At issue in this case is the 1995-96 educational plan and placement proposed for B.W., a learning disabled child. The Florida Union Free School District, located in Orange County, New York, and Maureen Flaherty, its Superintendent of Schools (hereafter collectively referred to as “the School District”), proposed to educate B.W. in a day program for the developmentally disabled at the Orange and Ulster Counties Board of Cooperative Education Services (“BOCES”). The child’s parents, Robert and Karen Walczak, disagreed with this placement and independently enrolled their then twelve-year old daughter in a full-time residential program at Maplebrook, a nearby private school for the learning disabled. After unsuccessfully challenging the School District’s proposed placement in two administrative proceedings, the Walczaks filed suit in the Southern District of New York pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1401 et seq. (1990 & Supp. 1998), seeking (1) a declaration that the BOCES program was inadequate to provide their child with an appropriate education, (2) a declaration that Maplebrook was an appropriate placement, and (3) reimbursement of expenses incurred at Maplebrook.
The School District now appeals from an order of Judge Charles L. Brieant denying its motion for summary judgment and entering judgment in favor of the Walczaks. It contends that the district court’s finding that the BOCES program was inadequate to permit B.W. to make meaningful educational progress is not supported by the extensive record of administrative proceedings in this case. This court agrees. Because a preponderance of the evidence establishes the adequacy of the proposed placement, we reverse the judgment of the district court and remand the case.
Background
To resolve the issue presented on this appeal, the court must first review (1) the *122 basic requirements of IDEA, (2) the means by which New York State endeavors to comply with these requirements, (3) the individualized education program (“IEP”) for B.W. that is challenged in this case, and (4) the record of proceedings before the district court.
1. IDEA
IDEA is the most recent Congressional enactment in “an ambitious federal effort to promote the education of handicapped children.”
Board of Educ. v. Rowley,
Because the law expresses a strong preference for children with disabilities to be educated, “to the maximum extent appropriate,” together with their non-disabled peers, 20 U.S.C. § 1412(5), special education and related services must be provided in the least restrictive setting consistent with a child’s needs. Only "when the nature or severity” of a child’s disability is such “that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily” should a child be segregated.
Id.
In such cases, instruction may be provided not only in special classrooms but also “in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings.” 20 U.S.C. § 1401(a)(16). Indeed, a school board may be required to place a child in a residential institution if such a placement is necessary to provide an appropriate education.
See
34 C.F.R. § 300.302 (1998);
Mrs. B. v. Milford Bd. Of Educ.,
The particular educational needs of a disabled child and the services required to meet those needs must be set forth at least annually in a written IEP. See 20 U.S.C. § 1414(a)(5). An IEP must state (1) the child’s present level of educational performance; (2) the annual goals for the child, including short-term instructional objectives; (3) the specific educational services to be provided to the child, and the extent to which the child will be able to participate in regular educational programs; (4) the transition services needed for a child as he or she begins to leave a school setting; (5) the projected initiation date and duration for proposed services; and (6) objective criteria and evaluation procedures and schedules for determining, on at least an annual basis, whether instructional objectives are being achieved. See 20 U.S.C. § 1401(a)(20). A school official qualified in special education, the child’s teacher, the child’s parents, and, where appropriate, the child, all participate in the development of an IEP. See id.
Parents who are dissatisfied with a proposed IEP may file a complaint with the state educational agency. . See 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(1)(E). Complaints are resolved through an “impartial due process hearing,” 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(2), at which school authorities have the burden of supporting the proposed IEP, see Matter of the Application of a Handicapped Child, 22 Educ. Dep’t Rep. 487, 489 (1983) (“It is well established that a board of education has the burden of establishing the appropriateness of the placement recommended by [the school board]”); see also Application of a Child Suspected of Having a Disability, N.Y. State Educ. Dep’t Appeal No. 93-9 (Mar. 29, 1993); Application of a Child with a Handicapping Condition, N.Y. State Educ. Dep’t Appeal No. 92-7 (Mai-. 5,1992). A local hearing officer’s decision may be appealed to the state educational agency, see 20 U.S.C. § 1415(c), after which any party still aggrieved may sue in either state or federal court, see 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(2). A court will fashion appropriate relief based on its assessment of a preponderance of the evidence developed at the *123 administrative proceedings and any further evidence presented by the parties. Id.
