Full opinion text
Memorandum and Order WILLIAM G. YOUNG, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION N.G. is an elementary school student with multiple disabilities. At the start of the 2005-06 school year, his parents, J.G. (his father) and R.G. (his mother), rejected the individualized education plan (“IEP”) provided to N.G. by the Kiryas Joel Union Free School District (“Kiryas Joel”) because no “mainstream” classroom component was offered. J.G. and R.G. then unilaterally placed N.G. at B’nai Yoel, a private Jewish yeshiva. N.G.’s parents now seek reimbursement from Kiryas Joel for their related educational expenses pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., Article 89 of the New York State Education Law, N.Y. Educ. Law § 4401 et seq. (McKinney 2007), and the applicable state and federal regulations. They contend that procedural and substantive flaws in Kiryas Joel’s IEP denied N.G. his statutory right to a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. II. FINDINGS OF FACT A. Kiryas Joel Union Free School District While the basic premise of this case is identical to that of virtually every action brought under the IDEA, the backdrop against which it takes place is most unusual. Kiryas Joel Village, located within the town of Monroe in Orange County, New York, is an ultra-Orthodox Jewish enclave of the Satmar Hasidic sect. See Board of Educ. of Kiryas Joel Vill. Sch. Dist. v. Grumet, 512 U.S. 687, 690, 114 S.Ct. 2481, 129 L.Ed.2d 546 (1994). The residents of Kiryas Joel are vigorously religious people who make few concessions to the modern world and go to great lengths to avoid assimilation into it. They interpret the Torah strictly; segregate the sexes outside the home; speak Yiddish as their primary language; eschew television, radio, and English-language publications; and dress in distinctive ways that include headcoverings and special garments for boys and modest dresses for girls. Children are educated in private religious schools, ... where they receive a thorough grounding in the Torah and limited exposure to secular subjects.... These schools do not, however, offer any distinctive services to handicapped children.... Id. at 691-92, 114 S.Ct. 2481. Because special education services were not available to them at the religious schools, children with disabilities were “forced to attend public schools outside the village, which their families found highly unsatisfactory.” Id. at 692, 114 S.Ct. 2481. By 1989, only one child from Kiryas Joel Village was enrolled in the local public school district, the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District, while the village’s other children with disabilities received either privately funded special education services or none at all. Id. at 693, 114 S.Ct. 2481. To solve this unique problem, the New York State Legislature authorized Kiryas Joel Village to create its own union free school district. Id. (citing 1989 N.Y. Laws, c. 748). The new school district, despite its plenary authority over the elementary and secondary education of all school-aged children in the village, began operating only a special education program exclusively for children with disabilities. Id. at 693-94, 114 S.Ct. 2481. Parents continued to educate their typically developing children in the private religious schools, known as “yeshivas.” Id. at 694, 114 S.Ct. 2481. Five years after the district’s creation, the United States Supreme Court held that the New York statute creating it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Id. at 690, 114 S.Ct. 2481. Four legislative attempts later, constitutional concerns over the district’s existence have been put to rest. See Tamar Lewin, Controversy Over, Enclave Joins School Board Group, N.Y. Times, Apr. 20, 2002, at B4. Today, Kiryas Joel continues to operate as the village’s only public school and continues to operate only a special education program. Impartial Hearing Officer’s Decision (“IHO Decision”) 50, Def.’s Ex. E, ECF No. 15-16. The district serves approximately two-hundred children with disabilities; roughly half of them are educated in the district’s self-contained, special education classrooms, while the other half attend the private yeshivas and receive only related services from Kiryas Joel. Id. at 31, 50. Kiryas Joel also has established “resources room services” on-site at one of the local yeshivas, Id. at 32. Because parents in Kiryas Joel “are highly interested in their children getting a Yeshiva religious education,” Tr. at 7264, they want even their children with disabilities to be in “culturally and linguistically appropriate program[s],” id. at 5153. While Kiryas Joel focuses on teaching children to read, write, make decisions, and understand information, parents in the village, “most typically, want their children to be able to recite prayers, to read the Bible in its original, in the Hebrew text, to read comment areas in that language.” Id. at 7265. Some parents have objected to Kiryas Joel teaching reading and writing because they instead want their children to pray and study the Bible and “they feel that their only way of doing that is if they go to the parochial school.” Id. “if [parents] had the choice, if their child does not have special needs they wouldn’t send their child to [Kiryas Joel] either, they prefer having their children in yeshivas.” Id. at 5075; see id. at 5074 (“[P]arents send their children to the private yeshivas here, and that’s one hundred percent true.”). Thus, it is not uncommon for the parents of a child with disabilities to ask Kiryas Joel about a mainstream placement at one of the yeshivas, and such requests are “frequently” granted. Id. at 7252. Mainstreaming, in this context, does not entail a regular education as usually conceived of, but does give children with disabilities the experience of “be[ing] with nondisabled peers for a short period of time” during the school day. Id. at 5155. Where a child with disabilities has shown progress in a special education setting, Kiryas Joel’s Committee on Special Education (“CSE”) considers whether “[the] child is ready for some other kinds of experiences,” meaning a mainstream placement. Id. at 7253. At the same time, the CSE will not change a child’s placement without first exploring the details of the transition to a more mainstream setting, usually by way of a trial period, to ensure that the child is not put into “a failing situation.” Id. at 7253-54. Kiryas Joel employs “community liaisons” to help “smooth the waters” with the yeshiva of the parents’ choice and assess the appropriateness of that placement. Id. at 7255-56. Only after the liaisons have investigated the possibilities will Kiryas Joel consider changing a child’s IEP because changing an IEP means “saying [the district] believe[s] that this will work.” Id. at 5758. Some of the children for whom mainstreaming is appropriate attend Kiryas Joel during the day and the yeshiva before school or after 3:00 P.M. Id. at 5240. As this only amounts to half an hour to an hour at the yeshiva, parents occasionally want their children to spend more time there. Id. at 5241. If Kiryas Joel believes that the particular child can still excel in terms of meeting his or her public education requirements, then the district will consent to a “less restrictive education,” which could entail only half days at Kiryas Joel or resources room services at the yeshiva itself. Id. If Kiryas Joel believes that “the child really must be in the special education class for a longer period of time” to “receive all of the services and the education that the child is mandated to receive,” then “that becomes a larger discussion with the staff that deals with the child” as well as the CSE. Id. at 5241-42. Ultimately, the district’s concern is whether the placement will allow the child “to achieve all the goals that [the CSE] put[s] forth in the IEP.” Id. at 5242. “Belive[ing] that the parent’s voice has to be heard” in determining what is best for a child, Kiryas Joel’s CSE is genuinely willing to accommodate requests by parents for mainstreaming. Id. at 7269. Parents are given the opportunity to convince the CSE that their child is eligible for a less restrictive placement, just as Kiryas Joel personnel are given a chance to convince the parents of their position that special education is appropriate. Id. The district’s preference is to reach a compromise with parents, whenever possible. Id. at 7270. For example, while prayer cannot be a goal or activity outlined in a student’s IEP, the CSE may consider whether the child “can listen and repeat and tell a story over again,” which is part of the New York state curriculum but also “might match up with what the non-public school is going to do.” Id. In this way, the district can satisfy the parents’ goal that the child be in the yeshiva for as much of the day as possible while still meeting state requirements. Id. B. N.G.’s Educational Background N.G. is an elementary school child with multiple disabilities. CSE Draft Data Form (“CSE Draft”) 2, Dist.’s Ex. B-2, ECF No. 15-11. Born September 6, 2000, N.G.’s developmental delays were apparent from a very young age and attributed to “ ‘growth retardation during pregnancy’ resulting in global developmental delays.” Id. at 1 (quoting N.G.’s physicians). At five months, he was “already receiving a great deal of therapy,” Social History by J. Stimmel (“Social History”) 1, Dist.’s Ex. B-2, ECF No. 15-11; CSE Draft 1. In May 2003, N.G.’s parents placed him in a “family care” program, operated by the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, and he began living with a foster family in Monsey, New York. Social History 1; 2005-06 School Year IEP by Kiryas Joel Free Union Sch. Dist. (“2005-06 School Year Kiryas Joel IEP”) 4, Dish’s Ex. C-l, ECF. No. 15-13; IHO Decision 10. The family care placement was intended to be temporary while R.G. was recuperating from the delivery of the family’s third child, but N.G. remained in that placement until November 10, 2005. IHO Decision 10; Social History 1. While residing in Monsey, N.G. attended a private, full-day preschool program at the Hebrew Academy for Special Children (HASC), as recommended by the East Ramapo Central School District’s (“East Ramapo’s”) Committee on Preschool Special Education (“CPSE”). Bilingual Psychological Evaluation by S. Solnica (“Psychological Evaluation”) 1, Dish’s Ex. B-2, ECF No. 15-11; 2005 Extended Year IEP by East Ramapo Sch. Dist. (“2005 Extended Year East Ramapo IEP”) 3, Dish's Ex. C-l, ECF No. 15-13; Social History Update by D. Kammerman (“Social History Update”) 1, Dish’s Ex. B-l, ECF No. 15-10, At HASC, N.G.’s classroom had a student-teacher-aide ratio of 8:1:2. 2005 Extended Year East Ramapo IEP 3; Social History Update 1. HASC also provided N.G. with speech and language, occupational, physical, and vision therapy “to address his global delays.” Occupational Therapy Annual Review by R. Dembitzer (“Occupational Therapy Review”) 1, Dish's Ex. B-l, ECF No. 15-10. In an evaluation dated July 18, 2003, HASC’s school psychologist described N.G., who was nearly two years old at the time, as a “friendly” and “adorable” boy with significant delays in the areas of mental development, speech and language, motor skills, intellectual functioning, and adaptive behavior. Psychological Evaluation 1-4. N.G. “exhibited a few vowel-consonant utterances, but did not use intelligible language to communicate his needs” and “was unable to repeat a word,” developmental^ putting his language in the range of a nine-month old child. Id. at 2. While he would gesture to communicate his needs, he struggled to imitate actions or identify certain objects. Id. at 2-3. He could not yet walk. Id. at 3. The psychologist recommended that he “continue receiving Special Education in a small structured environment to learn crucial educational concepts, learning readiness skills and independent functioning skills,” as well as “related services to develop essential language and motor skills.” Id. at 4. Consistent with this recommendation, N.G. continued at HASC during the 2004-05 school year. 2005 Extended Year East Ramapo IEP 3; Social History Update 1. During that year, when N.G. was roughly four and a half years old (fifty-four months), HASC undertook an annual comprehensive review of his performance and progress, including one educational and four therapy-related evaluations. Annual Review Educational Evaluation by S. Motechin (“Educational Review”), Dish’s Ex. B-l, ECF No. 15-10; Bilingual Speech and Language Annual Review by C. Epstein (“Speech and Language Review”), Dist.’s Ex. B-l, ECF No. 15-10; Occupational Therapy Review; Physical Therapy Annual Review by M. Gottesfeld (“Physical Therapy Review”), Dish’s Ex. B-l, ECF No. 15-10; Vision Services Summary Annual Report by J. Forzono (“Vision Therapy Review”), Dish’s Exs. B-2 to B-3, ECF Nos. 15-11 to 15-12. 1. N.G.’s Behavioral and Social Skills In terms of N.G.’s behavioral and social skills, the evaluators characterized him as “adorable,” “happy,” “friendly,” and “sweet.” Educational Review 1, 4; Speech and Language Review 1; Occupational Therapy Review 1; Physical Therapy Review 1. He “enjoy[ed] interactions with adults and peers in the classroom” and knew everyone’s name. Educational Review 4. Described as “smilfing] often,” N.G. often expressed excitement over fun, familiar activities and was eager to participate in them. Physical Therapy Review 1; Educational Review 1. Rebekah Dembitzer, who completed his occupational therapy review, noted that he was “animated and excited” in group occupational therapy sessions, sometimes “clap[ping] his hands and try[ing] to sing along with the therapist.” Occupational Therapy Review 1. He would “laugh and smile while imitating silly gestures and activities” by his peers, but he did not “initiate appropriate social interactions with classmates.” Educational Review 4. On occasion, N.G. “ha[d] a hard time exhibiting the appropriate emotions” in response to situations and would “become[ ] overly excited laughing at inappropriate times,” such as when another child was hurt or crying. Id. at 1. If guided to do so, N.G. would “share materials and hold hands with classmates while walking to activities outside of the [classjroom.” Id. at 4. He “enjoy[ed] participating in the structured activities throughout the day” and, as a classroom helper, “require[d] minimal verbal cues to complete jobs which involve[d] handing out materials to his classmates.” Id. at 1. Over the course of the school year, his ability to follow directions had improved, and he was “more cooperative and attentive to tasks.” Occupational Therapy Review 1. He could engage in parallel play by imitating the actions of others, although “[h]is pretend play schemes [were] simple, requiring adult prompting, guidance and demonstrations to help expand his play repertoire.” Educational