M. S. v. Lausd

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

M. S., a minor, by and through her No. 16-56472
guardian ad litem R.H.,
Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No.
2:15-cv-05819-
v. CAS-MRW

LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT, a Public Entity, ORDER
Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
Christina A. Snyder, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted December 4, 2018
Pasadena, California

Filed January 24, 2019

Before: Dorothy W. Nelson and Kim McLane Wardlaw,
Circuit Judges, and Robert W. Pratt,* District Judge.

*
The Honorable Robert W. Pratt, United States District Judge for
the Southern District of Iowa, sitting by designation.
2 M.S. V. LAUSD

SUMMARY **

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

The panel filed an order affirming the district court’s
memorandum and order, which reversed an administrative
law judge’s decision in an action brought under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, asserting that a
student was denied a free and appropriate public education.

The panel agreed with the district court’s conclusion that
the student was denied a free and appropriate public
education because the Los Angeles Unified School District
was required to consider whether a residential placement
should be offered to her for educational purposes as part of
her individualized education plan notwithstanding that
another county agency, the Department of Children and
Family Services, had residentially placed her for mental
health treatment under state law, and pursuant to a juvenile
court order. The panel agreed that the LAUSD had an
independent obligation to ensure that a continuum of
alternative placements was available to meet the student’s
educational needs and to consider whether a residential
placement was necessary for educational purposes and not
merely necessary quite apart from the learning process. The
panel affirmed for the reasons stated in the district court’s
memorandum and decision, which the panel attached as an
appendix to its order.

**
This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It
has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader.
 M.S. V. LAUSD 3

COUNSEL

Barrett K. Green (argued) and Cristen R. Hintze, Littler
Mendelson P.C., Los Angeles, California; Mary Kellogg,
Assistant General Counsel II; Devora Navera Reed, Chief
Administrative Law & Litigation Counsel; David
Holmquist, General Counsel; Office of General Counsel,
Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles,
California; for Defendant-Appellant.

Allison Barret Holcombe (argued), Los Angeles, California;
Shawna L. Parks, Law Office of Shawna L. Parks, Los
Angeles, California; Janeen Steel, Learning Rights Law
Center, Los Angeles, California; for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Summer D. Dalessandro and Howard J. Fulfrost, Fagen
Friedman & Fulfrost LLP, Carlsbad, California; D. Michael
Ambrose and Elaine M. Yama-Garcia, California School
Boards Association/Education Legal Alliance, West
Sacramento, California; for Amicus Curiae California
School Boards Association’s Educational Legal Alliance.

Selene Almazan-Altobelli, Ellen Saideman, and Alexis
Casillas, Catherine Merino Reisman Counsel of Parent
Attorneys and Advocates Inc., Towson, Maryland, for Amici
Curiae Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates Inc. and
California Association for Parent-Child Advocacy.

Suge Lee, Carly J. Munson, and Ben Conway, Disability
Rights California, Oakland, California, for Amicus Curiae
Disability Rights California.
4 M.S. V. LAUSD

ORDER

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
appeals from the district court’s Memorandum and Order
reversing the administrative law judge’s (ALJ) decision in
an Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
action asserting the denial of a Free and Appropriate Public
Education (FAPE). 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400–1482.

The district court correctly concluded that M.S. was
denied a FAPE because LAUSD was required to consider
whether a residential placement should be offered to M.S.
for educational purposes as part of her individualized
education plan (IEP) notwithstanding that another county
agency, the Department of Children and Family Services
(DCFS), had residentially placed her for mental health
treatment under state law, and pursuant to a Juvenile Court
order. In a thorough and well-reasoned opinion, the district
court concluded that the LAUSD “had an independent
obligation to ‘ensure that a continuum of alternative
placements [was] available to meet [M.S.’s educational]
needs,’ 34 C.F.R. § 300.115(a)—and to consider whether a
residential placement was ‘[] necessary for educational
purposes’ and not merely ‘necessary quite apart from the
learning process.’” See Clovis Unified Sch. Dist. v. Cal.
Office of Admin. Hearings, 903 F.2d 635, 643 (9th Cir.
1990).

We agree with the district court’s conclusion, and affirm
for the reasons stated in the district court’s Memorandum
and Decision, reissued January 9, 2019, and attached hereto
as Appendix A.

AFFIRMED.
 M.S. V. LAUSD 5

Appendix A
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c. Whether the District’s Predetermination of M.S.’s Educational
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