Parent Questions:
I heard on the news that the Iowa Department of Education made the Sioux City Community School District pay a student’s parents over $30,000 because it didn’t follow their son’s IEP. It also made the school district follow that IEP. My daughter’s IEP says the school district must provide her with a sign language interpreter when she's at school. She doesn't see well enough to lip-read but the school district hasn't provided her with an interpreter for almost a semester. I have two questions: Question 1: Would the Department make my daughter’s school district start providing her with the sign language interpreter required in her IEP? Question 2: Would the Department order her school district to pay damages for the emotional distress that she's suffering because it isn't providing her with a sign language interpreter?
Mary's Responses:
[Before this blog article was posted, the first question was resolved. The student is now receiving full-time sign-language interpreting services at her school and compensatory education services to allow her to complete the courses she had to sit through without an interpreter, unable to hear, and unable to see well enough to lip read.]
Regarding the second question, in 2023 the Iowa Department of Education (DE) ruled on State Complaint 23-45. In that case, the student's IEP required the school Sioux City Community School District to provide him during school hours with certain medically necessary services (services without which the student would become ill or not survive). When the school district failed to provide the student with those services, his parents paid for them out-of-pocket and filed a complaint under the IDEA with the DE. In its decision, the DE directed the Sioux City Community School District to reimburse a student’s parents the $31,000 they had paid out-of-pocket for those services. Here is a link to that decision: Iowa Department of Education Decision in State Complaint 23-45 (July 11, 2023).
Relief, Remedies, and Corrective Action
The IDEA doesn’t authorize administrative law judges or courts to award monetary damages to compensate students for pain and suffering. Congress decided not to authorize monetary damages because public schools have limited funds and such awards would decrease funds needed for educational expenditures. See D.L. v. Waukee Cmty. Sch. Dist., 578 F. Supp. 2d 1178, 1190 (S.D. Iowa 2008) citing Diaz-Fonseca v. Puerto Rico, 451 F.3d 13. (1st Cir. 2006).
Remedies authorized under the IDEA focus on ensuring that students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Courts and administrative law judges have broad discretion to order corrective action. The specific type or remedy and amount of relief must be determined on a case-by-case basis. See Iowa Department of Education Decision in State Complaint 23-45 (July 11, 2023).
Relief may involve requiring a student’s IEP team to develop an IEP that is reasonably calculated to allow the student to make educational progress. It may require implementing procedures to ensure the student receives specially designed instruction tailored to the student’s unique needs and to ensure the related services necessary for the student to benefit from instruction.
Corrective action may include compensatory education. See Iowa Administrative Code r. 281-41.151. It can take various forms including tutoring, extended school year services, or specialized programs. The goal is to address the educational deficits resulting from the school district's failure to provide the student with a FAPE. See Minnetonka Pub. Sch., Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 276 v. M.L.K. ex rel. S.K., 42 F.4th 847, 852 (8th Cir. 2022). It may also require a school district to reimburse a student's parents for the cost of services they paid because the school district failed to provide them. See B.M. v. S. Callaway R-II Sch. Dist., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 163235. It may also involve, technical assistance activities and negotiations. See 281-41.152.
Remember that this blog article does NOT provide an exhaustive summary of information about relief, remedies, and corrective action under the IDEA. Nor does it cover information about remedies when a parent files a court action under the Americans with Disabilities Act seeking relief that isn't available under the IDEA.
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