2.New York’s Regulatory Scheme
Since New York State receives federal funds under IDEA, it is obliged to comply with the requirements of this law. To meet these obligations and to implement its own policies regarding the education of disabled children, the State has assigned responsibility for developing appropriate IEPs to local Committees on Special Education (“CSE”), the members of which are appointed by school boards or the trustees of school districts.
See
N.Y. Educ. Law § 4402(l)(b)(l) (McKinney Supp.1997-98);
Heldman v. Sobol,
New York further requires that each child’s IEP identify a specific class placement. See 8 N.Y.C.R.R. § 200.4(c)(2)(ix). Children may be grouped together in a special education class if they have “the same disabilities” or if they have “differing disabilities [but] ... similar individual needs for the purpose of being provided a special education program.” 8 N.Y.C.R.R. § 200.1(jj); see also 8 N.Y.C.R.R. § 200.6(g)(3). Thus, the students in a class must have sufficiently similar academic levels and learning characteristics that each child will have the opportunity to achieve his or her annual goals. See 8 N.Y.C.R.R. § 200.6(a)(3)(i). A CSE must also strive to “assure that the social interaction within the group is beneficial to each student, contributes to each student’s social growth and maturity, and does not consistently interfere with the instruction being provided.” 8 N.Y.C.R.R. § 200.6(a)(3)(ii). Nevertheless, the regulation cautions that the “social needs of a student shall not be the sole determinant” of his or her class placement. See id. Similarly, the management needs of the students in a class group may vary, provided that no student unduly interferes with the ability of others to learn. See 8 N.Y.C.R.R. § 200.6(a)(3)(iv). Children whose disabilities do present particular management concerns are grouped in smaller-than-average size classes of six, eight, or twelve students, depending on the degree of intervention required. See 8 N.Y.C.R.R. § 200.6(g)(4).
3. The Challenged 1995-96 IEP
The challenged 1995-96 IEP provided for B.W. to be educated in a year-round BOCES day program for the developmentally disabled. There would be twelve children in her class, taught by one teacher with the assistance of one teacher’s aide. In addition, B.W. would receive four 30-minute sessions of speech therapy each week, three times in a group of up to five children and once by herself. She would also participate in a 30-minute group counseling session once per week.
The Walczaks disagreed with this proposal, contending that their daughter’s needs could not be met in a day program and that she required a residential placement. Alternatively, they challenged the size and composition of the proposed BOCES class.
The Walczaks’ objections triggered an independent administrative review of the proposed IEP. Administrative officers at both the local and state level upheld the BOCES placement. In ruling otherwise, the district court eonclusorily adopted the Walczaks’ arguments that the administrative proceedings did not delve sufficiently into B.W.’s classroom performance and that the School District had not shown that the BOCES placement was adequate to permit B.W. to make educational and social progress. See Walczak v. Florida Union Free Sch. Dish, No. 96 Civ. 1634(CLB) (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 23, 1996). In fact, the record developed at the administrative proceedings was exhaustive, and both the local and state reviewing officers carefully analyzed all relevant materials in ruling in favor of the School District. This court is obliged to review that record to explain why the district court’s ruling must be reversed.
4. The Record Before the District Court
a. The Independent Evidentiary Hearing
Over the course of six days in May and June 1995, the local independent hearing offi *124 cer took testimony from eight witnesses: (1) Elaine Flynn, the Interim Chairman of the School District’s CSE; (2) Frank Jordan, a School District psychologist; (3) Louise Baines, the Supervisor of the BOCES program for the developmentally disabled; (4) Charles Entress, the Interim Director of the School District’s Department of Special Education; (5) Margaret Napolitano, B.W.’s most recent classroom teacher at BOCES; (6) Jennifer Makower, B.W.’s speech therapist at BOCES; (7) Dr. Phoebe Liss, a psychologist who had evaluated B.W. on a number of occasions at the request of her parents; and (8) Barbara Priestner-Werte, a psychotherapist who had privately counseled B.W. once a week during the period 1992-95. It also reviewed voluminous documentary evidence, including virtually every school report and professional evaluation of B.W. since she had entered kindergarten.