Review 4. While generally a happy child, N.G. was prone to frustration and crying fits in response to being asked to complete tasks that he did not wish to perform. Shani Motechin, the education evaluator, stated that N.G. could be “self-directed and stubborn” as well as “easily frustrated” with a predilection to “cry and throw himself on the floor when things do not go his way or if there are unexpected changes in his routine.” Educational Review 1. Dembitzer similarly commented that he would “frustrate easily and ... become agitated and upset when asked to participate in certain activities.” Occupational Therapy Review 1. Chava Epstein, N.G.’s speech and language therapy evaluator, also noted this tendency. Speech and Language Review 1. In his physical therapy evaluation, Miriam Gottesfeld agreed but indicated that this behavior had “significantly improved as of recent.” Physical Therapy Review 1. Usually, after crying for a short time, N.G. would refocus in response to “coaxing and encouragement” and then begin to “participate appropriately in the activity.” Physical Therapy Review 1; Educational Review 1. Dembitzer stated that N.G. “require[d] firm and consistent encouragement to motivate him to continue his task.” Occupational Therapy Review 1. His overall distractibility and need for constant redirection was another theme of the evaluations. Educational Review 4; Speech and Language Review 1; Occupational Therapy 3. In his educational review, he was “very distracted and at various times tried to leave the testing area,” and edible rewards were used to entice him to stay. Educational Review 3. Two of the four evaluations noted that N.G. “willingly” and “easily” left his classroom to attend therapy sessions and was “generally cooperative during treatments.” Physical Therapy Review 1; Speech and Language Review 1. In contrast, the other two evaluations indicated that he “ha[d] difficulty transitioning from the classroom to therapy,” Occupational Therapy Review 1; Educational Review 3, but Dembitzer did acknowledge that he had “made significant gains” in this regard over the school year, Occupational Therapy Review 1. 2. N.G.’s Cognitive Functioning Cognitively, N.G. was within the second percentile for his age group. Educational Review 3. His counting skills placed him in the range of a thirty-four month old child, while his matching abilities corresponded to those of a thirty-five month old. Id. He could match geometric shapes, but not complex patterns; he could not complete a six-piece puzzle or form a square using two triangles. Id. at 2-3. In terms of his comprehension skills, N.G. “recognized actions in pictures, understood use of objects, part/whole relationships, quantity concepts (one/all), and big/little,” but “had difficulty with pronouns his and hers, understanding negatives in sentences, identifying colors, and categorizing objects into groups.” Speech and Language Review 2. During the educational evaluation, N.G. “became very distracted by the pictures” being used to test his comprehension. Educational Review 2. He was able to follow ten simple commands and a two-step command in the correct order. Id. Overall, his comprehension was determined to be at the level of a thirty-three month old child. Id. at 2-3. 3. N.G.’s Speech and Language Skills N.G.’s speech and language skills fell within the first percentile for children his age. Speech and Language Review 2. Epstein characterized his “significantly delayed total language skills” as “secondary to possible growth retardation in útero.” Id. at 1-2. with regard to his expressive communication, he was able to use the Yiddish word for “no.” or “nein” — and, in fact, “constantly” used it, “even when he desire[d] to participate in an activity.” Id. at 2; Educational Review 2. N.G. could pronounce the consonants “n,” “t,” and “d,” but his articulation could not be tested due to his otherwise “limited language abilities.” Speech and Language Review 3. To communicate his wants and needs, N.G. used verbal sounds, gestures, and the Picture Exchange Communication System (“PECS”), which he adopted “quickly” and began to use “independently and with minimal prompts during mealtime and toilet time appropriately.” Id.; Educational Review 2; Occupational Therapy Review 1; Visual Therapy Review 1. His therapy emphasized improving his recognition of objects within the classroom to make his needs known. Speech and Language Review 3. 4. N.G.’s Fine and Grose Motor Skills Dembitzer remarked on N.G.’s delays of thirty-eight and thirty-five months in the areas of fine motor skills and visual motor integration, respectively, ranking him in the first percentile for both. Occupational Therapy Review 2. His ability to manipulate objects, like putting blocks in a cup after being shown how to do it, placed him in the range of a child under thirty months of age, according to Motechin. Educational Review 2. He could turn two to three pages of a book and fold and crease paper, but he was not capable of building a tower of two blocks or twisting and removing a bottle cap. Id.; Occupational Therapy Review 2. Although he attempted to play with and squeeze dough, his muscle strength was insufficient for him to do so. Educational Review 2. His hand grip was generally “weak.” Occupational Therapy 1. He could pick up, but not pinch, small objects. Id. at 2. As for his writing, N.G. scored below the thirty-month level: he could hold a pencil with his fingers (“a more age appropriate tripod grasp seem[ed] to be emerging”), make marks and scribbles, and inaccurately imitate a vertical line, but he could not replicate a straight line or circular strokes. Id.; Educational Review 4. In testing, he “demonstrate^] a slight right hand preference during fine motor tasks although this [was] not yet consistent.” Occupational Therapy Review 2. “While attempting to do fine motor tasks, [N.G.] exhibited] a slight tremor in his hands and ha[d] difficulty with small manipulatives.” Id. His eye-hand coordination was “poor,” and he tended to “overshoot[ ] during visual motor and fine motor tasks, making it more difficult for him to perform the above mentioned tasks.” Id. He also experienced sensory processing delays. Id. at 3. In his physical therapy review, Gottesfeld described N.G. as having “moderately low muscle tone throughout,” poor balance, and slow protective reactions. Physical Therapy Review 1-2. While he was able to walk independently on level surfaces, his gait was abnormal and unsteady, and he lacked coordination, falling easily if challenged and bumping into objects and people. Id. at 2; Visual Therapy Review 1, Impulsive about walking, N.G. required reminders to go slowly and to take in his surroundings before moving. Visual Therapy Review 1. He could climb stairs either by walking sideways with both hands on the railing for support or by facing forward with someone holding his hand and giving him verbal cues; he could descend stairs with one or both hands by leading with his right foot, but he required contact guarding. Physical Therapy Review 2. He could not jump or kick a ball, and while he could throw a ball two to three feet, he sometimes fell forward when doing so. Id. He was beginning to learn to use the tricycle, though he favored his left leg and struggled to keep his right one on the pedal. Id. Gottesfeld rated N.G. as having delays of forty-four months in his stationary skills, thirty-eight months in his locomotion skills, and thirty-nine months in his object-manipulation skills. Id. His gross motor skills were considered significantly delayed. Id. While N.G. had “shown improvement” in eating crunchy foods and using an “up- and-down munch chew pattern,” his feeding skills remained “impaired.” Speech and Language Review 1, 3. He could drink from an open cup and feed himself, but not without spillage. Id. at 1; Education Review 4; Occupational Therapy Review 2. While he could remove his coat and pants, he “requir[ed] much help with fasteners” and general assistance with dressing himself. Educational Review 4; Occupational Therapy Review 2. He had recently begun a toilet training program, using PECS to identify his need to use the bathroom (although he “require[d] frequent reminders”), but he would not indicate if his clothing was wet or soiled. Educational Review 4; Occupational Therapy 3. 