Full opinion text
OPINION AND ORDER PAUL R. CHERRY, United States Magistrate Judge. This matter is before the Court on (1) Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment [DE 114], filed on May 15, 2008, by Plaintiffs Stanley and Connie C., Individually and as Next Friends of M.C., a minor (collectively “the Parents”); and (2) Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment [DE 117], filed on May 15, 2008, by Defendants MSD of Southwest Allen County Schools and Smith-Green West Allen Special Education Cooperative (collectively “SACS” or “the School”). The Parents have brought this action under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), appealing the outcome of the'administrative due process hearing that addressed the provision of special education to their daughter M.C. during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years, which was largely favorable to SACS. As set forth in this Order, the Court denies the Parents’ Motion for Summary Judgment, denies in part as moot SACS’ Motion for Summary Judgment as to attorney fees, and grants the remainder of SACS’ Motion for Summary Judgment. FACTUAL BACKGROUND The Court summarizes the factual underpinnings of this dispute, incorporating additional details as relevant in the course of the opinion. A. The Student — M.C. M.C. is the fifteen-year-old, adopted daughter of Stanley and Connie C. Her mother describes her as a beautiful girl with a good sense of humor. She has typical adolescent interests such as popular music and fashion, and she loves to dance. Despite her challenges, M.C. has learned how to manipulate a music iPod and cellular telephone adeptly. M.C. has multiple disabilities resulting from a stroke she suffered at the age of three months. She has speech disorders of dysarthria (weakness of the muscles) and apraxia (difficulty in motor planning). These disorders make oral movements and swallowing difficult and result in drooling and reduced speech intelligibility. M.C. is also diagnosed with cerebral palsy that affects her left-side movement and visual field and that impairs the use of her left arm. In addition, M.C. has visual motor and visual information processing delays that impact her academic performance. These vision problems result in a short visual attention span, visual confusion, visual fatigue, and interference with reading comprehension. M.C. reads books at a third to fifth grade level, counts money to purchase items, and uses a calculator. She tells time to the half hour and can compose a paragraph. She uses compensatory strategies, such as using her auditory skills to rehearse and keep in memory information she is recording on paper. M.C. is eligible for special education as a student with a communication disorder, a visual impairment, and a mental impairment. According to Jennifer Barnes, the school psychologist (“School Psychologist”) in July 2005, M.C.’s academic profile was commensurate with her cognitive profile in that her reading and writing were better developed and consistent with borderline disability while her math concepts and written computation were reflective of a moderate disability. The School Psychologist also noted that M.C. showed strength in her ability to process and reason with words; in contrast, visual, nonverbal reasoning skills ranged from below the average to the moderate disability range. In testing completed in summer 2006 by Dr. Fisher, a neuropsychologist hired by the Parents, M.C. scored in the average range on a variety of tests, including, but not limited to, auditory processing, phonemic awareness, listening comprehension, and reading vocabulary. SACS’ expert, Dr. Couvillion, testified that these tests were scored accurately. M.C.’s father testified at the administrative hearing that M.C. is sociable and wants friendships but does not have friends due to her drooling and language issues. M.C. reports that a bad thing in her life is that “[n]o boy likes me.” AR 2442. Although M.C. is interested in social activities, she is never invited to a peer’s house, a sleep over, movies, or parties. M.C.’s mother said that people are repelled when M.C. hugs them and gets them wet with her drool. M.C.’s drooling falls on her papers, homework, and reading materials, and her drooling makes other students avoid her. Prior to the years at issue, when M.C. was in fifth grade, the elementary school would not allow M.C. to eat in the school cafeteria because of her drooling. The Parents’ experts opined that M.C. requires intensive academic programming to learn and that when M.C. does not receive intensive therapy and direct instruction, she is at risk for regression in previously learned skills and functions. Frequent drill and practice of new skills and previously mastered concepts allows M.C. to build her repertoire of academic skills. In the summer of 2005, one of her teachers at SACS indicated that M.C. needs concepts broken into small pieces to understand academic material, and teachers described her use of and need for one-on-one help to complete assignments, communicate, and relay her knowledge. Dr. Fisher testified at the hearing that, when teaching M.C., concepts need to be broken into small components and each small component must be repeated Until mastered. Dr. Fisher testified that small group learning is not effective for M.C. and that M.C. can only learn with one-on-one instruction. B. The Experts The Parents hired two expert witnesses — Dr. Fisher and Dr. Savage, and relied on a letter submitted by Michael Smith, M.D., who has been M.C.’s neurologist since 1996. Barbara Fisher, Ph.D., a pediatric neuropsychologist, did a neuropsychological evaluation of M.C. in May and July 2006 at the Parents’ expense and spent six days with M.C., testing and observing her. Ronald Savage, Ed.D, is a certified brain injury specialist through the Brain Injury Association of America, is the editor of the Brain Injury Professional Journal, has consulted with institutions specializing in brain injury, such as Bancroft Neurohealth in New Jersey, has chaired the National Task Force on Children and Adolescents with Brain Injury, and consults with George Washington University’s brain injury program. He has worked with thousands of brain injured students for over thirty years and published a study of 36,-000 brain injured children on which he based his recommendations for M.C. Dr. Savage not only reviewed all of M.C.’s medical and educational records, but he also spent a full day with M.C. and met with the director of the Fort Wayne Center for Learning (“FWCL”), the director of rehabilitation services at Lutheran Hospital, and Dr. Fisher. SACS also hired two expert witnesses— Dr. Stauffer and Dr. Couvillion. Amy Stauffer, M.D., a pediatric neurologist, submitted a one-page report in the form of a letter dated November 17, 2006, but was not called to testify. Steven Couvillion, Ph.D., a pediatric neuropsychologist, was hired to review documents, write a report, and testify on behalf of SACS. As for Dr. Couvillion’s expertise in brain injury, his curriculum vitae lists a presentation on head injury in 1999 for the Brain Injury Association of Indiana and indicates that he was a board member of that same organization beginning in 2004 for an unidentified period of time. He testified that in his current group practice, he conducts evaluations, works with families of children with a variety of conditions, including brain injury, and consults with the acute brain injury rehab unit at Methodist Hospital. He is certified