In summarizing this material, we begin with the documentary record of B.W.’s educational history and then proceed to the testimony before the hearing officer.
(1)The Original Classification of B.W. as Learning Disabled
B.W. was five years old and enrolled in a regular kindergarten class in the School District’s Golden Hill elementary School when her learning difficulties first became apparent. Examining neurologists and psychiatrists identified a host of possible disabilities, including Minimal Brain Dysfunction syndrome with an- attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity, developmental language disorder, a mild to moderate separation anxiety disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder, and Tourette’s Syndrome. About this same time, B.W. was first examined by educational psychologist, Dr. Phoebe Liss. She determined that B.W. had a low-to-normal IQ of 81, a limited attention span, a poor vocabulary, and an inability to follow simple directions or to express herself in complete sentences.
The doctors uniformly recommended that B.W. be classified as learning disabled and that a specialized education program be developed for her with emphasis on language and occupational therapy. The School District agreed and proposed that in the 1989-90 school year, B.W. be placed in a BOCES special education class with supplemental special services.
(2)B.W.’s Placement at Bishop Dunn
Instead of enrolling B.W. at BOCES, the Walczaks opted to place their daughter, at their own expense, in the Bishop Dunn Memorial School, a private school for children with learning disabilities. There, B.W. was in a self-contained special education class for most of her studies, but mainstreamed for others.
In May 1992, the School District reviewed B.W.’s progress. The results were very disappointing. The nine-year old child’s reading skills were at the first-grade level. Her math skills were even poorer. Most disturbingly, her IQ measured 55, significantly lower than in 1989. The Walczaks asked Dr. Liss to reevaluate B.W. She confirmed B.W.’s poor progress in reading and math but found the child’s IQ to be 70 rather than 55. Dr. Liss recommended that B.W. be placed in a self-contained special education class and that she be provided with occupational and speech therapy and counseling.
Several months later, B.W. was examined by yet another neurologist and child psychiatrist. They were the first to suggest that she had pervasive developmental disorder, which was described as a “global neurological disturbance,” consistent with B.W.’s various cognitive, intellectual, and language deficits, as well as the panoply of behavioral and social problems she presented, including “perseverations, obsessions, volatility, magical thinking, variable relatedness, insistence on sameness, insensitivity to other people’s feelings, and ignorance of basic social rules and conventions, and a lack of empathy with other people.”
(3)B.W.’s Placement in BOCES
In the summer of 1993, the Walczaks finally accepted the School District’s recommendation that their daughter be educated at BOCES. She was enrolled in a twelve-student intermediate level class and provided with additional group counseling, individual *125 occupational therapy, and group and individual speech therapy.
BOCES’ teachers monitored B.W.’s progress in detailed quarterly reports. These indicate that throughout her first year at BOCES, B.W. required constant teacher supervision simply to focus her attention on her assignments. She was frequently disruptive and displayed various obsessive/compulsive traits that adversely affected her ability to interact with others. Nevertheless, at the end of the first year, her classroom teacher, Ms. Bloom, reported concrete progress in several areas. Most notably, B.W. was reading at the late second-grade level. She could identify the number of syllables in a word, perform basic grammar exercises, and write two to three related sentences on an assigned topic. In mathematics, B.W. could perform simple addition and subtraction and had successfully completed a unit on telling time. Ms. Bloom cautioned, however, that B.W.’s day-to-day performance could vary significantly because of continuing problems with focus and behavior.
In the summer of 1994, the Walczaks voluntarily withdrew B.W. from BOCES for four weeks so that she could attend a residential camp for disabled children. They are convinced that their daughter’s social skills benefitted tremendously from this experience, but the record evidence on this point is essentially eonelusory and second hand. Apparently, no significant social progress was evident to B.W.’s teachers when the child returned to BOCES. In her fall 1994 report, classroom teacher Margaret Napolitano noted that B.W. still did not respond to efforts to encourage interaction with her classmates. As for B.W.’s academic performance, Ms. Napolitano reported that she was reading at the mid-second-grade level, but her progress was only fair. B.W.’s performance in science and social studies was erratic due to problems with comprehension and behavior. By contrast, her effort and participation in third-grade level math was described as excellent. Ms. Napolitano’s mid-year report showed B.W. to be continuing to work at these levels.
