D.R. by and through R.R. v. Redondo Beach Unified School District

D.R. (plaintiff), a child with autism, attended an elementary school in the Redondo Beach Unified School District (defendant). Before D.R. started third grade, D.R.’s parents (plaintiffs) and the school agreed to an individualized education program (IEP) under which D.R. would spend 75 percent of his day in a regular classroom and 25 percent in a special-education classroom. Before fourth grade, the school recommended increasing D.R.’s time in the special-education classroom to 56 percent of his day. D.R.’s parents refused to agree. Before fifth grade, the school again conducted its annual review of D.R.’s IEP. The school noted that D.R. had met four of the academic goals under his fourth-grade IEP and was making progress on the other two. Also, D.R. had made friends with nondisabled peers and was not disruptive in class. However, the school noted that D.R. was several grade levels behind his nondisabled peers academically and was therefore not learning from the regular classroom instruction. Instead, D.R.’s instruction in the regular classroom was provided almost exclusively by his one-on-one behavioral aide. Consequently, to provide D.R. with a more tailored curriculum, the school again proposed changing the IEP to place him in the special-education classroom for 56 percent of the day. D.R.’s parents requested a hearing before the California Office of Administrative Hearings, arguing that the proposed IEP violated the least-restrictive-environment requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). An administrative-law judge held in the school’s favor, and a federal district court affirmed. The parents appealed.