5. N.G.’s Vision With respect to his vision, his evaluator in that area, Jennifer Forzono, noted that N.G. had “a delay in visual maturation and rotary nystagmus.” Vision Therapy Review 1. N.G. reportedly “compensatefd] well by mainly using mainly his lower fields of vision (rather than central), when tasks [were] presented at midline or table top,” and “[w]hen items [were] off to either side, he [was] observed to use his lower and peripheral fields, with slight compensating head movements (making his nystagmus more noticeable).” Id. at 2. He tended to “look past,” instead of directly at, objects for which he was visually searching. Id. He was better able to see objects at distances of six feet or greater than at three feet or less, Id. Up close, his vision “fragmented-seeing in parts, rather than whole.” Id. He used his head to track objects within six to twelve inches of his face, and when presented with an object closer than six inches, he would “over/under reach for it.” Id. Forzono remarked that N.G. “utilize[d] a social gaze to watch and imitate actions of other children, recognize familiar faces, and identify himself in a mirror.” Id. Visually, he could discriminate between simple pictures and “locate a specific item among a group of different, but related objects.” Id. Without verbal cues, however, he could not “look systematically in right-to-left/ left-to-right order” when given four pictures in a row. Id. He also “displayed] difficulties during exercises that focusfed] on visual memory (e.g., being able to identify a mate to a missing shape or picture); visual association (matching pairs of objects that go together such as a comb and brush); visual sequencing (matching order of objects or alternating sequences of objects to color, shape, or size); higher levels of visual discrimination (sort by size, identify two identical pictures from a choice of three or more); and spatial relations/eye-hand related tasks (drawing lines between two parallel lines).” Id. at 2-3. Significantly, Forzono stated the importance of “fosterfing]” N.G.’s ability to “use his vision in right/left and top/bottom progression and discriminate letters in a line” because these “are prerequisites for reading — necessary for transitioning into Kindergarten.” Id. at 3. She concluded that “[although [N.G.] has made tremendous gains in many areas of his visual functioning, his visual efficiency skills [were] splintered in the 2-to-3 year age range.” Id. In sum, Motechin stated that generally N.G. had “made much progress over the last year in all areas of functioning.” Educational Review 1. Nonetheless, she “recommended that [N.G.] be enrolled in a highly structured program,” explaining that, [consistency and intensity are required to allow [N.G.] to maintain the gains he has made and to acquire new skills. A small adult-child ratio is necessary to give [N.G.] the adult guidance and support he requires to be successful. [N.GJ’s needs should be met in a program which will continue to focus on the acquisition of communicative, social and cognitive skills to allow him to maximize his learning potential. Id. at 4. The therapists who evaluated N.G. all agreed that special education-related therapy services remained appropriate for N.G. Speech and Language Review 3 (“Speech and language therapy continues to be strongly recommended.”); Occupational Therapy Review 3 (“it is recommended that [N.G.] continue to receive occupational therapy services.”); Physical Therapy Review 2 (“It is strongly recommended that [N.G.] continue to receive physical therapy services.”); Vision Therapy Review 3 (“[I]t is recommended that he continue to receive vision services.”). Forzono echoed Motechin’s sentiment that, with respect to his therapy, “[consistency, carry-over, and follow-through are very important components, as they provide [N.G.] with continued reinforcement, thus enabling him to remain productive and successful.” Vision Therapy Review 3. C. East Ramapo CPSE’s 2005 Extended Year IEF for N.G. In April 2005, East Ramapo’s CPSE utilized these educational and therapy evaluations to develop an IEP for N.G. for the upcoming summer session, referred to as “an extended school year.” 2005 Extended Year East Ramapo IEP 1. The IEP repeated the evaluators’ findings that N.G.’s global delays were preventing him from engaging in activities appropriate for his age, that his language deficits were negatively impacting his learning and social functioning, and that his fine and gross motor skills were significantly delayed. Id. at 2-3. “Due to the complexity and severity of [N.GJ’s disabilities],” id. at 4, the CPSE, after some consideration, rejected an “integrated” program incorporating regular education because N.G.’s “current academic skills, social/emotional needs, physical needs and management needs indicate that a setting with more support is needed to address the student’s needs,” id. at 2. “[T]o prevent substantial regression,” the CPSE recommended that N.G. remain at HASC in a special education classroom with a student-teacher-aide ratio of 8:1:2 for five hours per day. Id. at 1. The CPSE also recommended that he participate in one thirty-minute session of individualized occupational therapy each week; one thirty-minute session of group occupational therapy each week; two thirty-minute sessions of individualized physical therapy each week; one thirty-minute session of group physical therapy each week; two thirty-minute sessions of individualized speech and language therapy each week; one thirty-minute session of group speech and language therapy each week; and one thirty-minute session of individualized vision therapy each week. Id. at 1-2. N.G.’s mother, R.G., was present when East Ramapo’s CPSE convened to develop the 2005 Extended Year IEP. Id. at 3. There is no mention in the IEP that R.G. requested at that time that N.G. be placed in a regular education, or “mainstream,” classroom. A month before this, however, R.G. had informed a social worker at HASC that “[s]he would very much like to place [N.G.] in a mainstream setting next year.” Social History Update 1. R.G. acknowledged to HASC’s social worker that “significant support” would be necessary for N.G. in a regular education classroom, but she indicated that the idea to place N.G. in a regular education classroom had been suggested to her by a private behavioral occupational therapist, Sara Yaroslowitz, who provided services to N.G. during the 2004-05 school year, in addition to those he received at HASC. Id.; Tr. 2103-07; IHO Decision 14. At the impartial