by the American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology. Dr. Couvillion never saw M.C., and he did not talk with M.C.’s parents, private providers, or anyone at FWCL. He reviewed records and talked to the School Psychologist and to an unidentified teacher for one hour. C. Fort Wayne Center for Learning During the relevant time period, the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years, M.C. was educated, in part, at FWCL, a not-for-profit center located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that provides specialized remedial instruction and developmental and remedial intensive therapy for children with disabilities as well as general education and gifted students who are struggling at school. The instructional methodology at FWCL is multi-sensory, explicit, and adapted for each student, and instructors present concepts and information in an organized, structured, and systematic manner. The overall approach to teaching takes into account a student’s sensory processing, language processing, and cognitive processing. Olive Swenson, the Director of FWCL, previously worked for Lindamood-Bell for over ten years, has traveled around the country and to Australia training others in the Lindamood-Bell programs, and has operated two facilities for teaching students with academic difficulties. Prior to coming to FWCL, she was the director of Integrated Learning Systems (“ILS”), a private center in Indianapolis. Linda-mood-Bell is a research-based developmental and remedial reading instruction program that focuses on phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. A visualizing-verbalizing technique is used in teaching comprehension. LiPS, another Lindamood-Bell program, focuses on phonemic awareness. M.C.’s mother testified that LiPS was recognized by the National Institute of Health and Child Development in 2000 as a crucial component of reading instruction. For M.C., FWCL instruction was intensive, remedial, one-on-one, individualized, explicit, progressive, and systematic and used sensory-cognitive processing based methods. With M.C., FWCL used Linda-mood-Bell programs, including the Linda-mood-Bell Phoneme Sequencing Program, Visualizing and Verbalizing for reading and math, Drawing with Language for visual-motor and spatial processing, the Academic Performance Management Program for teaching organization, the Seeing Stars Symbol Imagery Program for reading, and the LiPS program to facilitate M.C.’s reading, comprehension, and vocabulary development. FWCL begins each task with an informal assessment to determine M.C.’s present level of performance and teaches M.C. at the level she demonstrates. FWCL provides M.C. instruction not only in academic skills, but also on perseverance, work product, timeliness, and following directions. FWCL uses Indiana State Standards to assess M.C.’s performance and work production. M.C.’s progress is also measured by her consistency, stability, and independence in performing learned skills. At FWCL, everything is broken down and then gradually built back up until M.C. can demonstrate a specific skill. While at FWCL during the years at issue, M.C. made progress in a variety of areas, including writing, decoding, reading, math, and social skills. The instructors at FWCL are not required to be licensed teachers nor are they required to have degrees in education (or special education), although more than half of the instructors at FWCL are licensed teachers and all have a college education. The only required training at FWCL is presented by Swenson; training is provided for four hours every Friday. The instructors are trained to use the specialized programs and strategies set forth above. Swenson is not a licensed teacher, and although she has a bachelor’s degree, she has no degree in education. FWCL is not licensed or approved by any official body. D. Relevant Educational & Administrative Procedural Chronology 1. The Early Years M.C. attended Whispering Meadows, an elementary school in SACS for second grade — the 2000-01 school year. At that time, M.C. was unable to speak and so she vocalizations, sign language, and gestures to communicate, and she had an interpreter. She was unable to write, spell, read, or do mathematics above a kindergarten or first grade level. At that time, M.C. received physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, vision services, and adapted physical education at SACS. She received instruction in the general education second grade classroom. During M.C.’s third and fourth grade years, her parents paid for her to attend ILS in Indianapolis and paid for speech, vision, occupational, and physical therapies. At the time, ILS was a private center, directed by Swenson, that provided instruction based on various methodologies, including the Lindamood-Bell methodology, to students with difficulties in reading, comprehension, spelling, writing, visuomotor processing, and language. ILS now provides consultation and training to schools. When she left ILS after two years, M.C. had made approximately two years progress in reading, as she could read at a second grade level. M.C. returned to Whispering Meadows School for fifth grade in August 2003. In fifth grade, SACS attempted to duplicate M.C.’s instruction at ILS, but M.C.’s mother testified that it was unsuccessful and M.C. was distracted by other students. She further testified that SACS did not provide the processing-based instruction that M.C. needs to make progress. M.C.’s parents complained to SACS that M.C.’s individualized education program (“IEP”) lacked measurable goals, academic objectives, and meaningful progress monitoring and complained about the lack of coordination among regular and special education staff. Unhappy with SACS’ program, the Parents returned M.C. to ILS in March 2004 to complete fifth grade at their expense. In Summer 2004, Swenson became executive director of FWCL to develop programs there. The Parents represent that, during the course of briefing the instant motions, Swenson has returned to ILS. 2. The 2004 Settlement Agreement After the 2003-04 school year, the Parents requested a due process hearing against SACS. On August 4, 2004, the parties entered into a settlement agreement (“Settlement Agreement”) resolving disputes that led to the due process hearing request. See AR 2820. In exchange for M.C.’s parents withdrawing the pending hearing request and releasing SACS from liability for events prior to the 2004-OS school year, SACS promised to pay for up to fifteen hours per week of M.C.’s instruction at FWCL for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years. The Settlement Agreement addressed certain other provisions of M.C.’s education for the 2004-05 school year, the summer of 2005, and the 2005-06 school year. SACS was to conduct additional psychological evaluations in the summer of 2005 and 2006, and SACS agreed to use the same assessments that were used in the July 2004 assessments again in 2005 and 2006. The terms of the Settlement Agreement were to be incorporated into the IEP. SACS was to communicate at least weekly with the Parents via email as to materials being used with M.C., any assignments due, homework, upcoming tests, and progress on her goals and objectives. The Settlement Agreement did not address the provision of related services. 