In March, Patti Page argued a special education case for a Vermont School District before the (federal) Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. The District prevailed. The Court (in an unpublished opinion) found that the Parents had not only “enjoyed throughout the IEP-development process” a “tremendous amount of access and input,” and that it was their categorical opposition to any placement at the local high school that “rendered impossible a fully collaborative process.”
The Court also ruled that the District’s IEP proffered FAPE in the least restrictive environment, and that the classroom teacher’s absence from some IEP meetings had not, on the specific facts of the case, resulted in prejudice to the parents and/or a procedural denial of FAPE. The controversy underscores, however, the importance of having a general educator at IEP meetings as the rules require. Please contact Patti if you have any questions regarding the holding of the decision.