SpecialEducationAppealsBSEA#07-1194.docVIP

PAGE 9 PAGE 26 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS BUREAU OF SPECIAL EDUCATION APPEALS In Re: Groton-Dunstable Regional School District BSEA #07-1194 DECISION This decision is issued pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), 20 USC Sec. 1400 et seq., as amended by P.L. 108-446 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, or “IDEA-2004” ; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 USC Sec. 794); the Massachusetts special education statute or “Chapter 766,” (MGL c. 71B) and the Massachusetts Administrative Procedures Act (MGL c. 30A), as well as the regulations promulgated under these statutes. On August 17, 2006, Parents filed a hearing request with the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) alleging that the IEP and placement that the Groton-Dunstable Regional School District (Groton-Dunstable or School) provided for the 2005-2006 school year and the amended IEP that Groton-Dunstable proposed for the 2006-2007 school year, did not and would not, respectively, provide Student with the comprehensive language-based programming that the Parents assert Student needs to make meaningful educational progress. Rather, Parents claim that the Learning Prep School (Learning Prep or LPS), where they unilaterally placed Student in or about August 2006, is an appropriate placement for Student. Parents seek the following relief:  In their original hearing request of August 2006, Parents also requested reimbursement for unspecified past and future ancillary or supplemental services, and also made a claim for compensatory services. On March 20, 2007, Parents filed the list of claims stated above after the Hearing Officer directed them to specify the time periods for which they sought relief. (1) reimbursement for tuition, transportation and costs associated with Student’s placement at Learning Prep; (2) prospective funding of all costs of Student’s placement at Learning Prep through the expiration date (S