hearing, R.G. testified that Yaroslowitz, who herself was a parent of a child with disabilities, “believes very much in mainstreaming” and “has mainstreamed a lot of children” with “very good results.” Tr. 2103, 2106. while R.G. and her husband, J.G., had been unsure at first whether a regular education setting would be appropriate for N.G., Yaroslowitz had convinced them that N.G. needed to be “with typical children who have the input, the social, the communication and the social models” that N.G. could imitate, according to R.G. Id. at 2105-06. Yaroslowitz declined to testify at the hearing for religious reasons, and her credentials were unable to be verified. Id. at 2103-04; IHO Decision 14. While R.G. and J.G. accepted the 2005 Extended Year IEP developed by East Ramapo’s CPSE, which recommended ongoing special education services for N.G., they decided to test Yaroslowitz’s recommendation that N.G. be placed in a regular education classroom with the support of a classroom aide during that same summer. Tr. 2106; SRO Decision 6. To this end, they enrolled N.G. in a Sunday class at B’nai Yoel, a Jewish yeshiva, attended otherwise exclusively by children without disabilities. Tr. 2106-07; 2127-29, 2234; Sept. 26, 2005 (Received) Letter from R.G. to S. Salzberg 2, Dist.’s Ex. B-l, ECF No. 15-10. J.G. acted as N.G.’s classroom aide. Sept. 26, 2005 (Received) Letter from R.G. to S. Salzberg 2; SRO Decision 6. Both parents testified that N.G. did “very well” at B’nai Yoel’s Sunday class that summer and that the experience led them to believe that Yaroslowitz was correct to recommend mainstreaming for N.G. Tr. 2128-29, 2235. D. Kiryas Joel CSE’s 2005-06 School Year IEP for N.G. At some point during that summer, it was decided that N.G. would return to live with his parents in Kiryas Joel Village, although he did not actually move until November 10, 2005. IHO Decision 10. On August 12, 2005, in anticipation of N.G.’s return and with the assistance of N.G.’s service coordinator, R.G. contacted Kiryas Joel about a possible placement for N.G. during the 2005-06 school year. Referral Information 1, Dish’s Ex. C — 1; ECF No. 15-13; SRO Decision 10-11. In response, the secretary to Kiryas Joel’s CSE prepared a written referral, which stated that N.G. was moving back into the district and that R.G. and his service coordinator wished to continue services similar to those he received at HASC, including special education and related therapies. Referral Information 1. Because the beginning of the new school year was imminent, the CSE then convened a short six days later for a “requested review transfer student” meeting and to develop an IEP for N.G. SRO Decision 6. In attendance at the meeting held on August 18 were R.G. and J.G.; Sheldon Salzberg, the chairperson of the Kiryas Joel’s CSE and a psychologist; Susan Gartenberg, the school principal; Selma Marcovici, a speech therapist; Lucy Lotito, a vision therapist; and Hannah Gelertner, an occupational therapist. 2005-06 School Year Kiryas Joel IEP 1. No CSE member signed into the meeting as a specially designated regular education or special education teacher. In addition, R.G. waived in writing the statutory requirement that an “additional parent member” be present. Waiver of NYS Parent Member Participation 1, Dish’s Ex. B-l; ECF No. 15-10. In formulating its IEP for N.G., Kiryas Joel’s CSE reviewed N.G.’s 2005 Extended Year IEP prepared by East Ramapo’s CPSE and all of the documents on which it relied, including the educational review prepared by Motechin, the speech and language therapy review prepared by Epstein, the occupational therapy review prepared by Dembitzer, the physical therapy review prepared by Gottesfeld, the vision therapy review prepared by Forzono, and the psychological evaluation from July 2003. 2005-06 School Year Kiryas Joel IEP 1-2. The CSE noted that these “evaluations recommended special education in a small group setting because of [N.G.’s] developmental delays in areas of language, physical and social development.” Id. at 1. In addition to these materials, the CSE considered N.G.’s medical records, dated August 17, 2004, and a social history evaluation conducted by Joy stimmel of Kiryas Joel on August 16, 2005, in anticipation of the meeting. Id. at 2; Social History Evaluation; Referral Information 2. Gartenberg testified that, when asked repeatedly whether the evaluations and other documents accurately described their son, R.G. and J.G. confirmed that they did. SRO Decision 19; IHO Decision 37-38. Based on this information, the CSE “recommend[ed] that [N.G.] be classified as multiply disabled because of his vision deficits and developmental delays and that he be placed in a special class program with related services including speech, physical and occupational therapy and vision services.” 2005-05 School Year Kiryas Joel IEP 2. Specifically, the IEP consisted of a special education classroom with a teacher-student-aide ratio of 8:1:1 for six hours each day; two thirty-minute sessions of individualized speech and language therapy each week; one thirty-minute session of group speech and language therapy each week; one thirty-minute session of individualized occupational therapy each week; one thirty-minute session of group occupational therapy each week; two thirty-minute sessions of individualized physical therapy each week; one thirty-minute session of group physical therapy each week; and one thirty-minute session of individualized vision therapy each week. Id. at 2. The IEP also included special transportation for N.G. Id. These recommendations were nearly identical to those contained in N.G.’s 2005 Extended Year IEP. The IEP stated that N.G. was ineligible for extended school year services, as Kiryas Joel’s summer program had ended on August 12, 2005, the same day that R.G. contacted the district about her son. SRO Decision 7 & n. 4. The CSE did not recommend that N.G. undergo an assistive technology evaluation because, according both to Salzberg and Mareovici, N.G.’s speech and language skills were so basic and underdeveloped that he had not reached the stage where an assistive technology would be useful. IHO Decision 60, 91. From N.G.’s evaluations, Salzberg was aware that N.G. had been using PECS, and while his use of PECS was not discussed at the meeting, this was because PECS, among other assistive technologies, was already incorporated into the classroom at Kiryas Joel as “a natural part of what’s used with all children with the type of language difficulties that [N.G.] has.” Tr. 7305-06. Only if the CSE knew that a child would require some special education equipment, device, supplementary aid, service, or accommodation beyond what the district already had in place would it explicitly be included in a child’s IBP. Id. at 568-70, 7305-06. In effect, “the modifications are part of the program” whenever the CSE recommends placement in its self-contained special education classroom. Id. at 568. As East Ramapo’s CPSE did, Kiryas Joel’s CSE considered for “a long time,” but ultimately rejected, an “integrated” approach combining special and regular education. Tr. 6960; 2005-06 School Year Kiryas Joel IEP 3. At the meeting, N.G.’s parents indicated that they “ha[d] been advised to consider an inclusive placement to expose [N.G.] to a typical educational setting” and that they sought “support for a placement in the school of his siblings,” B’nai Yoel. 2005-06 School Year Kiryas Joel IEP 1; Tr. 6959-60, They explained that N.G. was already attending B’nai Yoel on Sundays in a classroom with students without disabilities. SRO Decision 7. R.G. testified that she told the CSE about Yaroslowitz’s recommendation that N.G. be mainstreamed and that she had done her own research into mainstreaming, which “show[ed] that children who are with typical peers develop ... better than children that are in a special education classroom.” Tr. 2129. Both R.G. and J.G. communicated to the CSE that they wanted N.G. to be educated alongside children without disabilities, specifically at B’nai Yoel. Id. at 2127-28, 2235, 3167. The CSE, however, concluded that “[njone of the reports or observations [they] reviewed suggest that this would be appropriate.” 