3. Academic Year 2004-05 During the 2004-05 school year, M.C. attended FWCL from 8:00 a.m. to noon and attended SACS’ Woodside Middle School in the afternoon for one, ninety-minute class at the end of the regular school day. On alternate Fridays, M.C. went to Indianapolis for therapies. On August 18, 2004, the parties met to develop M.C.’s IEP for the 2004-05 school year. The Settlement Agreement was referenced in the case conference summary. The parties executed an agreed-upon IEP for social studies and science for the 2004-05 school year, which indicated that M.C. should receive an accommodation of one-to-one instruction in her general education classes. At Woodside, M.C.’s IEP initially placed her in a resource special education classroom, which contained three or four students, a teacher, and an aide. On September 30, 2004, SACS prepared an addendum to M.C.’s IEP, such that M.C. would be included in general education on certain days of the week and, on opposite days, would review in the special education classroom the general education course work. The IEP addendum provides that “[M.C.]’s mother would like her to attend general education social studies class with support of an aide.” AR 2836. M.C.’s father inquired whether M.C. could benefit from a general education classroom. SACS agreed to review the placement at mid term to determine if it was successful. Under this model, M.C. took science one semester and social studies the other semester. Ann Plasterer, an aide who is not a certified teacher, retaught M.C. social studies and science one-on-one in the special education room. M.C. received services at SACS from a teacher specializing in Mild Disabilities during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years. At FWCL, the intensive program consisted of instruction to address various objectives in reading, spelling, writing, and math. FWCL also worked to increase M.C.’s stamina, perseverance, performance tempo and rate, and attention. On November 15, 2004, a case conference meeting was held with SACS to review M.C.’s progress. A written evaluation in reading, math, and writing completed by FWCL was shared with SACS, as well as information concerning M.C.’s progress in speech and comprehension at FWCL. An IEP addendum was completed and provided, in part, that “[M.C.] will be excused from school every other Friday to go to Indy by parents’ choice to attend physical therapy and vision therapy.” AR 1748. FWCL also reported M.C.’s progress in a January 2005 six-week report and in a May 2005 report covering the period of January to May. Ip. Summer 2005 During summer 2005, SACS paid for M.C. to attend FWCL for four weeks pursuant to the Settlement Agreement. The Parents provided M.C. with therapies over the summer. SACS did not provide M.C. with any school or private therapies during the summer of 2005. 5. Academic Year 2005-06 a) August 19, 2005 IEP During the 2005-06 school year, M.C. attended Woodside for a full day and attended FWCL after school for eight to ten hours per week. On August 8, 2005, and prior to the case conference at which M.C.’s 2005-06 IEP was to be developed, the SACS staff designed a full-day program for M.C. at Woodside and proposed it to the Parents. M.C.’s mother agreed to the placement and enrolled M.C. for a full day at Woodside, believing that SACS would continue to pay for FWCL instruction for M.C. A case conference was held on August 19, 2005, the day before school started, to develop M.C.’s 2005-06 IEP, and the parties executed an agreed-upon IEP. Present at the meeting were Kristie White, M.C.’s Teacher of Record (“TOR”); the School Psychologist; a general education teacher; Cheryl Carter, a mild disabilities teacher and M.C.’s Teacher of Service (“TOS”); M.C.’s mother; and Jackie Gruesbeck, the director of special education (“Director of Special Education”). The notes of the August 19, 2005 case conference committee meeting demonstrate that the Parents still wanted M.C. to be at FWCL for some part of the day and that M.C.’s mother wanted M.C. to have both science and social studies all year long. The school team determined that M.C. would attend Woodside for a full day, but M.C.’s mother asked to reconvene to determine which educational services would be provided by Woodside and which would be provided by FWCL. The case conference committee meeting notes written by the Director of Special Education provide that M.C.’s mother “feels that Woodside is the best school that M.C. has attended.” AR 2941. M.C.’s TOR testified that she felt the Parents wanted a less restrictive environment because of the move to the general education classroom and the end of re-teaching on opposite days. SACS held another case conference on August 23, 2005, to discuss M.C.’s goals and plans for the year. During the 2005-06 school year, M.C.’s TOR spent ninety minutes every other day (one block class period in an eight-block schedule) working with M.C. on her IEP goals. SACS taught M.C. reading and mathematics in a small group setting in the special education classroom, and M.C. continued to participate in social studies and science in the general education classroom. M.C.’s mother requested that she have social studies and science all year; this meant that her study hall period would need to cover both topics. During this school year, M.C. was supported by a one-to-one assistant, Rebecca Niles, who held a bachelor’s degree but was not licensed to teach in Indiana. In addition to M.C.’s core academic classes, SACS addressed numerous other matters, including but not limited to “functional” mathematics, “functional” language arts, general computing skills, various self-help concerns (e.g. traversing the school, riding the bus, opening a locker first using a key and then a combination, dressing for physical education, and resolving social disputes), occupational therapy for keyboarding, and speech and vision programs as recommended by M.C.’s private providers. b) SACS’ due process hearing request On August 29, 2005, the Director of Special Education sent an email to M.C.’s mother expressing her pleasure that M.C. would be attending Woodside for a full day and informing the Parents that the funding for FWCL would cease, reasoning that the basis for the original agreement for payment was to “provide a full educational experience which will now be accomplished at Woodside.” AR 1819. The same day, M.C.’s mother wrote that, if M.C. could not handle a full day at Woodside and instruction at FWCL, M.C.’s time at Woodside must be cut back. She also wrote that the Parents continued to expect M.C. to attend FWCL every day and that agreement to a full-day program at Woodside did not abrogate SACS’ obligation to continue to pay for additional services for M.C. at FWCL pursuant to the Settlement Agreement. Additional communications were exchanged, and, eventually, SACS requested a due process hearing against the Parents, attempting to avoid its obligation to pay for FWCL under the Settlement Agreement. SACS claimed that the Parents had “unilaterally enrolled” M.C. full time at SACS. On December 12, 2005, the IHO found in favor of M.C.’s parents, denying SACS’ request to discontinue paying for up to fifteen hours a week of services through FWCL as originally set forth in the Settlement Agreement. As a result, SACS continued to pay for up to fifteen hours per week of instruction at FWCL for the 2005-06 school year. c)January 20, 2006 case conference committee meeting A case conference committee meeting was held on January 20, 2006, to “discuss M.C.’s educational day.” AR 1852. Both Parents attended the meeting. SACS’ meeting summary provided that “[M.C.] is very happy here at Woodside. She enjoys the social