Rachel H. v. Department of Education, State of Hawaii, No. 14-16382 (9th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseAn educational agency does not commit a per se violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. 1414, by not specifying the anticipated school where special education services will be delivered within a child's individualized education program. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for the Department in an action brought on behalf of a student under the IDEA. The panel held that the IDEA did not require identification of the anticipated school where special education services would be delivered in light of the student's planned move to a new school district. Therefore, the student was not denied a free appropriate public education because of a purported procedural error.
Court Description: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the Hawaii Department of Education in an action brought on behalf of a student under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The panel held that there was no procedural violation of the IDEA, and the student was not denied a free appropriate public education, when the anticipated school where special education services would be delivered, in light of a planned move to a new school district, was not identified. The panel held that the IDEA does not require identification of a particular school in every instance. Rather, the requirement that an individualized education program identify the “location” in which special education services will be provided means that the IEP must identify the general setting or type of environment.
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