(tí Developing the 1995-96 IEP
By the 1995-96 term, when B.W. turned twelve, she would outgrow the BOCES intermediate program. Students functioning at her academic level generally moved into the BOCES developmentally disabled program. There, they were encouraged to apply academic lessons to practical tasks such as letter writing, shopping, simple cooking, using money, and getting along with people. Once these students turned fourteen, the developmentally disabled program provided them with specific vocational training.
The Walczaks, however, were not satisfied with the BOCES developmentally disabled program. In a January 27, 1995 letter to CSE Chairperson Elaine Flynn, they explained that they wished “to obtain the maximum interventions in [B.W.’s] self development so that she can reach her true potential.” They thought this could best be achieved through B.W.’s placement in a full-time residential program, specifically, the one available at Maplebrook, a private school for the learning disabled in Amenia, New York.
In anticipation of the annual CSE review to determine B.W.’s 1995-96 placement, the Walczaks again had their daughter evaluated by Dr. Liss. In her January 1995 report, Dr. Liss noted a “startling” improvement in B.W.’s behavior since her last examination in 1992. Whereas B.W. had previously exhibited “idiosyncratic, inappropriate, and obsessive behavior,” and could not “maintain conversational exchanges even in a controlled one-on-one basis,” she was now “a far more appropriate person, capable of following rules, and more aware of her surroundings.” The doctor also noted B.W.’s academic progress since her last evaluation. Her reading scores were at the high second-grade level, to mid-third-grade level. Her mathematics skills also tested at the second-grade level.
Despite this progress, Dr. Liss recommended against B.W.’s continued placement at BOCES or in any day program. She stated that B.W. needed to be placed in a residential facility such as Maplebrook where she would have around-the-clock reenforcement of appropriate behavior and constant interaction with peers.
*126 About this same time, School District psychologist Frank Jordan also evaluated B.W. He agreed that B.W. “need[ed] a specialized program and a supportive nurturing environment in order to have the best chance at learning.” He did not, however, conclude that these needs could only be met in a residential program.
The School Board CSE met on February 14, 1995 to consider B.W.’s IEP for the following year. The Walczaks were present, as were a number of teachers and experts who had evaluated or worked with B.W. While there was general agreement that B.W. had made considerable academic and social progress during her two years at BOCES, all parties recognized that one social problem persisted: B.W.’s refusal to interact with other children, the Walczaks urged a residential placement as the best means to address this problem. CSE Chairman Flynn opposed this request because she considered a residential placement unnecessarily restrictive to address B.W.’s academic and social needs. The CSE concurred and proposed in its IEP that B.W. be educated in the BOCES day program for the developmentally disabled.
On February 16, 1995, the Walczaks formally challenged this 1995-96 IEP and requested a hearing. A postponement was granted to allow the School District to correct an acknowledged defect in the IEP: its failure to identify a specific class grouping for B.W. at BOCES. Ultimately, the CSE proposed that she be placed in the higher functioning of two developmentally disabled classes that would be established in 1995-96 for children her age. The children in that group had IQ scores that generally ranged from 63 to 90. Only one child, with a score of 46, was significantly lower. B.W.’s most recent IQ scores — 72 when tested by Dr. Liss; 65 when tested by Mr. Jordan — placed her in the middle of this group. The reading scores for the group ranged from below kindergarten to fourth grade. B.W.’s reading level of high second to low third grade placed her at the high end of this group, with four other students in her range. The group’s mathematics performance ranged from first grade to high third grade. B.W. had tested in the second-grade to third-grade range in mathematics, which was again consistent with four of the other children. The results of a social skills inventory showed that B.W. ranked at the bottom of the proposed grouping in terms of her social skills and at the top in terms of behavior.
(5) Testimony at the Administrative Hearing
Each witness who testified at the administrative hearing acknowledged that B.W. had made both academic and social progress in the years 1993-95, the period when she was enrolled at BOCES. They disagreed, however, as to whether the BOCES program had contributed to this progress and whether it could adequately address B.W.’s continuing needs.