2005-06 School Year Kiryas Joel IEP 1. Salzberg testified that all of the professionals on the CSE agreed that N.G.’s “levels of functioning, the performance all made sense that a self-contained special education program would be appropriate for him.” Tr. 7286. Gartenberg stated that at the end of the IEP meeting she did not believe “at all” that B’nai Yoel would be a good placement for N.G. because he lacked social, verbal, and daily living skills (i.e., toilet training) that “he so desperately needed” “to be to be really mainstreamed properly, not even mainstream[ed], to be a student.” Id. at 5194. She testified that her view was shared by the rest of the CSE and that “it wasn’t a close call.” Id. at 5195. Marcovici, who directs Kiryas Joel’s speech and language department, reiterated this, stating that “the whole team felt that [B’nai Yoel] would not be appropriate” because N.G. “would not be able to learn and make the kind of progress we would want from him in a big [classroom] environment where the teaching was directed towards normally developing children and it wasn’t being modified so that he could learn.” Id. at 6411-12. According to N.G.’s father, J.G., the CSE made clear that “[n]o matter what kind of private school, it would not work out, no matter what.” Id. at 2236. As a “compromise” solution, however, the CSE proposed placing N.G. in a special education classroom at Kiryas Joel for the first few weeks of September, during which time the district could observe him there as well as later on in his B’nai Yoel classroom. Id. at 5190-91, 7289-90; 2005-06 School Year Kiryas Joel IEP 2-3. After conducting these observations, the CSE stated that it would be willing to reevaluate N.G.’s placement going forward. 2005-06 School Year Kiryas Joel IEP 3. Salzberg similarly testified that Kiryas Joel “would [have] be[en] happy to consider [placement at B’nai Yoel] but we needed to have evidence that it was not going to put him into more stress or be at such a change where he wouldn’t grow or develop.” Tr. 7290, Salzberg also stated, and Gartenberg confirmed, that, despite indicating that they would provide such evidence, likely in the form of a report by Yaroslowitz, R.G. and J.G. never did so. Id. at 5193-94, 7287-89. Salzberg indicated that, if there had been some evidence to persuade the professionals on the CSE of the appropriateness of a mainstream program, he “absolutely” would have offered it to N.G., but that based on the information that the committee had at the time of the IEP meeting — as well as evaluations of N.G. undertaken since then — he continued to believe that N.G.’s “needs would be best met in a self-contained [special] education program.” Id. at 7447. E. N.G.’s Related Therapies Provided by Kiryas Joel During the 2005-06 School Year In mid-September, before deciding to enroll N.G. full-time at B’nai Yoel for the 2005-06 school year, R.G. observed the self-contained, special education classroom at Kiryas Joel. Id. at 2933-34; Sept. 26, 2005 (Received) Letter from R.G. to S. Salzberg 1. She observed that “the children were not really — were not singing along, the teachers were the ones doing all the communication, nothing by the children, no communication between the children.” Tr. 4342. In an letter to Salzberg marked as received by Kiryas Joel on September 26, 2005, R.G. stated that the people she met when visiting Kiryas Joel “were very nice,” but that, “unfortunately, we cannot accept this place for [N.G.] because it does not meet his individual needs, and that includes social, communication, and behavioral needs.” Sept. 26, 2005 (Received) Letter from R.G. to S. Salzberg 1. Referring to the Kiryas Joel classroom as “far too restrictive,” she continued to say that “N.G. has proven to us that with appropiate [sic] support he can make meaningful progress and be very happy in a mainstream school.” Id. at 1-2, R.G. stated that, beginning September 23, 2005, the family would seek funding from Kiryas Joel to cover their expenses related to N.G.’s tuition at B’nai Yoel, his classroom aide in that setting, his transportation to and from school, and a home-based “intervention” program that they planned to implement shortly. Id. at 2-3. On September 27, 2005, Salzberg responded to this letter from R.G. received by Kiryas Joel the day before. SRO Decision 8. Salzberg stated that Kiryas Joel would neither pay N.G.’s tuition expenses at B’nai Yoel nor provide therapy services at B’nai Yoel because the school was “not an appropriate setting.” Id. He also indicated that the CSE’s proposed IEP would remain as written, that the district believed the IEP offered N.G. a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, and that R.G. and J.G. could contact Kiryas Joel’s superintendent, Steven Bernardo, to arrange a resolution meeting. Id. In October 2005, R.G. and J.G. requested an impartial hearing, as detailed below. See Oct. 6, 2005 Demand for Due Process Letter (“Due Process Demand”) 2-3, Disk’s Ex. D, ECF No. 15-15. On November 1, 2005, Kiryas Joel offered to provide N.G.’s related services and transportation, consistent with its recommendations in the 2005-06 School Year IEP. IHO Decision 21; SRO Decision 8. The district informed R.G. and J.G. that their “acceptance of the offer would not be conditioned on a waiver of any rights not already preserved by their impartial hearing filing.” SRO Decision 8, Instead, Kiryas Joel stated its intent was “merely ... to immediately provide the child with what [the district] believes are appropriate [pendency] services.” Id. Nearly a month later, on November 29, 2005, R.G. and J.G. responded by letter to Bernardo asking him to send by facsimile or mail the district’s proposed plan and schedule for related services and therapies. IHO Decision 21. Kiryas Joel responded that same day, stating that it would “make every effort to accommodate the student’s academic schedule during the school day,” but that R.G. and J.G. should contact Bernardo “by phone in the immediate future so that the provision of services can be determined without further delay.” Id. at 21-22. On December 22, 2005, R.G. and J.G. informed Kiryas Joel by letter of their readiness to accept pendency services, requesting that they be provided between 9:00 and 10:00 A.M. and after 2:30 P.M. Id.; Tr. 5311. The following day, Kiryas Joel by letter again asked N.G.’s parents to contact Bernardo to arrange the services, which the district was “prepared to commence ... immediately.” IHO Decision 22. On January 5, 2006, Gartenberg followed up with a call to R.G. to discuss scheduling N.G.’s related services. Jan. 8, 2006 Letter from R.G. to S. Gartenberg 1, Disk’s Ex. B-3, EOF No. 15-12. In a letter dated January 