Medford school district must pay $91,223.61 cost of former student’s schooling in Utah
A judge has ordered the Medford School District to pay the costs of a student’s schooling in Utah after finding that school officials here failed to provide an adequate education to a former South Medford High student before being expelled and then sought treatment out of state. for inappropriate sexual behavior.
Jessica Toth, an administrative law judge for the Oregon Office of Administrative Hearings, signed an order on Aug. 8 that found the district “committed multiple violations” of the student’s right to an “education appropriate public free” under the Disability Education Improvement Act. 2019 and 2021.
Toth ordered the school district to pay the student’s guardian $91,223.61 for the student’s cost to attend a Utah institution that provides treatment for teenagers and allows them the opportunity to complete a high school education.
“The district believes this decision is legally flawed and contrary to established legal precedent in this state involving other school districts in Oregon, including the Ashland and Forest Grove school districts,” the Medford school district said in a statement. prepared statement “The district is reviewing its legal options, including an appeal in federal district court.”
The school district’s attorney, Richard Cohn-Lee, noted that the district has 90 days from the date of the judge’s decision to begin an appeal. School officials had not yet decided whether to appeal, he noted.
The student’s guardian, who is his half-brother, declined to be identified for this story, according to the judge’s order that his name be redacted.
“I wanted our case to be public, because in the event that we win, it would set a precedent and it would be something that other parents can look at, to know that the district is doing things inappropriately,” the guardian said. “If they’ve been affected as well, they can use us and our case as a point of reference because there are students who are not getting the services they need.”
The student at the center of the case received an individualized education program in Florida, one of several states he lived in as a foster child, before enrolling at South Medford High School in the fall of 2018. A IEP is designed to evaluate the student’s behavior and academic performance and provide accommodations so that the student can succeed in school.
The guardian claimed in his complaint that the Medford school district did not create an IEP for the student, as it should have done, and did so only after the student had been expelled for sexual assault to two classmates, forcing him to complete homeschooling for the remainder of the 2018-19 school year. In 2020, when learning was entirely virtual, the student was arrested for sexually assaulting domestic animals and two minor family members.
As the student struggled to learn during the pandemic lockdown, the tutor “unilaterally” enrolled him in Star Guides, a treatment program. Officials recommended the student be sent to White River Academy in Delta, Utah.
The guardian said he was happy with the judge’s order that the district pay him the costs incurred by the academy.
“The kind of facility they put on it wasn’t cheap,” said the tutor. “The last few years have been pretty tough because of the amount of work we’ve had to do just to make ends meet.”
The guardian’s attorney, Taylar Lewis, said the judge’s order is a lesson for district officials about how to treat students who are under the IDEA law.
“I think this order is a good indication that the family’s concerns were valid, and a neutral third party, here, saw the same problems as the family in providing the students with an adequate education,” Lewis said. “We hope it’s a good reminder to people in the district moving forward that there’s a reason these laws are in place and they’re really important to protect the interests of children.”
The guardian said he was aware that the Medford school district could appeal, possibly using a 2008 U.S. District Court decision in which it overturned a due process decision binding the Ashland school district to finance a student’s residential placement.
“We believe the opinion is legally sound and equitable in its award,” Lewis said in an email. “We hope the district does not choose to prolong this process as this has been a very difficult situation and allows the family to move forward.”
The guardian said his half-brother has successfully completed programming at White River and earned enough credits to graduate with a diploma.
“For us, this was a milestone,” the tutor said. “Especially being on a regular diploma and not a modified diploma or anything like that. Without that, and with the struggles he had growing up through the K-12 system, I don’t know what his future would be.”
Contact reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or kopsahl@rosebudmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KevJourno.