B.W.’s speech teacher, Ms. Makower, testified that when the child first entered BOCES, her inappropriate behavior and lack of focus made it difficult to teach her anything. Over two years, BOCES teachers worked to help reduce this problem. As a result, Ms. Makower had been able to help B.W. improve the intelligibility of her speech and her ability to follow directions. Classroom teacher Margaret Napolitano similarly testified that B.W. was now less disruptive in class and increasingly able to complete academic assignments without constant teacher intervention. Ms. Napolitano acknowledged B.W.’s continuing social problems, particularly her resistance to interaction with other children. Nevertheless, she supported the proposed BOCES placement because she viewed the academic and social goals set in the 1995-96 IEP as entirely realistic for B.W. Indeed, because she had seen B.W. make progress in both these areas in her own class of twelve students, she thought that the child could continue to be successful in a class of that size.
Ms. Flynn, Mr. Jordan, and Louise Baines, the Supervisor of the developmentally disabled program, also testified in support of the proposed IEP. Ms. Flynn explained that the BOCES developmentally disabled program was specifically designed to encourage students like B.W. to develop appropriate social skills without the unnecessary restric *127 tions of a residential placement. Mr. Jordan agreed that the program’s emphasis on practical life skills would routinely require B.W. to interact with other children while providing her with the strong structure, support, and supervision that she needed to succeed. Ms. Baines was even more emphatic, testifying that social skills were emphasized “100% of the time” in the developmentally disabled program.
Both Dr. Liss and B.W.’s psychotherapist, Ms. Priestner-Werte, nevertheless, testified in favor of placing B.W. in a residential facility such as Maplebrook. While neither witness questioned the academic and social goals set for B.W. in the proposed IEP, Dr. Liss insisted that B.W. could only achieve the outlined social goals in a residential facility. Ms. Priestner-Werte, on the other hand, testified that, although she favored a residential placement because of the intensity and consistency afforded by a such a program, she did think that B.W.’s social and academic needs could be met in the BOCES developmentally disabled program.
(6) The Hearing Officer’s Decision
On September 28,1995, the hearing officer issued a fourteen-page decision in favor of the School District. After carefully reviewing the evidence developed at the hearing, he noted that the parties’ primary dispute focused on whether B.W. could receive an appropriate education in the BOCES day program or whether she needed to be placed in a residential facility. In finding that the School District had carried its burden of establishing the appropriateness of the BOCES placement, the hearing officer relied on Ms. Napolitano’s testimony that the academic components of the 1995-96 IEP were realistic, and on Ms. Priestner-Werte’s testimony that BOCES could meet the child’s educational and social needs. He further credited the testimony of those witnesses who indicated that the proposed class grouping would place B.W. with children who would be appropriate social companions for her.
The hearing officer acknowledged that a residential facility such as Maplebrook might afford B.W. even more opportunities for social interaction than the BOCES day program, and that this might increase the chance of improving the child’s social skills. This single factor, however, was insufficient to persuade him that the proposed day program was inadequate. Citing to this court’s decision in
Tucker v. Bay Shore Union Free Sch. Dist.,
b. The Appeal to the State Education Department
Sometime after the conclusion of the 1994-95 school term, the Walczaks removed B.W. from the BOCES program and enrolled her at Maplebrook. They appealed the hearing officer’s decision in favor of the School District to the New York State Education Department and sought reimbursement for their expenses at Maplebrook. On December 15,1995, a state review officer upheld the proposed BOCES placement.
In a single-spaced eleven-page decision, the review officer meticulously reviewed the evidence developed in the administrative hearing. Preliminarily, he found that the proposed IEP adequately described B.W.’s academic and social needs and provided reasonable annual goals and short-term instructional objectives to meet those needs. Considering the propriety of the BOCES placement, the review officer specifically rejected the Walczaks’ argument that “inherent limitations” in the BOCES program had prevented B.W. from making anything but slight academic and social progress in her years there. He noted that BOCES used a *128 multisensory instructional approach, which all witnesses had recognized as best suited to B.W.’s particular needs. He further cited to the reports of B.W.’s two classroom teachers indicating that the child had advanced academically at BOCES to the point where she could work at the second-grade to third-grade level. To the extent that B.W.’s progress was sometimes slow and inconsistent, the review officer held that this was more reflective of the nature and extent of the child’s disabilities than of any inherent inadequacy in the BOCES program. He found no support in the record for the claims that the BOCES staff was not trained to work together or that B.W. needed to be in a smaller class to make reasonable progress.
