M.T. ex rel. N.M. v. New York City Department of Education

200 F. Supp. 3d 447, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103402
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedAugust 5, 2016
Docket15-cv-2912 (JGK)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 200 F. Supp. 3d 447 (M.T. ex rel. N.M. v. New York City Department of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
M.T. ex rel. N.M. v. New York City Department of Education, 200 F. Supp. 3d 447, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103402 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JOHN G. KOELTL, District Judge

The plaintiff, M.T., brings this action on behalf of her son, N.M., pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., against the New York City Department of Education (the “DOE”). The plaintiff challenges the decision of the State Review Officer (“SRO”) denying her payment of N.M.’s tuition for the Rebecca School, a private school for children with neurode-velopmental delays, at which she unilaterally placed N.M. for the 2010-11 school year. In an earlier decision, this Court denied cross-motions for summary judgment on the plaintiffs IDEA claim and remanded the case to the SRO for further proceedings. M.T. v. N.Y.C. Dep’t of Educ., 47 F.Supp.3d 197, 209 (S.D.N.Y.2014) (“M.T. I”). On remand, the SRO [451]*451again found for the DOE. The plaintiff appeals the second SRO judgment. Before the Court are the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment.

For the reasons that follow, the defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the IDEA claim is granted and the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment on the IDEA claim is denied.

I.

“Under the IDEA, states receiving federal funds are required to provide ‘all children with disabilities’ a ‘free appropriate public education.’ ” Gagliardo v. Arlington Cent. Sch. Dist. (“Gagliardo II”), 489 F.3d 105, 107 (2d Cir.2007) (quoting 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(1)(A)); see also Walczak v. Fla. Union Free Sch. Dist., 142 F.3d 119, 122 (2d Cir.1998). A free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) must provide “special education and related services tailored to meet the unique needs of a particular child, and be reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits.” Id. (quoting Bd. of Educ. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 207, 102 S.Ct. 3034, 73 L.Ed.2d 690 (1982) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)). Because the IDEA expresses a “strong preference for children with disabilities to be educated, ‘to the maximum extent appropriate,’ together with their non-disabled peers, special education and related services must be provided in the least restrictive setting consistent with a child’s needs.” Id. (internal citation omitted); see also R.S. ex rel. A.S. v. Lakeland Cent. Sch. Dist., No. 09 Civ. 9874, 2011 WL 1198458, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 30, 2011).

“To ensure that qualifying children receive • a FAPE, a school district must create an individualized education program (“IEP”) for each such child.” R.E. v. N.Y.C. Dep’t of Educ., 694 F.3d 167, 175 (2d Cir.2012) (citing 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)); see also Murphy v. Arlington Cent. Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 297 F.3d 195, 197 (2d Cir.2002) (describing the IEP as the “centerpiece” of the IDEA system). The IDEA requires that an IEP be “reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits.” Rowley, 458 U.S. at 207, 102 S.Ct. 3034. In New York, the responsibility for developing an appropriate IEP for a child is assigned to a local Committee on Special Education (“CSE”). Walczak, 142 F.3d at 123. “CSEs are comprised of members appointed by the local school district’s board of education, and must include the student’s parent(s), a regular of special education teacher, a school board representative, a parent representative, and others.” R.E., 694 F.3d at 175 (citing N.Y. Educ. Law § 4402(1)(b)(1)(a)). “The CSE must examine the student’s level of achievement and specific needs and determine an appropriate educational program.” Id. (citing Gagliardo II, 489 F.3d at 107-08).

Parents in New York who wish to challenge their child’s IEP as insufficient under the IDEA may request an impartial due process hearing before an Impartial Hearing Officer (“IHO”) appointed by the local board of education. Walczak, 142 F.3d at 123 (citing 20 U.S.C. § 1415(f); N.Y. Educ. Law § 4404(1)). A party may appeal the decision of the IHO to an SRO, and the SRO’s decision may be challenged in either state or federal court. See id. at 122-23 (citing 20 U.S.C. §§ 1415(g), 1415(i)(2)(A) and N.Y. Educ. Law § 4404(2)); see also R.S., 2011 WL 1198458, at *1. In addition, if a school district fails to provide a FAPE to a child with disabilities, the child’s parents may, at their’ own financial risk, - remove the child from the improper placement, enroll the child in an appropriate private school, and retroactively seek reimbursement for the cost of private school from the state. See Sch. Comm. of Burlington v. Dep’t of [452]*452Educ., 471 U.S. 359, 370, 105 S.Ct. 1996, 85 L.Ed.2d 385 (1985).

Under the IDEA, a district court must conduct an independent review of the administrative record, along with any additional evidence presented by the parties, and must determine by a preponderance of 'the evidence whether the IDEA’S provisions have been met.1 Grim v. Rhinebeck Cent. Sch. Dist., 346 F.3d 377, 380-81 (2d Cir.2003); see also Gagliardo II, 489 F.3d at 112. This independent review, however, is “by no means an invitation to the courts to substitute their own notions of sound educational policy for those of the school authorities which they review.” Rowley, 458 U.S. at 206, 102 S.Ct. 3034.

The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has explained that “the standard for reviewing administrative determinations ‘requires a more critical appraisal of the agency determination than dear-error review ... but ... nevertheless[ ] falls well short of complete de novo review .... [I]n the course of th[is] oversight, the persuasiveness of a particular administrative finding, or the lack thereof, is likely to tell the tale.’” M.H. v. N.Y.C. Dep’t of Educ., 685 F.3d 217, 244 (2d Cir.2012) (quoting Lenn v. Portland Sch. Comm., 998 F.2d 1083, 1086-87 (1st Cir.1993)).

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200 F. Supp. 3d 447, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103402, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mt-ex-rel-nm-v-new-york-city-department-of-education-nysd-2016.