New Fairfield Bd. of Educ., 125 LRP 10684 (SEA CT 03/28/25).
A Connecticut school district did not have to defend its refusal to provide IDEA services in a non-school setting after a preschool student with disabilities was disenrolled based on state vaccination requirements.
The student enrolled at the district during the 2024-2025 school year. Over winter break the student was involuntarily withdrawn from the district based on their noncompliance with Connecticut’s vaccination requirements. The student’s IEP provided for speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy, but they did not receive IEP services after their withdrawal from school. The parent had requested the IEP be amended to allow for services to be provided outside of the school building during a February team meeting, but the district denied the request. A due process complaint was filed against the district following the denial, alleging that the student was being denied FAPE.
Ruling for the district, the Hearing Officer determined that the parent’s complaint did not meet the legal requirements for a due process complaint under the IDEA. Parents are entitled to bring a due process complaint when there are disputes relating to a student’s identification, evaluation, education placement, or special education services. 34 CFR 300.507. Acknowledging that the complaint was filed after the district denied the parent’s request to amend the IEP, the Hearing Officer rejected the parent’s argument that this complaint was about the child’s educational placement. The student’s eligibility for services was not in dispute, and both parties agreed that the special education services provided in the student’s IEP were proper. Additionally, the district was able to show that the student received school-based services without incident while the student was enrolled, and the parent did not request a non-school placement until after the student had been withdrawn for noncompliance.
At its core, the Hearing Officer argued, the parent’s complaint was really a challenge of the state’s vaccination requirements. His request for a change of placement was not based on educational concerns – it was based on his own disagreement with state law. Connecticut’s public health law does not allow preschool students to attend or enroll in school if they are not in compliance with the vaccination requirements, and it is undisputed that the student is currently ineligible to attend. These requirements apply equally to all students, regardless of whether they are eligible for special education services, so this was not an IDEA issue. Rather, the only barrier preventing the student from receiving the services in their current IEP was the parent’s continued noncompliance with the State’s vaccination requirements.
What does this mean for your district?
Parents are free to file an IDEA due process complaint whenever they believe their child’s educational placement is not meeting their disability-related needs. But when those complaints are based on challenges or factors that are not related to special education, districts will generally be able to secure a quick dismissal.