As to the contention that B.W. had made only slight social progress while at BOCES, the review officer cited to Dr. Liss’s observation of “remarkable” improvement in the child’s social skills between 1992 and 1995. To the extent Dr. Liss had also testified that B.W. could not make further social progress in a day program, the officer rejected this opinion, noting that Dr. Liss had not explained why the skills she deemed important — learning to live with others, take turns, say how she feels, smile at the appropriate time — could not be developed in a non-residential program. He observed that although Ms. Priestner-Werte considered a residential placement preferable, she had testified that the BOCES program could meet B.W.’s educational and social needs. Thus, he found no basis in the record for concluding that a highly restrictive residential placement was necessary for B.W. to make reasonable educational progress.
The review officer also rejected the Walc-zaks’ challenge to the class grouping proposed for B.W. Relying on the class profile received into evidence, as well as the testimony of Ms. Flynn and Ms. Baines, he found that the children’s academic, social, physical, and management needs were sufficiently similar for them to be educated together.
5. The Summary Judgment Motion Before the District Court
The Walczaks next challenged the IEP by filing this IDEA action in federal court. The School District moved for summary judgment relying on the administrative record. In opposing this motion, the Walczaks disputed the School District’s assessment of that record and sought to supplement it with materials relating to B.W.’s progress after a year at Maplebrook. These materials suggest that B.W. made acceptable, if not dramatic, academic progress at Maplebrook. Her social progress was more significant. B.W. began to establish friendships with other children and to participate in group activities. Dr. Liss reported that B.W.’s “living skills” had also improved from the level of a five-year old to those of a nine-year old. Still, Maplebrook teachers continued to observe problems that had long afflicted B.W., notably, her difficulty with focus and inappropriate verbal and physical peer contact.
Based on its own review of the administrative record, as well as these supplemental submissions, the district court denied the School District’s motion for summary judgment and, sua sponte, entered judgment in favor of the Walczaks. In so ruling, the court made only general factual findings without referring to the specific evidence in the record. It held simply that
The administrative proceedings in this case, on careful review, reveal that the school district did not show within the first criterion of the Burlington test 3 — that the services offered by the school district were adequate or appropriate. The testimony adduced at the hearing establishes by a clear preponderance of the evidence “that the inherent limitations in the BOCES’ program make it impossible for B.W. to adequately advance, educationally or socially, through the program offered.” [Parents’ Post-Trial Brief at 10, 8/24/95]. According to the records provided, the BOCES staff is not trained to work closely together and does not [do] so; B.W. needs a smaller group setting than that proposed by BOCES in order to learn; the BOCES *129 program operates only during the day, while B.W. needs a more structured environment around the clock, “replete with opportunities for social engagement with other children;” and that B.W. needs a specialized program and a supportive nurturing educational environment in order to learn in the most effective way. Id. at 11. As to the other two standards set by the Burlington Court, the plaintiffs clearly have met these requirements, proving through the Maplebrook School’s teachers and administrators that the services selected by the parents were appropriate and that equitable considerations favor the parents[’] claim.
Walczak v. Florida Union Free Sch. Dist., No. 96 Civ. 1634, at 6-7.
Discussion
I. The Standard of Judicial Review in IDEA Cases
When the parents of a disabled child file suit under IDEA to challenge a state-proposed IEP and when the relief they seek includes reimbursement of expenses incurred at a private school, an award will be entered in their favor if it appears (1) that the proposed IEP was inadequate to afford the child an appropriate public education, and (2) that the private education services obtained by the parents were appropriate to the.child’s needs.
See School Comm. of Burlington v. Department of Educ. of Mass.,
The responsibility for determining whether a challenged IEP will provide a child with an appropriate public education rests in the first instance with administrative hearing and review officers. Their rulings are then subject to “independent” judicial review.