part of middle school. Mom mentioned that Woodside is doing a very good job with [M.C.].” Id. M.C.’s mother stated that she originally wanted M.C. to do a half day at Woodside and a half day at FWCL but that she also wanted M.C. to have social studies and science, which was proposed in such a way by SACS that M.C. needed to do a full day at Woodside to have both. She stated that she believed that her original purpose for M.C. for that year was not to send M.C. to Woodside all day and that in an ideal world, she did not like the idea that M.C. would attend school until 5:00 p.m. However, she stated that M.C. “is handling it and seems to be doing fíne.” AR 2986. M.C.’s mother says she signed the 2005-06 IEP in an attempt to avoid further litigation with SACS. Other excerpts of the meeting are set forth in the relevant portions of the Analysis below. In response to numerous issues raised at the case conference, M.C.’s father wrote a “Written Opinion.” Therein, he noted that M.C.’s mother also noted at the meeting that M.C. is equally happy at FWCL. The Parents complained about the lack of progress in language arts and math at SACS, stating that only ILS and FWCL had proven progress in these areas, that M.C. did not have specific goals and benchmarks at SACS, that SACS was not coordinating efforts with FWCL, and that SACS was not requiring M.C. to write legibly. They noted that M.C.’s therapies were at their sole expense. They also disagreed with SACS’ claim that M.C. had made no progress at FWCL. The Parents wrote that SACS’ “professed concern about [M.C.’s] mental energies seem more driven by the objective to get at some theory by which a hearing officer can be convinced to alleviate the financial obligation of SACS schools to educate this child.” AR 1858. d) March 15, 2006 case conference committee meeting On March 15, 2006, SACS called a meeting to respond to the Written Opinion and to “review and discuss options for M.C.’s school day and the remainder of the school year.” AR 1878. Both parents attended the meeting. There was no discussion of the Written Opinion. When questioned by M.C.’s mother about why M.C.’s schedule was being discussed at that time in the year, the Director of Special Education explained that the Settlement Agreement called for a school day, not an extended school day. On March 24, 2006, the Parents wrote a letter to the Director of Special Education expressing concern about SACS’ desire to change M.C.’s schedule and that M.C. was not making progress at SACS. The Parents felt that the case conference committee was not working effectively for M.C. and was being used to try to accomplish SACS’ goal of reducing the amount of money spent on M.C. The Parents also asked SACS for a case conference to discuss the 2006-07 school year. e) May 17, 2006 case conference committee meeting On May 17, 2006, SACS called a case conference committee meeting for the purpose of determining what testing of M.C. SACS would perform and to discuss extended school year services. Both parents attended. SACS proposed a general IS-TEP remediation class for M.C.’s extended school year services, whereas M.C.’s mother requested that SACS accept FWCL’s extended school year services. In response, SACS wrote a new proposal. 6. First Due Process Hearing Request On June 5, 2006, the Parents requested a due process hearing regarding M.C.’s educational placement and services during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years. This is the administrative proceeding underlying the instant lawsuit. 7. Summer 2006 On June 16, 2006, the Independent Hearing Officer (“IHO”) ordered that SACS pay for fifteen hours at FWCL for four weeks during the summer of 2006. 8. Second Due Process Hearing Request & Unilateral Placement No case conference committee meeting was held for 2006-2007, and SACS did not develop an IEP and new goals for M.C. for the 2006-2007 school year. On September 14, 2006, the Parents asked the IHO to add the issue of “whether the school failed to devise an appropriate and timely IEP for [M.C.] for the 2006-07 school year.” AR 3894. On September 27, 2006, the IHO denied the request and limited the Article 7 due process hearing to the provision of special education and related services to M.C. during the 2004-05 school year, the summer of 2005, and the 2005-06 school year. On September 29, 2006, counsel for the Parents sent SACS’ attorney a ten-day unilateral placement notice, and the Parents removed M.C. from the public school and unilaterally placed her at FWCL for instruction and at Lutheran Hospital for therapies. 9. October 18, 2006 Case Conference Committee Meeting — Behavioral Intervention Plan At the May 17, 2006 case conference committee meeting, SACS offered to perform a functional behavioral assessment (“FBA”) for attention and drooling, and M.C.’s parents gave permission for the FBA. SACS’ Functional Behavior Screening form includes a query as to “how disruptive or dangerous is the problem behavior.” Concerning drooling, the FBA, dated May 30, 2006, indicates that ignoring, redirection, and corrective feedback are interventions that school staff had tried with M.C. to decrease drooling and that all had low effectiveness. On October 5, 2006, SACS informed M.C.’s parents that the school had completed M.C.’s FBA and requested a case conference to review the FBA and develop a Behavioral Intervention Plan (“BIP”). On October 18, 2006, SACS held a case conference committee meeting to review behavior data from May 2006 and to draft a behavior plan for M.C. for drooling and attention based on the observations made in May 2006. However, M.C. had been removed from Woodside, and SACS never implemented the BIP. 10. Article 7 Due Process Hearing Following numerous extensions of the hearing date, on October 21, 2006, the IHO issued a final Order on Prehearing Conference, which affirmed nineteen issues to be considered, as agreed by the parties: During the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 School Years, did the School— 1. Fail to use scientifically based, peer reviewed methods of instruction when implementing the goals and objectives contained in the Student IEP(s)? 2. Fail to appropriately and timely conduct a FBA? 3. Fail to devise an appropriate BIP based on the principles of positive behavioral supports? 4. Fail to provide speech therapy as required by the Student? 5. Fail to provide occupational therapy as required by the Student? 6. Fail to provide vision therapy as required by the Student? 7. Fail to provide self-help skills training as required by the Student? 8. Fail to provide for ESY services as required by the Student? 9. Fail to provide measurable goals and objectives in each area of identified need as recorded in the Student’s IEP? 10. Fail to provide ISTEP remediation as required by the Student? 11. Fail to provide counseling services as required by the Student? 12. Fail to provide social skills training as required by the Student? 13. Fail to provide required or necessary educational services for the Student in the LRE? 14. Fail to provide progress reports to the Parents as required by the Student’s IEP(s) or Article 7? 15. Fail to ensure that its’ [sic] staff was appropriately certified, licensed or trained to provide the Student those services as contained in the Student’s IEP? 16. Violate the “stay-put” provisions of Article 7 or IDEIA by withholding payments to the Fort Wayne Center for Learning? 17. Fail to evaluate the Student within the timelines established by Article 7 or a previous settlement agreement? 