On March 19, 2010, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from XXXXX against the Brillion School District. This is the departments decision regarding that complaint. The issue is whether the district, during the 2009-2010 school year, properly determined the educational placement for a child with a disability.
In the beginning of the 2009-10 school year, the student attended another district. On October 1, 2009, the parent removed the student from the district and provided home-based private education. The family then moved into the current districts boundaries. In January of 2010, the parent called the district to discuss the possibility of enrolling the child. The district requested records from the previous district and set up an individualized education program (IEP) meeting for January 25, 2010. The parents called and asked that the meeting be rescheduled.
On February 5, 2010, the IEP team met to discuss the students IEP and determine placement. The IEP team, including the parent, considered a range of placement options for implementing the student's IEP. The district documented the team's placement decision and reasons for rejection of other potential placements in the notice sent to the parents. At the February 5 IEP meeting, the district properly determined the educational placement for the child. The student never began that placement, but continued receiving home-based private education.
In mid-February, the parent called the district again to discuss the possibility of enrolling the child. On February 23, the district offered another placement, but that placement was not determined by the IEP team as required. The parent decided not to enroll the student in the district and to continue to provide home-based private education.
Within 30 days of the date of this decision, the district must submit a proposed corrective action plan to the department. The proposed corrective action plan must ensure that educational placements are determined by an IEP team. The parent may request an IEP team meeting to discuss an educational program and placement for the student.
All noncompliance identified above must be corrected as soon as possible, but in no case more than one year from the date of this decision. This concludes our review of this complaint.
//signed CST 5/3/10
Carolyn Stanford Taylor
Assistant State Superintendent
Division for Learning Support: Equity and Advocacy
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