FAPE question?

Question

If a district cannot provide a student with a FAPE, are they liable to pay for an alternative placement? Also, can a student who lives in one district go to a public school in another if the home-district pays? Just confused on this point.

Answer 1

Yes if the school district does not have an appropriate program for your child in the student's district of residence they are required to help find and pay for a placement that is appropriate regardless of the location. Most often these are non-public schools or other regional based programs.
In regards to your second student there are a couple issues there. Some districts have special programs in which they will sell spots to outside districts. In this situation your child with the approval of both districts would attend another public school and the district of residence's expense. However generally your student does not have unlimited access to programs from another district. If your child has mild disabilities and your interested in another district you can always apply for an intra-district transfer. Depending on how full the school is they may accept your child even with an IEP.
Regardless your child's placement is an IEP team decision.
www.wrightslaw.com has lots of great resources.

Answer 2

If you are looking for the district ( ultimately taxpayers) to pay for private education you have a fight on your hands. Most districts would elect to send a child to another school in the district that meets a students needs before even thinking of paying for a private school. As far as attending a school in another district, there has to be ample room with special education numbers in respect to teacher/ student/program ratio before another district accepts a child out of district. A district other than the home district can turn away a request for a special education student if programs are already too full.

Answer 3

The short answer to your question is yes, the district must provide a free appropriate public education to every child.

The question at this point becomes whether the district is offering an alternative placement or whether you believe you have found a better placement.

If the district is offering another placement, they are liable to pay for anything they offer. I had the district offer my family residential treatment paid for by our private insurance. When we sued them we learned if it is a proposal from the district, the district can ask you to put up private insurance but cannot force you to pay for it. Get any proposals from them in writing.

If you believe you have a better placement, you may request it in writing and ask the district to pay for it. You must notify them at least 3 days before placing them there. When I state paying for it, I mean, transportation, and certain other things, within reason. You may want to get confirmation from them about what they will pay and will not prior to making any plans.

Check with your state about open enrollment. We have that here in Minnesota. You can ask another district to enroll your child and if they approve it, you can send your child to that district. Be honest about your child's special ed status and bring the IEP, in case they want to read it. As I said, the district you are in may be liable for ttransportation as long as you let them know in writing three days in advance.

Good luck to you.

Answer 4

You are going to have to prove that your district cannot provide FAPE. You need to begin collecting evidence. Next go to your Parent's Rights document and use the information to file for due process. You must go through the steps outlined in the document. You will eventually need to hire a lawyer if you dispute the decision of the administrative judge after due process.

In my district we do have children that attend schools in other districts and other states, but that happened only after a long and protracted legal battle.

You might look for other remedies that aren't so expensive and time consuming (We have one case that has gone on for seven years). Every special ed child is entitled to the McKay scholarship that allows parents to enroll their children in a private school and will pay for much or all of the tuition, depending on the school.

For instance, I have a friend who has a moderately autistic four year old son with no language. She wants him to attend a private school that uses an applied behavior analysis approach to teaching language. So, she has enrolled him in the school district Pre-K because he must attend in the district for 1 year before he is eligible for the scholarship. After this school year she will apply for the McKay and then send him to the ABA school. Since it is an expensive school, she will have to make up the difference, but to her it is worth it.

The other thing you need to know is that there are no services provided by the distict if you choose this route, so you have to make sure the school you choose can provide them. This includes transportation, speech, OT or PT.

I hope this helps.

Answer 5

Last week's Supreme Court decision has changed this, but it is unclear as to just what the impact will be. If you are involved in a dispute with the District see if there is some sort of law advocacy group that can help you.

Answer 6

Yes if the school district does not have an appropriate program for your child in the student's district of residence they are required to help find and pay for a placement that is appropriate regardless of the location. Most often these are non-public schools or other regional based programs.
In regards to your second student there are a couple issues there. Some districts have special programs in which they will sell spots to outside districts. In this situation your child with the approval of both districts would attend another public school and the district of residence's expense. However generally your student does not have unlimited access to programs from another district. If your child has mild disabilities and your interested in another district you can always apply for an intra-district transfer. Depending on how full the school is they may accept your child even with an IEP.
Regardless your child's placement is an IEP team decision.
www.wrightslaw.com has lots of great resources

If you are looking for the district ( ultimately taxpayers) to pay for private education you have a fight on your hands. Most districts would elect to send a child to another school in the district that meets a students needs before even thinking of paying for a private school. As far as attending a school in another district, there has to be ample room with special education numbers in respect to teacher/ student/program ratio before another district accepts a child out of district. A district other than the home district can turn away a request for a special education student if programs are already too full

You are going to have to prove that your district cannot provide FAPE. You need to begin collecting evidence. Next go to your Parent's Rights document and use the information to file for due process. You must go through the steps outlined in the document. You will eventually need to hire a lawyer if you dispute the decision of the administrative judge after due process.

In my district we do have children that attend schools in other districts and other states, but that happened only after a long and protracted legal battle.

You might look for other remedies that aren't so expensive and time consuming (We have one case that has gone on for seven years). Every special ed child is entitled to the McKay scholarship that allows parents to enroll their children in a private school and will pay for much or all of the tuition, depending on the school.

For instance, I have a friend who has a moderately autistic four year old son with no language. She wants him to attend a private school that uses an applied behavior analysis approach to teaching language. So, she has enrolled him in the school district Pre-K because he must attend in the district for 1 year before he is eligible for the scholarship. After this school year she will apply for the McKay and then send him to the ABA school. Since it is an expensive school, she will have to make up the difference, but to her it is worth it.

The other thing you need to know is that there are no services provided by the distict if you choose this route, so you have to make sure the school you choose can provide them. This includes transportation, speech, OT or PT.

I hope this helps.


Last week's Supreme Court decision has changed this, but it is unclear as to just what the impact will be. If you are involved in a dispute with the District see if there is some sort of law advocacy group that can help you.

The short answer to your question is yes, the district must provide a free appropriate public education to every child.

The question at this point becomes whether the district is offering an alternative placement or whether you believe you have found a better placement.

If the district is offering another placement, they are liable to pay for anything they offer. I had the district offer my family residential treatment paid for by our private insurance. When we sued them we learned if it is a proposal from the district, the district can ask you to put up private insurance but cannot force you to pay for it. Get any proposals from them in writing.

If you believe you have a better placement, you may request it in writing and ask the district to pay for it. You must notify them at least 3 days before placing them there. When I state paying for it, I mean, transportation, and certain other things, within reason. You may want to get confirmation from them about what they will pay and will not prior to making any plans.

Check with your state about open enrollment. We have that here in Minnesota. You can ask another district to enroll your child and if they approve it, you can send your child to that district. Be honest about your child's special ed status and bring the IEP, in case they want to read it. As I said, the district you are in may be liable for ttransportation as long as you let them know in writing three days in advance.

Good luck to you.