18. Fail to conduct mandated statewide assessment(s) of the Student; specifically, either ISTEP or IS-TAR as required by Article 7 or the Students IEP(s)? 19. Fail to reimburse the Parents for the costs of transportation as required by previously written agreement or Article 7. AR 3896-97. Issues 10 and 18 were dismissed on December 2, 2006. A five-day evidentiary hearing with testimony from numerous witnesses was held on November 27, 28, 29, and December 4, and 5, 2006. On January 31, 2007, the presiding IHO rendered a 79-page decision resolving 18 of the 19 issues raised by the Parents in favor of SACS. With regard to issue number 9, whether “[d]uring the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 school years, did the school fail to provide measurable goals and objectives in each area of identified need as recorded in [M.C.’s] IEP,” AR 3943, the IHO found a technical violation constituting a procedural error but concluded that it did not impede M.C.’s right to a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”), did not deprive the Parents of an opportunity to participate in the decision making process regarding the provision of a FAPE, and did not cause M.C. a deprivation of educational benefit. AR 3945. Nevertheless, the IHO ordered SACS to conduct a case conference committee meeting within fifteen calendar days of the date of the Order to review and revise M.C.’s then-current IEP. The IHO further ordered that M.C. receive special education and related services in the public school, individual speech therapy services by the school’s speech therapist a minimum of twice a week for a minimum of thirty minutes each session, occupational therapy services by or under the supervision of the school’s occupational therapist, and an informal evaluation regarding her social skills strengths and weaknesses to form the basis for interventions developed by the case conference committee. He ordered the case conference committee to review data to determine whether vision therapy is required as a related service and, if so, by whom. The IHO ordered SACS to consult with Dr. Couvillion for the purpose of designing and implementing a specific strategy to ameliorate, to the degree possible, M.C.’s drooling. He ordered SACS to establish goals and objectives for personal hygiene and self-help skills to be determined by the case conference committee; to ensure that specific, measurable goals and objectives are included in M.C.’s IEP and that they include performance based terms, conditions of performance, and criteria for measurement; to review M.C.’s progress toward meeting the goals twice each grading period by the TOR to be provided to the Parents in writing within five calendar days; to design M.C.’s academic instruction on a functional curriculum to facilitate independent living skills; and to invite the Parents to any meeting that addresses the addition, removal, or modification of goals, objectives, or other changes to the IEP. The IHO ruled that SACS has no further obligation to provide reimbursement for privately provided educational or related services. 11. Appeal to the BSEA On March 2, 2007, the Parents appealed the IHO’s decision to Indiana’s three-member Board of Special Education Appeals (“BSEA”). The BSEA was comprised of three individuals — one permanent member of the BSEA, one long-time attorney, and one professor of special education from Indiana University. The Parents did not seek to submit any new evidence to the BSEA. In their appeal, the Parents sought a review and finding that SACS failed to: (1) utilize scientifically based instruction; (2) complete an appropriate functional behavior assessment and develop a behavior intervention plan; (3) provide appropriate related services; (4) develop an IEP with measurable goals and objectives so that M.C. may receive a [FAPE]; (5) provide meaningful progress reports; (6) provide a neuropsychological evaluation in compliance with the August, 2004 settlement agreement and Article 7 of the Indiana Code; (7) appropriately consider the testimony of expert witnesses presented by Petitioners, and; (8) provide an appropriate educational placement for M.C. AR 4975. After a lengthy oral argument, the BSEA rendered a 48-page written decision on June 14, 2007, largely affirming the IHO’s Order. The resulting evidentiary record is now contained in approximately 20 volumes and spans over 6,000 pages. The BSEA affirmed the IHO’s decision with specific modifications. The BSEA removed finding of fact No. 11 that M.C.’s father had authored the Settlement Agreement as irrelevant; amended finding of fact No. 33 to describe “drooling behavior” rather than “drooling;” struck from finding of fact No. 40 as irrelevant the phrase “The Student’s parents are well educated. The father is an attorney. The Mother is a college graduate;” amended finding of fact No. 130 to modify the phrase “[the Parents] demanded that the Student be forced to use cursive handwriting instead” to “[the Parents] requested the Student be instructed to use cursive handwriting instead;” disagreed with the IHO’s limitation of a BIP to those behaviors of a student being considered for suspension, expulsion, or placement in an alternative setting, explaining that a BIP is necessary any time an eligible student demonstrates untoward behavior that adversely affects educational performance, which could include safety issues without regard to disciplinary matters; and amended conclusion of law No. 4 to reflect that speech therapy is a special education 'service rather than a related service. AR 6328-32. Regarding the IHO’s orders, the BSEA reworded Order No. 1(A) and (D) and removed the requirement that social skills instruction be based on “commercially published” curricula; modified Order No. 3 to require SACS to consult with a pediatric neuropsychologist, rather than specifically Dr. Couvillion; and struck the last sentence of Order No. 3 that ordered a program “for the duration of the Student’s public school experiences” as too expansive. AR 6332-33. The remaining challenged findings of fact and conclusions of law were sustained. E. Annual Testing The School Psychologist administered the same tests to M.C. pursuant to the Settlement Agreement in the summers of 2004, 2005, and 2006, and each year, she issued a psychoeducational report. She testified that many of M.C.’s scores were constant, which indicates constancy in her performance. At the January 20, 2006 case conference, she explained that if a standard score is stabilized, then learning had to have taken place. During the 2005 testing, M.C. rocked, did not attend, complained of being tired, yawned, stretched, bounced in her seat, drooled, looked around the room, constantly watched the clock, pointed to answers without looking, and gave answers quickly to be done with the test. In the 2004 evaluation, the School Psychologist recommended direct academic instruction for M.C. outside the general education classroom, a distraction-free area, and a systematic math program offering mastery of basic skills, a consistent approach, frequent drill, and practice reinforcement activities. In 2005, the School Psychologist recommended a program to teach specific reading comprehension skills, and she recommended an assistive technology evaluation for M.C. In 2006, she recommended that material be presented at M.C.’s instructional level but that this could be accomplished in the classroom. She recommended that M.C. continue to receive educational strategies that