Education Placement IDEA.

Byline: Mass. Lawyers Weekly Staff

Where a Bureau of Special Education Appeals hearing officer concluded that the placement of a plaintiff at the New England Adolescent Research Institute (NEARI) provided the plaintiff with a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, a remand is necessary because the hearing officer did not adequately address whether a residential program was necessary to meet the plaintiff's social, emotional and academic needs.

"Plaintiff GS, a minor, brought this suit by and through his parents, against Westfield Public Schools ('Westfield') and the Bureau of Special Education Appeals ('BSEA'). Plaintiff claims that Westfield denied him a right to a free appropriate public education ('FAPE') under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ('IDEA'), 20 U.S.C. 1400-1482, and M.G.L. ch. 71B, and that the BSEA Hearing Officer made legal and factual errors during the administrative hearing on his appeal. Plaintiff's First Amended Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 39] asks this court to overturn the Hearing Officer's decision and order Westfield to place Plaintiff in an integrated residential school. For the reasons set forth herein, Plaintiff's Motion is granted in part.

"At bottom, because of an incomplete record and a fundamental misunderstanding of the services offered by the various institutions at play, the Hearing Officer's decision failed to adequately address the...