8, 2006, R.G. requested that Kiryas Joel send by facsimile its proposed therapy schedule, asked that services be provided at B’nai Yoel before the school day, requested that all proposed group therapy sessions be changed to individualized sessions so as to “not ‘waste’ (not exactly) [N.G.’s] precious time,” and inquired whether the district would pay for N.G.’s recently-begun aqua therapy program. Id. at 1-3. In response to a facsimile from Bernardo including Kiryas Joel’s proposed schedule for related services, R.G. sent another letter on January 9, asking that the time of some of the therapy sessions be changed and accepting those services being offered at “the right time.” Jan. 9, 2006 Letter from R.G. to B. Bernardo 1, Disk’s Ex. B-3, EOF No. 15-12. Before the IHO, R.G. acknowledged that Kiryas Joel had to change other students’ schedules in order to accommodate her requests for N.G. Tr. 3995. Kiryas Joel provided N.G. with the first sessions of individualized speech and language and occupational therapies on January 17, 2006; the first session of vision therapy on January 19; and the first session of individualized physical therapy on January 25. IHO Decision 23. N.G.’s parents rejected all forms of group therapy but accepted all individualized therapies, except for one physical therapy session that conflicted with N.G.’s privately obtained aqua therapy. Id.; SRO Decision 8; Tr. 2905. In a letter dated April 6, 2006, the parents discontinued Kiryas Joel’s provision of vision services, only to then request on May 10, 2006, that the district’s vision therapist change the time of the session to accommodate revisions to N.G.’s schedule. IHO Decision 23-24. F. 2005-06 School Year at B’nai Yoel On September 19, 2005, R.G. and J.G. arranged for N.G. to attend B’nai Yoel on a full-time basis for the 2005-06 school year. SRO Decision 8; IHO Decision 26, In making this arrangement, they were aware that B’nai Yoel did not provide special education services, including classroom aides. IHO Decision 26. They neither discussed with B’nai Yoel how N.G.’s disabilities would be accommodated nor provided the yeshiva with information about his related services. Id. N.G. was the only child with disabilities in his class. Tr. 4204. N.G.’s classroom teacher at B’nai Yoel, Rebbe Gruber, had no special or regular education teaching certification or license. Id. at 2800. Prior to teaching N.G., he had never taught a child with disabilities. Id. He did not receive copies of N.G.’s previous educational and therapy evaluations, had not seen the IEPs prepared for N.G. by Kiryas Joel’s CSE and East Ramapo’s CPSE, and was generally unfamiliar with the concept of an IEP. Id. at 2808-11. He did not speak with N.G.’s privately obtained therapists or receive reports prepared by them. Id. at 2812-13. The extent of his instruction on “how he should handle [N.G.]” in the classroom came from J.G., N.G.’s father. Id. Initially, J.G. accompanied N.G. each day to B’nai Yoel as his classroom aide. Sept. 26, 2005 (Received) Letter from R.G. to S. Salzberg 2; IHO Decision 27. J.G. testified that he had experience working in this capacity with other children with disabilities, but that he had no formal training. IHO Decision 27. While N.G. required assistance with basic functions like eating and toileting, J.G. believed that “if he should make meaningful progress it is better that he should have an aid[e] there and that he is playing together with the children, that he is playing with them,” than be isolated in a special education classroom. Tr. 2217. J.G. therefore focused on ways to facilitate N.G.’s social interaction, like assisting him with building blocks or prompting him to share his blocks with the other children. Id. at 635-36. In mid-November 2005, N.G.’s parents hired Rebbe Bleich as N.G.’s new classroom aide, and in April 2006 Joel Lebovits replaced Bleich. IHO Decision 13-14. While Bleich had no training or experience working with children with disabilities, Lebovits had minimal experience in this area. Tr. 2211-12, 1774-76. N.G. spent time each school day outside of the classroom working one-on-one with Bleich. Id. at 2822, 2825, 2835. Bleich was exclusively responsible for these individualized sessions and generally used the time to review with N.G. the alphabet, numbers, and the parsha, which is a story from the Torah. Id. at 2823, 2832. There was no formal communication structure between Gruber and Bleich regarding N.G.’s tasks or progress during the individualized sessions, and Gruber did not supervise or otherwise instruct Bleich. Id. at 2823-27. The situation was identical with Bleich’s replacement, Lebovits. IHO Decision 83. Salzberg, the chairperson of Kiryas Joel’s CSE, observed N.G. in his classroom of twenty-two students at B’nai Yoel in late November 2005. See Dec. 8, 2005 Observation of N.G. by S. Salzberg, Disk's Ex. B-l, ECF No. 15-10. He testified that N.G. followed classroom routines but “[n]ot of his own volition.” Tr. at 445. When his aide spoke to him, N.G. smiled and wagged his feet beneath him in an excited response. Id. at 446, 453. When the aide brought over toys and other children to play with N.G., however, the children instead began playing with the aide, and N.G. was “still off by himself.” Id. at 446. N.G. exhibited no self-injurious, aggressive, tantruming, screaming, or crying behavior in the classroom, but when the students were reciting a prayer, he failed to respond, whether verbally or by gesture (such as covering his eyes, as the other children did). Id. at 448-49; Dec. 8, 2005 Observation of N.G. by S, Salzberg 2, 5. N.G. rocked alongside his peers during the prayer, but he rocked by himself at other times as well, like when he was waiting for lunch to be served, leading Salzberg to question whether his rocking during the prayer was actually responsive or a natural tendency. Tr. 451-56. Contrary to Gruber indicating that N.G. could make choices or indicate his understanding of concepts by pointing to pictures, Salzberg “did not see anything like that” and “didn’t believe it because [he] didn’t see it.” Id. at 7475-78. Salzberg stated he would have been inclined to agree that the other children in the classroom could provide N.G. with good language models if he had “thought that [N.G.] was listening to them and that it wasn’t going past him.” Id. at 450. Salzberg concluded that N.G. would have benefited instead from educators who “consciously” created instruction designed to meet his needs. Id. at 451. Fred Chaim Weiss, a certified school psychologist employed by Kiryas Joel, accompanied Salzberg on his visit to observe N.G.’s placement at B’nai Yoel. Id. at 7093. Weiss remarked that, while the other children were being guided by the teacher in a blessing and prayer, “N.G. was basically staring.” Id. at 7094. He occasionally, but only episodically and not at all consistently, followed or mimicked what the others were doing or responded to direction from Gruber. Id. at 7094, 7096, 7214, 7224-25. Weiss mused that “[t]he sense was he eat there and he really did not interact with the other children. Even though other children at times came over to him and engaged him in conversation, he wouldn’t respond. One child actually lifted his hand and was banging it on the table and he didn’t seem to mind.” Id. at 7095. N.G. did not engage in playing with toys, merely holding them in his hand, and “there was nothing that [his aide] did to encourage other