develop her vocabulary skills when reading. In her hearing testimony, the School Psychologist agreed that M.C.’s unique set of thinking and reasoning abilities makes her overall intellectual functioning difficult to summarize by a single score. F. Private Therapies and Related Services 1. Occupational Therapy M.C. received occupational therapy services from SACS during the 2000-01 school year, and the School’s February 2001 evaluation indicated the need for “intensive intervention in the areas of visual-perceptual and fine-motor skills” as well as classroom accommodations. AR 1526. During the 2003-04 school year, the year prior to the two years at issue, M.C. received consultative occupational therapy and consultative speech therapy from SACS. During the 2004-05 school year, SACS did not provide occupational therapy services for M.C., but during the 2005-06 school year, M.C. received consultative, school-based occupational therapy. During the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years, neither SACS’ special education director nor any of her employees authored a document to provide related services to M.C. The July 2004 school psychoeducational evaluation documented in a summary of “educational data” in the “record review” that “[rjelated areas of recommended service include occupational therapy on a weekly basis at a direet/consult level and consultation services from the visually impaired specialist on a weekly basis.” AR 2803. M.C.’s 2004-05 IEP does not contain any provision regarding related services. In her July 2004 report, SACS’ occupational therapist, Diane Jones (“Occupational Therapist”), recommended consultative occupational therapy services for M.C. The Occupational Therapist did not attend M.C.’s case conference, and M.C.’s IEP for the 2004-05 school year did not include the recommended consultative occupational therapy services. The IEP for that year did not contain goals for M.C. in any of the areas recommended by the occupational therapist in her July 2004 evaluation. In June 2005, the Occupational Therapist evaluated M.C. and again recommended only consultative occupational therapy services. The June 27, 2005 occupational therapy evaluation provides: “[M.C.]’s performance with cogntivite/behavioral tasks continues to be within the range of performance of same grade peers for functional communication; following social conventions; compliance with adult directives and school rules; positive interaction; behavior regulation; and safety.” AR 2870. An occupational therapist did not attend M.C.’s case conference, and M.C.’s 2005-06 IEP includes only occupational therapy consultation regarding typing skills for thirty minutes per week for the first ten weeks of school. The June 2006 occupational therapy evaluation indicated that M.C. needs independence in the cafeteria, to maintain attention to task, to work on personal care and hygiene, social awareness regarding her drooling, and to write neater and learn keyboarding skills. These same needs were recognized in the 2004 and 2005 evaluations. This is the first time that keyboarding was recommended in an occupational therapy evaluation. 2. Speech Therapy Anita Tom, M.C.’s private speech pathologist, provided M.C. with private speech therapy from as early as 1998. SACS knew that M.C. had deficits in her speech, including difficulty with speech production and enunciation. M.C. received speech therapy from SACS during the 2000-01 school year, and the school speech therapist recommended that M.C. continue to receive speech services to address receptive and expressive language delays. M.C. received consultative speech therapy services from SACS in 2003, and M.C.’s mother requested that the school and private speech pathologists work together on M.C.’s speech and drooling. During the years at issue, M.C.’s general education teachers at SACS indicated that M.C. wanted to relate to her classmates, but was unable to make herself understood. They also reported that M.C. had difficulty communicating during small group discussions although she enjoyed working in small groups. No school speech therapist attended either of M.C.’s case conferences for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years, and no IEP goals for speech were written for either school year. SACS did not recommend a speech therapy evaluation, conducted no speech evaluations, and provided no speech therapy to M.C. during those two school years. S. Services for Social Skills No school social worker attended either of M.C.’s case conference committee meetings for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years and no IEP goals for social skills were written in either year. i. Vision Therapy Vision therapy was provided to M.C. at the Parents’ expense by Dr. Van Hoy. Dr. Fisher and Dr. Savage both testified that vision therapy is necessary to address the visual difficulties that interfere with M.C.’s ability to learn. M.C.’s visual disorders affect her ability to keep her place when reading text and affect her note-taking during lecture and from a blackboard. According to the School Psychologist, M.C.’s weakness in spatial-perceptual reasoning may cause her to confuse visual symbols on a page and fail to attend to visual details. In 2002, in a letter to the Director of Special Education, M.C.’s mother requested that SACS integrate what their privately paid optometrist recommended. She also indicated in the same letter that “we have not and do not anticipate requesting the school district ... provide funding for vision therapy.” AR 1588. Since that time, SACS has not evaluated M.C. for specific visual impairments. No teacher of the visually impaired attended M.C.’s case conferences for the 2004-05 or 2005-06 school years, no goals for M.C.’s visual difficulties were written in either IEP, and SACS did not provide M.C. with vision services during either the 2004-05 or 2005-06 school years. 5. Unilateral Placement Beginning in October 2006, when M.C. was removed from the public school by the Parents, M.C. receives physical, occupational, and speech language therapy at Lutheran Hospital, Division of Outpatient Rehabilitation. M.C. receives physical therapy five days per week for 30 to 60 minutes per day, occupational therapy five days per week for 45 to 60 minutes per day, and speech language therapy five days per week for 45 to 60 minutes each day. The goals of the private speech and language services are to control drooling and increase conversational articulation skills. The goals of M.C.’s private occupational therapy are to improve M.C.’s fine motor skills such as cutting, writing, and manipulating clothes fasteners and her activities of daily living, such as grooming, navigating the community, and sensory integration. Goals of physical therapy include improving ambulation, strength, and gross motor skills. The private therapies also assist M.C. with educational and life skills. Lutheran Hospital therapists follow a standard behavior plan for M.C. in the outpatient setting. PROCEDURAL HISTORY The Parents filed a Complaint in this case on July 12, 2007, appealing both the IHO’s and BSEA’s decisions. On August 2, 2007, SACS filed an Answer and Affirmative Defenses. On August 29, 2007, the Parents placed the administrative record with the Clerk’s office. The Parents filed a Motion to Supplement the Administrative Record on September 5, 2007, which SACS opposed. On December 14, 2007, 2007 WL 4438624, the Court granted the Parents leave only to supplement the administrative record