Board of Educ. v. Rowley,
Two issues are relevant to a federal court’s review of a challenged IEP: (1) whether the state complied with the procedural requirements of IDEA, and (2) whether the challenged IEP was “reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits.”
Board of Educ. v. Rowley,
The initial procedural inquiry is no mere formality. As the Supreme Court noted in
Rowley,
Congress’s emphasis in IDEA “upon full participation of concerned parties throughout the development of the IEP,” together with the requirement for federal approval of state and local plans, reflects a “conviction that adequate compliance with the procedures prescribed would in most cases assure much if not all of what Congress wished in the way of substantive content in an IEP.”
Board of Educ. v. Rowley,
IDEA does not itself articulate any specific level of educational benefits that must be provided through an IEP. The Supreme Court, however, has specifically rejected the contention that the “ ‘appropriate’ education” mandated by IDEA requires states to “maximize the potential of handicapped children.”
11. Review of the Challenged 1995-96 IEP
For a federal court to conduct an “independent” review of a challenged IEP without “impermissibly meddling in state educational methodology,” Mrs.
B. v. Milford Bd. of Educ.,
In its brief decision in this case, the district court did not point to any objective evidence that led it to reject the administrative officers’ conclusions that the 1995-96 IEP was adequate to provide B.W. with an appropriate public education.
See Kerkam v. McKenzie,
The evidence demonstrates that before B.W. entered BOCES her reading and mathematics skills tested at only the first-grade level. When the Walezaks’ own expert, Dr. Liss, evaluated B.W. in early 1995, mid-way through her second year at BOCES, her reading scores had reached the second-grade to mid-third-grade level, and her mathematics skills were at the second-grade level. B.W.’s classroom teacher, Ms. Napoli-tano, reported that in the more structured and supportive atmosphere of the BOCES classroom, B.W. was actually able to work at an even higher level, particularly in mathematics where she regularly completed exercises from a third grade book. For this reason, Ms. Napolitano was convinced that B.W. could continue to progress in a twelve-student class.
These objective academic achievements are uncontradicted and certainly not “trivial.” In fact, they are impressive when considered in light of the significant social problems that impeded B.W.’s academic progress when she first entered BOCES. Ms. Priestner-Werte described B.W.’s social behavior in 1992 as bizarre, “almost psychotic.” Dr. Liss confirmed that, at that time, the child was unable to follow simple directions or focus on an assigned task. She perseverated constantly on irrelevancies and could not express herself intelligibly. The testimony of Ms. Napolita-no and Ms. Makower, as well as the quarterly reports from BOCES, plainly indicate that concerted efforts were made by all of B.W.’s BOCES teachers to address these specific social problems. Progress was sometimes slow, but after B.W. had spent two years at BOCES, Ms. Napolitano was able to report that the child was less disruptive, that she could remain more focused, and that she was even able to work independently. Further, B.W. could now speak more clearly, an obvious prerequisite to improving her social interaction. Dr. Liss and Ms. Priestner-Werte each confirmed that the social progress made by B.W. during the years she was enrolled at BOCES was remarkable. 4
This case is thus completely distinguishable from
Mrs. B. v. Milford Bd. of Educ.,
While some children’s disabilities may indeed be so acute as to require that they be educated in residential facilities, it is appropriate to proceed cautiously whenever considering such highly restrictive placements. IDEA’S preference is for disabled children to be educated in the least restrictive environment capable of meeting their needs. The Walezaks argue that the statutory preference is primarily concerned with educating disabled children together with their non-disabled peers. They submit that in cases such as this one, where everyone recognizes that no mainstreaming is possible for B.W., the preference has no applicability. This court disagrees. The norm in American public education is for children to be educated in day programs while they reside at home and receive the support of their families. A “[rjesidential placement is, by its nature, considerably more restrictive than local extended day programming.”
Carlisle Area School v. Scott R,
It appears from the Walezaks January 27, 1995 letter to CSE Chairman Flynn that their purpose in seeking a residential placement for B.W. was “to obtain the maximum interventions” for her “so that she can reach her true potential.” While the parents’ wishes are understandable, IDEA does not require states to develop IEPs that “maximize the potential of handicapped children.”
