In a significant special education case published earlier this year, the California Court of Appeal ruled that a school district was responsible for funding the costs of residential placement for an adopted former foster child, despite funding assistance provided for the placement by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
On August 8, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an opinion letter (Opinion Letter) stating that the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) covers intermittent leave to attend a child's Individual Education Program (IEP) meeting, so long as the child suffers from a qualifying "serious health condition" under the FMLA.
Governor Newsom recently signed Assembly Bill (AB) 605, which will require local educational agencies (LEAs) to allow students to use school-purchased assistive technology devices at the student's home or in other settings when the student's individualized education plan (IEP) team decides on a case-by-case basis that access to those devices is necessary in order for the student to receive a free
Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 419, which expands the existing ban on suspending students in grades K-3 for disrupting school activities or committing an act of willful defiance. The ban on such suspensions now extends to grades 4-5 permanently and to grades 6-8 for five years.
The recent opinion of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Paul G. v. Monterey Peninsula Unified School District clarifies that dismissal or settlement of a special education due process hearing inadvance of a hearing and final administrative decision from the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), does not satisfy the requirement that a plaintiff exhaust administrative remedies under
On April 24, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) issued a decision inR.M. v. Gilbert Unified School District, No. 17-16722 (9th Cir. Apr. 24, 2019), in which the parents of a special education student (Plaintiffs) challenged the Gilbert Unified School District's (District) decisions to:...