children to play with him.” Id. at 7095, 7098. N.G. correctly identified a picture of an ambulance when asked. Id. at 7095-96. Like Salzberg, Weiss believed, based on his observations, that B’nai Yoel was not an appropriate educational setting for N.G. because, as a child with limited cognitive functioning, he “require[d] a program which has a minimum amount of distraction, much more focus and intentional transmittal of the material to him.” Id. at 7104. There was considerable testimony at the impartial hearing, however, as to N.G.’s progress during the 2005-06 school year at B’nai Yoel, B’nai Yoel’s principal, Rabbi Mechel Falkowitz, emphatically referred to it as “much more than [one-] hundred percent success” and a much bigger change than he expected to see in such a short time. Id. at 73, 76. He testified that, based on his weekly conversations with Bleich, “I wouldn’t believe it, how it could be so much progress than before when [Bleich] took him, when he started with him, that he wouldn’t believe that he would make so much progress.” Id. at 76. N.G. was capable of understanding what was said to him, following directions, socializing and playing with the other children, making eye contact, asking to use the restroom, sitting “nicely” when eating or listening to a story, and showing respect for his teacher like the other students. Id. at 72-76, 91, 93. Falkowitz acknowledged that N.G. remained unable to speak, but stressed that he “motion[ed] like all the other children, because he want[ed] to copy all the other children, to be the same as them.” Id. at 92-93. J.G. similarly remarked on N.G.’s improved ability to listen, mimic, and follow directions. Id. at 2240-42. He stated that N.G. was expressing his desire “to communicate with the family, even the neighborhood outside on the street,” and “to do whatever all the typical children [were] doing.” Id. at 2238-29. Whereas before other children had been unfriendly to him, now they engaged him in their games that involved tasks like rolling dice. Id. J.G. believed his advancements were attributable less to him getting older and more to him imitating and adopting the “more appropriate behavior” of his peers. Id. at 2243. Sara Kahn, an educational and behavioral programming consultant hired by N.G.’s parents, observed him in his B’nai Yoel classroom for two hours on November 9, 2005. Id. at 616, 619, 648; Nov. 9, 2005 Independent Evaluation of N.G. by S. Kahn, Disk’s Ex. B-l, ECF No. 15-10. Kahn’s observations were limited to what she could see either through the door or window because Gruber was uncomfortable with her presence in the classroom. Tr. 619. She noted that N.G. was able to follow and imitate his peers, including by covering his eyes during prayer, and that “children who have strong imitation skills, as [N.G.] appeared to, are children that I think would be able to benefit from being in an environment with other children who are more advanced than them.” Id. at 629; Nov, 9, 2005 Independent Evaluation of N.G. by S. Kahn 1. His fine motor delays made it difficult for him to feed himself or push small blocks together, despite the fact that “he clearly cognitively understood what to do.” Tr. 634. She acknowledged that N.G. was nonverbal, but although he lacked “the ability to expressively communicate,” he appeared to understand and respond appropriately to direction. Id. at 632-34. “Based on the severity of his delay and his inability to acquire language from an incidental setting” like the classroom, Kahn recommended a 1:1 home-based intervention program, overseen by a special education teacher and involving a speech pathologist, if N.G. were to acquire any speech and language skills, particularly because none of the instruction at B’nai Yoel was targeted at expressive language development. Nov. 9, 2005 Independent Evaluation of N.G. by S. Kahn 2; Tr. 636, 681. Overall, N.G. exceeded Kahn’s expectations, which she had formulated based on some of N.G.’s past evaluations that his parents provided to her. Id. at 616, 636. She believed that the B’nai Yoel classroom offered him an appropriate place to develop his social skills, while recognizing that she observed no academic instruction. Id. at 636-37, 668. A speech and language pathologist, Steven Blaustein, retained by N.G.’s parents also evaluated N.G. for two hours at his office on December 15, 2005. Id. at 859. He commented that, while N.G. was using the word “nein” and perhaps could develop other single functional words (although at the time he was unable to make even simple sounds), “[t]here are some severe deficits here, [and] without an intensive, intensive program of really working on all of these areas, it’s difficult to predict up how far one could go.” Id. at 868; IHO Decision 64. Blaustein observed that it was “extremely difficult for [N.G.] to communicate with his peers.” Tr. at 883. He believed it to be necessary that N.G. utilize an augmentative nonverbal communication system — such as PECS — so that he could begin to express his needs in a way that did not necessitate sounds which he could not produce. IHO Decision 64. While he stated that it could be appropriate to place N.G. in a regular education classroom on a part-time basis, provided he had a high level of support from a special education “itinerant” teacher, Blaustein conceded that N.G.’s inability to communicate would not necessarily be augmented by — and, in fact, might be frustrated by-exposure to typically developing peers whose “expressive language skills [were] much beyond his.” Id. at 65-66. Having not seen N.G. in his B’nai Yoel classroom, Blaustein declined to render an opinion whether it was an appropriate environment for N.G. Id. at 66; Tr. 909. He did state, however, that N.G. would benefit from a smaller class setting (i.e., no more than 14 students, assuming that he had support), and that his private therapy program would be successful only if reinforced in his classroom. IHO Decision 67. G.2005-06 Home-Based Intervention Program To complement his school day at B’nai Yoel, N.G.’s parents instituted a home-based intervention program for him that involved a private tutor and various forms of privately obtained therapy. Yaroslowitz helped oversee this program, although she did not observe or work with N.G. on a consistent basis. Tr. 4233, 4245; IHO Decision 14. The other individual whom R.G. and J.G. consulted to create the home-based intervention program was Sura Gitty Weiss, a close familial relative of theirs. Tr. 2006-07. Gitty Weiss, who had no special education license or certificate but did have some experience teaching children with disabilities, provided consultation services by phone. Id. at 1025, 2002-04, 2009, 2016. Because she did not live in Kiryas Joel Village and because she was not being paid, Gitty Weiss did not observe N.G. in person more than once. Id. at 2008-09, 2012. Her recommendations, therefore, were based on what N.G.’s parents told her about his abilities. Id. at 2015, 2020. She testified that she was proud of her relatives because, without any background in special education, “they understand what their child needs very, very well.” Id at 2018. Through the home-based intervention program, N.G. had a morning tutor, Raizel Falkowitz, who had no special education license or certificate but previously had worked with an autistic child. Id. at 2110-12; IHO Decision 82. Falkowitz focused mainly on N.G.’s behavioral issues, life skills (i.e., dre