Board of Educ. v. Rowley,
*133
The Walczaks insist that a residential placement was not simply more desirable but essential for B.W., particularly if she was to overcome her resistance to interacting with other children. They contrast the difficulties she was having in this area at BOCES with her present participation in a variety of group activities at Maplebrook. The inadequacy of an IEP is not established, however, simply because parents show that a child makes greater progress in a single area in a different program.
See Fuhrmann v. East Hanover Bd. of Educ.,
In any event, the challenged IEP specifically addressed B.W.’s need to interact with other children, and Dr. Liss acknowledged that the goals established therein were appropriate. Her concern was with BOCES’ ability to help the child reach these goals. As the hearing officer properly observed, however, Dr. Liss never satisfactorily explained why B.W. could only improve her interaction skills in a residential program. The BOCES developmentally disabled program was, after all, designed to emphasize students’ practical social skills. Further, the IEP provided for B.W. to continue receiving group counseling and speech therapy to assist her with these skills. In assessing whether this plan was likely to produce progress, Ms. Priestner-Werte’s testimony is particularly relevant. Although she viewed Ma-plebrook as a superior facility, she stated that the BOCES program for the developmentally disabled was sufficiently structured and supportive to meet B.W.’s academic and social needs. It was entirely appropriate for the hearing officer to rely on this testimony and to reject that of Dr. Liss, particularly since Ms. Priestner-Werte had had considerably more contact with both B.W. and BOCES personnel during the years the child was enrolled there.
Alternatively, the Walczaks contend that the challenged IEP is deficient because it proposed to group B.W. in a class with children whose intellectual, social, and behavioral needs were incompatible with her own. The district court, however, did not find the proposed IEP inadequate on this ground. Neither does this court. The students’ IQ, reading, and mathematics scores indicate that a core group was operating at an intellectual level sufficiently comparable to B.W.’s to permit her to continue making academic progress. BOCES personnel testified that the differences in the children’s raw behavioral scores did not indicate any violent or disruptive tendencies that would have made B.W.’s inclusion in the group inappropriate. To the contrary, it was hoped that the open nature of the other children and their superi- or social skills would make it easier for B.W. to interact with them. Although B.W. was the only child in the proposed group diagnosed with pervasive disability disorder, this condition appears to be evidenced by a wide variety of problems many of which are also characteristic of other disorders. The record indicates that, whatever their specific disabil *134 ities, the students in the proposed grouping were all slow learners. Each needed a highly structured, multisensory program with constant reinforcement in order to grasp the material presented. This was precisely the approach followed in the BOCES developmentally disabled program.
This court finds that the objective evidence in this case cannot support the district court’s conclusion that a BOCES placement was inadequate to provide B.W. with an appropriate education or that a residential placement was essential to meet her needs. Instead, a clear preponderance of that evidence demonstrates that B.W. could make satisfactory academic and social progress in a twelve-student class in the BOCES day program for the developmentally disabled. The Walczaks are, of course, free to continue educating their daughter at Maplebrook if they wish. Nevertheless, because the School District has demonstrated by a clear preponderance of the evidence that the 1995-96 IEP complied with the requirements of IDEA, it cannot be ordered to reimburse the parents for expenses incurred as a result of their decision to remove their child from the BOCES program.
Conclusion
A preponderance of the evidence in this case clearly supports the conclusion reached by the two administrative officers: that the challenged 1995-96 IEP was adequate to provide B.W. with an appropriate public education as required by IDEA. The judgment of the district court in favor of the Walczaks is reversed and the case is remanded with directions to enter summary judgment in favor of the School District.
Notes
. In
Tucker,
this court held that the parents of a handicapped child could not obtain reimbursement from the school district for their unilateral placement of their child in a private school that was not "approved” by the state education commissioner.
See
. The standard set forth by the Supreme Court in
School Comm. of Burlington v. Department of Educ. of Mass.,
. Although Dr. Liss testified that B.W.'s social improvement was primarily due to her four-week stay at a residential camp in the summer of 1994, this opinion must be weighed in light of the fact that, after 1992, Dr. Liss did not evaluate B.W. again until January 1995, almost six months after the camp experience, and well into the child's second term at BOCES.