Case Results
Ninth Circuit United States Federal Court of Appeals
L.B. v. San Diego Unified School DistrictÂ
In a landmark decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of parents and held that school districts have an ongoing responsibility to offer a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) during the IEP process. The court found that both the Administrative Law Judge and the District Court failed to properly analyze whether the school district offered an appropriate IEP to the student.Â
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Reversing the lower court, the Ninth Circuit emphasized that school districts have a natural advantage over parents in the IEP process due to their greater expertise, access to information, and familiarity with special education law. Because the parents and district were actively engaged in ongoing IEP meetings, the district had a continuing obligation to offer an appropriate education. The court also held that the lower court should have considered whether the district's proposed program met the student's needs and whether the parents' private school placement justified reimbursement under the IDEA.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of CaliforniaÂ
D.G. v. Alpine Union School DistrictÂ
In a major win for California parents, Judge Cynthia Bashant ruled that the school district and the California Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) handled the case improperly. She criticized OAH’s strict rule that parents can only raise issues exactly as written in their original complaint, calling the approach overly harsh given the limited ability to gather evidence before hearings. The judge also explained that schools must do more than simply offer services that match a student's IEP on paper—they must actually provide an appropriate education. Using a sandwich analogy, she said that even if a sandwich contains all the agreed-upon ingredients, it is not acceptable if those ingredients are spoiled. Likewise, a school cannot claim compliance if the services provided are ineffective or inappropriate in practice.
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D.L. v. Poway Unified School District Â
Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California sided with the parents and held that the court may admit evidence that is relevant and helpful, so long as it does not repeat or embellish existing evidence or change the character of the hearing. Applying that standard, the court allowed the administrative record to be supplemented with progress reports, work samples, and classroom observation notes related to whether the school district offered the student a FAPE and whether the parents’ private placement was appropriate. The court found the classroom observation notes helpful because they gave some insight into the district’s proposed placement. It also found the private school progress reports and work samples useful for evaluating the appropriateness of the unilateral placement, but declined to admit the IEP meeting transcript without further briefing from the district.
Office of Administrative HearingsÂ
Student v. San Diego Unified School District, OAH Case No. 2025060347 Â
ALJ concluded that San Diego Unified School District denied Student a FAPE during the by failing to offer appropriate mental health services and failing to offer an appropriate plan to transition Student from a nonpublic school to a comprehensive campus. Parents were awarded reimbursement for tuition at a nonpublic school.
Student v. San Diego Unified School District, OAH Case No.  2024100129
ALJ held that San Diego Unified denied Student a FAPE by failing to provide a shortened route for Student’s transportation to school.
Student v. San Diego Unified School District, OAH Case Nos. 2024040252 & 2024020608Â
ALJ determined that the school district failed to provide appropriate assessments because the school psychologist never spoke to the parent to obtain her input, failed to send the parent a questionnaire to update the student's health and developmental record with new information, and did not follow up regarding deficits in the student's speech skills, The ALJ concluded that the district's effort to obtain the parent's input was merely "perfunctory." Student was awarded funding for independent educational evaluations.
Student v. McCabe Union Elementary School District, OAH Case Nos. 2019040734 & 2019050092Â
ALJ agreed that a district denied FAPE to a student with ADHD by failing to find him eligible for special education. The judge ordered independent educational evaluations.
Student v. Vista Unified School District, OAH Case No.   2019020664
Administrative Law Judge agreed with Parent that student's diagnosis of severe depression, two suicide attempts, and dramatically declining grades were just some of the red flags demonstrating that he should have been found eligible as a student with an emotional disturbance. The ALJ agreed that the district's evaluation contained numerous flaws, including the fact that the evaluator did not interview the parent. The ALJ instructed the district to convene an IEP and develop an IEP for the student.
Student v. San Marcos Unified School District, OAH Case No.   2018121008Â
Parents of a student with cognitive, social and emotional deficits unilaterally placed her in a nonpublic school because she was unable to access education on a large, comprehensive campus.Â
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The Administrative Law Judge agreed that Student did not receive educational benefit, either academic or nonacademic, in general education classes. The ALJ ruled that the District’s offer did not constitute FAPE and awarded parents $18,984.00 towards reimbursement for tuition and an independent educational evaluation.