration, federal standards, or the overall rights of a student, please feel free to call the expert education law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at (203) 221-3100 .
In the case of Souza v. State, a mother filed an administrative appeal from a final decision of a hearing officer for the Connecticut State Department of Education regarding an education plan for the student, the mother's son, as proposed by the Hartland Board of Education. Review of an administrative agency decision requires a court to determine whether there is substantial evidence in the administrative record to support the agency's findings of basic fact and whether the conclusions drawn from those facts are reasonable. The trial court's ultimate duty is to determine, in view of all of the evidence, whether the agency, in issuing its order, acted unreasonably, arbitrarily, illegally or in abuse of its discretion.
The student was an 11-year old who had been diagnosed with Autism and classified as having a learning disability. On appeal, the mother challenged, inter alia, the hearing officer's conclusion that the Board's Individualized Education Program (IEP) was appropriate, that out of town placement for the student was not necessary, and no independent evaluation of the student was necessary. The court concluded that it could not set aside the hearing officer's conclusion and hold the IEP defective simply because it did not address "emotional" needs, as the IEP allowed sufficient access for the child to receive educational benefits. In finding that no out of town placement was necessary, the court found that the record supported the hearing officer's finding that it was not necessary based on the apparent success of a mediation and the student's placement at the Intensive Education Academy. Finally, the court found no support for the mother's contention that in independent evaluation of the child should have been ordered by the hearing officer, particularly where the topic of assessment was not raised as an issue before the hearing officer.
The mother's appeal was dismissed. “The final issue raised by the [the mother] is that the hearing officer on his own should have ordered an independent evaluation of the child” said the court. “The [mother] does not indicate set forth any law that would authorize the hearing officer to take this step.”
If you have a child with a disability and have questions about special education law, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.
Source: Souza v. State, 2007 Conn. Super. LEXIS 3456, 2007 WL 4754963 (Conn. Super. Ct. Dec. 26, 2007)
