S. v. W. Chester Area Sch. Dist.

353 F. Supp. 3d 369
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 14, 2019
DocketCIVIL ACTION No. 2:18-cv-00816-AB
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 353 F. Supp. 3d 369 (S. v. W. Chester Area Sch. Dist.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
S. v. W. Chester Area Sch. Dist., 353 F. Supp. 3d 369 (E.D. Pa. 2019).

Opinion

ANITA B. BRODY, District Judge

S., a minor child with disabilities, and his parents (referred to collectively as "S.") sue Defendant West Chester Area School District ("the District") alleging violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. § 1400, et seq. ; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ("Section 504"), 29 U.S.C. § 794 ; and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq. S.'s claims were initially reviewed and adjudicated by a hearing officer, William *374Culleton ("Hearing Officer"). The Hearing Officer granted S. partial relief on S.'s claims.

S. now files a Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record petitioning this Court to reverse the Hearing Officer's decision not to award S. compensatory education for the period before December 2015. The District opposes S.'s motion and files its own Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record.

I exercise jurisdiction to review the decision of the state educational agency under 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(A). See Ridley Sch. Dist. v. M.R. , 680 F.3d 260, 268 (3d Cir. 2012). For the reasons below, I will deny Plaintiff's Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record and grant Defendant's Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Brief Overview of the IDEA and Section 504

"The IDEA protects the rights of disabled children by mandating that public educational institutions identify and effectively educate those children[ ] or pay for their education elsewhere if they require specialized services that the public institution cannot provide." P.P. ex rel. Michael P. v. W. Chester Area Sch. Dist. , 585 F.3d 727, 735 (3d Cir. 2009). "Accordingly, schools must: (1) identify children in need of special education services (Child Find); and (2) provide a [free appropriate public education, or "FAPE"] to disabled students." D.K. v. Abington Sch. Dist. , 696 F.3d 233, 244 (3d Cir. 2012). A FAPE "consists of educational instruction specially designed to meet the unique needs of the handicapped child, supported by such services as are necessary to permit the child 'to benefit' from the instruction." Bd. of Educ. of Hendrick Hudson Cent. Sch. Dist., Westchester Cty. v. Rowley , 458 U.S. 176, 188-89, 102 S.Ct. 3034, 73 L.Ed.2d 690 (1982). An Individualized Education Program ("IEP") is "the primary mechanism for delivering a FAPE." M.R. , 680 F.3d at 269 (internal quotation marks omitted).

While the IDEA requires states receiving federal funding to provide a FAPE to all disabled children residing within the state, 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(1), Section 504 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in federally funded programs, 29 U.S.C. § 794(a). The Third Circuit has "held that there are few differences, if any, between IDEA's affirmative duty and § 504's negative prohibition and [has] noted that the regulations implementing § 504 require that school districts provide a free appropriate education to each qualified handicapped person in its jurisdiction."1 Ridgewood Bd. of Educ. v. N.E. ex rel. M.E. , 172 F.3d 238, 253 (3d Cir. 1999) (internal quotation marks omitted), superseded by statute on other grounds as recognized by P.P. , 585 F.3d at 730. "[C]ase law makes clear that a party may use the same conduct as the basis for claims under both the IDEA and the RA." Andrew M. v. Del. Cnty. Office of Mental Health & Mental Retardation , 490 F.3d 337, 349 (3d Cir. 2007). "Therefore, when a *375state fails to provide a disabled child with a free and appropriate public education, it violates the IDEA. However, it also violates [Section 504] because it is denying a disabled child a guaranteed education merely because of the child's disability."2 Id. at 350.

"To the extent a school district fails to provide a student with a FAPE, a parent may file a due process complaint on behalf of his or her child, with a subsequent hearing held before an administrative hearing officer." G.L. v. Ligonier Valley Sch. Dist.

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