with M.C.’s 2006 eighth-grade ISTEP and the United States Department of Education’s publication: “Identifying and Implementing Educational Practices Supported by Rigorous Evidence: A User Friendly Guide,” dated December 2003. However, the Court ordered additional briefing on the Parents’ request to supplement the record with the transcripts of the January 20, 2006 and May 17, 2006 case conference committee meetings. On January 28, 2008, the Court granted the Parents leave to supplement the administrative record with the audiotapes and full transcripts, limiting the Parents in their use of the transcripts and audiotapes to the specific inconsistencies and omissions they had identified and to demonstrating the absence of specific alleged quotations from SACS’ summary notes of the January conference. On December 10, 2007, the Parents filed an Amended Complaint with leave of Court, alleging that the IHO applied the incorrect standard of a FAPE, misapplied the procedural requirements of a FAPE, applied the incorrect standard for functional behavior assessments and behavior planning pursuant to the IDEA, and incorrectly blamed the Parents for SACS’ failure to provide related services. They also allege that the IHO’s interpretation of Indiana regulations violates federal law; the record does not support the IHO’s determination that SACS used peer reviewed, scientifically based methodologies to educate M.C.; the record does not support the IHO’s credibility determinations; and the IHO ignored SACS’ violations of the IDEA and a FAPE. The Parents further allege that the BSEA’s ruling wrongly upheld the IHO’s order. SACS filed a Motion to Strike portions of the Amended Complaint on December 20, 2007, which the Court denied. A Motion to Enforce Stay-Put Placement was filed by the Parents on December 4, 2007, which SACS opposed and the Court denied. On December 20, 2007, SACS filed an Answer to the Amended Complaint and Affirmative Defenses. On January 3, 2008, the Parents filed a Motion to Strike Affirmative Defenses Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f), which the Court denied. On January 9, 2008, SACS filed a Motion to Supplement Administrative Record, which the Parents opposed and the Court denied. On March 3, 2008, the Parents filed a Second Motion to Supplement the Administrative Record, opposed by SACS, which the Court denied. On May 15, 2008, the parties filed the instant cross motions for summary judgment The parties filed their respective response briefs on June 16, 2008. The Parents filed a Reply in support of their motion for summary judgment on July 1, 2008, and SACS filed a Reply in support of their motion for summary judgment on July 7, 2008. For most of the briefs, the parties were granted leave to file oversize briefs. At all relevant times throughout the administrative and court proceedings, both the Parents and SACS have been represented by counsel. The parties filed forms of consent to have this case assigned to a United States Magistrate Judge to conduct all further proceedings and to order the entry of a final judgment in this case. Therefore, this Court has jurisdiction to decide this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). THE STANDARD OF JUDICIAL REVIEW In a case brought under the IDEA, the burden of proof is on the party challenging the outcome of the state administrative proceedings. See Alex R. v. Forrestville Valley Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist. No. 221, 375 F.3d 603, 611 (7th Cir.2004) (citing Heather S. v. Wisconsin, 125 F.3d 1045, 1052 (7th Cir.1997)); Patricia P. v. Bd. of Educ., 203 F.3d 462, 466-67 (7th Cir. 2000). In determining whether the burden has been met, a reviewing court “(i) shall receive the records of the administrative proceedings; (ii) shall hear additional evidence at the request of a party; and (iii) basing its decision on the preponderance of the evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines appropriate.” 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(C) (2008). When reviewing a motion for summary judgment under the IDEA, which is the procedural vehicle for asking a court to decide the case based on the administrative record, the Court does not apply the traditional summary judgment standard, yet the statutory directive to rule based on the “preponderance of the evidence” also removes the Court from the usual familiar territory of judicial review of administrative decisions. See Todd v. Duneland Sch. Corp., 299 F.3d 899, 904 (7th Cir.2002); Evanston Cmty. Consol. Sch. Dist. No. 65 v. Michael M., 356 F.3d 798, 802 (7th Cir.2004). Nevertheless, the Court is not to hear the evidence de novo. In Board of Education v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 206, 102 S.Ct. 3034, 73 L.Ed.2d 690 (1982), the Supreme Court established that, under the statute, courts must give “due weight” to the administrative decision. See Bd. of Educ. v. Ross, 486 F.3d 267, 270 (7th Cir. 2007). However, the Supreme Court held that the statute is not “an invitation to the courts to substitute their own notions of sound educational policy for those of the school authorities which they review.” Rowley, 458 U.S. at 206, 102 S.Ct. 3034; see also Butler v. Evans, 225 F.3d 887, 892 (7th Cir.2000); Patricia P., 203 F.3d at 466. Under the “due weight” standard, if the district court has taken additional evidence not presented to the hearing officer, the degree of deference varies according to the significance of the evidence taken, such that the more the court relies on additional evidence, the less it is required to defer to the hearing officer. Alex R., 375 F.3d at 612 (“At one end of the continuum, where the district court does not take new evidence and relies solely on the administrative record, it owes considerable deference to the hearing officer, and may set aside the administrative record only if it is ‘strongly convinced that the order is erroneous.’ ”) (quoting Sch. Dist. of Wis. Dells v. Z.S., 295 F.3d 671, 675 (7th Cir. 2002)). In this case, although the Court has allowed the Parents to supplement the record with three new additional documents, their use and import are not extensive, and the Court will note that evidence as it arises and adjust the level of review accordingly. Overall, the Court gives considerable deference to the administrative decision. On purely legal issues, the Court owes no deference to the hearing officer. See Dale M. ex rel. Alice M. v. Bd. of Educ., 237 F.3d 813, 817 (7th Cir. 2001). Under the IDEA, the BSEA’s decision is the final reviewable decision of the administrative proceedings. If the decisions of the BSEA and the IHO conflict, the Court must defer to the final decision of the state authorities, which is the BSEA. Todd, 299 F.3d at 904 (citing Bd. of Educ. of LaGrange Sch. Dist. v. ILL. State Bd. of Educ., 184 F.3d 912, 914-15 (7th Cir. 1999)). THE IDEA In 2004, Congress amended the IDEA with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (“ID-EIA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 el seq., which took effect on July 1, 2005, and may be referred to as the IDEA. See 20 U.S.C. § 1400(a). Accordingly, the provisions of the IDEA prior to the amendments apply to M.C.’s education for the 2004-05 school year, and the amended IDEA applies to the 2005-06 school year. The IDEA guarantees a free and appropriate public education (“FAPE”) to every disabled child who attends a public school that receives public funds. 