San Dieguito Union High School District disregarded fiscal responsibility and ensuring that a special child receives the best education.
The San Dieguito Union High School District appears to be trying to place its own interests above the well-being of its students, and they even spent taxpayer dollars trying to defend themselves and eventually losing. A family with a special needs student went through a legal battle with the school district over the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).
The parents sought an alternative educational setting for their child who has learning disabilities and speech difficulties. The student had been attending Excelsior Academy, a non-public school (NPS) that closed shortly after the student aged into the school district as a seventh grader.
They wanted to send their child to the Winston School, an NPS, which reportedly provides a supportive and nurturing environment designed for students with similar needs.
However, the school district insisted on another NPS, San Diego Center for Children (SDCC), which specializes in students with more severe behavioral issues.
The IEP team objected to the school district’s decision on sending the student to SDCC.
The options were “take it or leave it,” according to attorney Matthew Storey, who represented the family.
However, the school district claimed that “it alone, not parents or other IEP team members, legally had the sole right to select the providers of instruction and services” and “decided SDCC was an appropriate placement for Student.”
This is when the parents decided to take the school district to court, and the district’s lawyer on the case, Sarah Sutherland of Orbach, Huff & Henderson. She was receiving taxpayer dollars.
According to K.O. v. San Dieguito Union High School District, the question asked was: “Did San Dieguito Union High School District deny Student a free appropriate public education, or a FAPE, during the 2021–2022 school year by predetermining placement at San Diego Center for Children non-public school?”
The legal battle stretched across two levels, which included the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) and the federal U.S. District Court. Both rulings favored the family, noting the school district’s blatant disregard for the IEP process and the student’s right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
The school district lost on the taxpayers’ dime, which was called “fiscal irresponsibility” in the Del Mar Times.