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400(d)(1)(A), 1412(a)(1). To assure that children with disabilities receive a FAPE, the IDEA requires that school districts cooperate with a student’s parents to create an individualized education program (“IEP”), which is a written statement for that disabled child comprised of specific, statutorily designated components. See 20 U.S.C. §§ 1401(11), 1414(d) (2004) (current version at 20 U.S.C. §§ 1401(14), 1414(d) (2008)). For an education to be “appropriate” under the IDEA, the program set forth in the IEP (1) must be developed in compliance with the procedural safeguards set forth in the IDEA and (2) in its substance must be “reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits.” Rowley, 458 U.S. at 206-07, 102 S.Ct. 3034. Regarding the procedural prong, the IDEA sets forth a number of specific procedural safeguards for children with disabilities and their parents with respect to the provision of a FAPE. See 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b). Although the Supreme Court in Rowley emphasized the importance Congress attached to the IDEA’S procedural safeguards, “[procedural flaws do not automatically require a finding of a denial of a FAPE.” Ross, 486 F.3d at 276. The Seventh Circuit has held that only those procedural flaws that result in loss of educational opportunity can be held to deny a student a FAPE. See Hjortness ex rel. Hjortness v. Neenah Joint Sch. Dist., 507 F.3d 1060, 1065 (7th Cir.2007) (citing Ross, 486 F.3d at 276); Heather S., 125 F.3d at 1059. The reenacted IDEA clarifies that, for procedural violations, an IHO may find that a child did not receive a FAPE only if the procedural inadequacies “(I) impeded the child’s right to a free appropriate public education; (II) significantly impeded the parents’ opportunity to participate in the decisionmaking process regarding the provision of a free appropriate public education to the parents’ child; or (III) caused a deprivation of educational benefits.” 20 U.S.C. § 1415(f)(3)(E)(ii) (effective July 1, 2005). Under the substantive prong, the requirement that the IEP be reasonably calculated to confer educational benefit is met when the IEP is “likely to produce progress, not regression or trivial educational advancement,” and the “requisite degree of reasonable, likely progress varies, depending on the student’s abilities.” Alex R., 375 F.3d at 615 (citations omitted); see also Ross, 486 F.3d at 270 (citing Rowley, 458 U.S. at 207, 102 S.Ct. 3034); A.S. v. Madison Metro. Sch. Dist., 477 F.Supp.2d 969, 979 (W.D.Wis.2007) (“The standard in this Circuit is whether the IEP is reasonably calculated to provide educational benefits to the student.”); Z.F. v. South Harrison Cmty. Sch. Corp., No. 404CV0073DFHWGH, 2005 WL 2373729, at *10 (S.D.Ind. Sept. 1, 2005) (stating that the IEP must be likely to produce progress, not regression or trivial educational advancement). The Supreme Court in Rowley stated that the public education must at least be “meaningful.” 458 U.S. at 192, 102 S.Ct. 3034; see also Polk v. Cent. Susquehanna Intermediate Unit 16, 853 F.2d 171, 182 (3rd Cir.1988) (analyzing the legislative history and holding that “benefit” is more than a de minimis standard); Nein v. Greater Clark Sch. Corp., 95 F.Supp.2d 961, 975 (S.D.Ind.2000) (finding that the IDEA requires “meaningful education benefit”). However, the IDEA does not require that the child be educated “to her highest potential.” Bd. of Educ. of Murphyshoro v. Ill. State Bd. of Educ., 41 F.3d 1162, 1166 (7th Cir.1994). In reauthorizing the IDEA in 2004, Congress found that the education of children with disabilities can be made more effective by having high expectations for them and by “ensuring their access to the general education curriculum in the regular classroom” in order for them to meet developmental goals and to be prepared to lead productive and independent adult lives to the maximum extent possible. See 20 U.S.C. § 1400(c)(5)(A). ANALYSIS In their motion, the Parents argue that summary judgment should be granted in their favor because the IHO and the BSEA failed to find that M.C. was denied a FAPE and failed to order the Parents’ desired private educational placement for M.C. The alleged deficiencies in the administrative decision relate to the standard for a FAPE, measurable goals, apportioning the responsibility for providing a FAPE, the provision of related services, a functional behavior assessment and a behavior intervention plan, scientifically based methodologies, the interpretation of Indiana and federal law, credibility determinations, meaningful parental participation, whether the 2006-07 school year is at issue, and unilateral placement. The Parents seek a Court order implementing their unilateral placement of M.C. at FWCL for academics and Lutheran Hospital for intensive therapies and granting reimbursement for this private placement beginning in October 2006. In contrast, SACS argues for summary judgment in its favor, contending that the Parents cannot meet their burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the educational program they helped to develop and that M.C. received during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years denied M.C. a FAPE and that the Parents’ long-standing choice to obtain related services from private providers rather than SACS resulted in a violation of the IDEA. SACS addresses each count of the Parents’ Amended Complaint, argues the propriety of the IHO’s order as modified by the BSEA, and attempts to prove that a FAPE was consistently provided to M.C. As both parties have fully briefed all issues set forth in the Amended Complaint, the Court addresses the cross motions for summary judgment jointly, considering each argument in turn. A. Credibility Determinations As a preliminary matter, the Parents contend that the IHO made a variety of credibility findings unsupported by the evidence of record. See Am. Compl., Count VII. Although the BSEA’s decision is the final renewable decision of the administrative proceedings, a reviewing court “must give considerable weight to any credibility determinations made by the first hearing officer.” Dale M., 237 F.3d at 816 (citing Heather S., 125 F.3d at 1053-54) (discussing a case in which the reviewing agency reversed the hearing officer). An IHO’s credibility findings do not deserve due weight if non-testimonial, extrinsic evidence in the record justifies a contrary conclusion or if the record read in its entirety compels a contrary conclusion. See Carlisle Area Sch. v. Scott P., 62 F.3d 520, 529 (3d Cir.1995), cert. denied 517 U.S. 1135, 116 S.Ct. 1419, 134 L.Ed.2d 544 (1996), cited in Heather S., 125 F.3d at 1054. 1. The Parents’ Education In his decision, the IHO noted that M.C.’s father is an attorney at law and made a finding that “[M.C.’s] parents are well educated.” AR 3909. The BSEA struck the finding as irrelevant, reasoning that “[n]either IDEA nor Article 7 places greater responsibilities upon parents based upon their educational or professional background.” AR 6329. Recognizing this holding, the Parents nevertheless contend that the BSEA failed to provide any relief for the IHO’s error, arguing that the IHO’s view of them as educated colored his entire decision. The Court finds that no additional relief from the BSEA was necessary as the BSEA found that the Parents “were actively involved in the [case conference committee] process, were supported by private practitioners in the process, and there were agreed-upon IEPs in place for the school years in question.” AR