Full opinion text
ORDER KYLE, District Judge. This matter came before the Court on the parties’ various motions and was referred to United States Magistrate Judge Raymond Erickson for a report and recommendation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B). Currently before the Court are Defendant S.D.’s Objections to his March 13, 1995 Order and Report and Recommendation (“R & R”). A district court must make an independent determination of those portions of a report and recommendation to which objection is made and may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C). The R & R in this matter is exhaustive, thorough, well-reasoned and exemplary. After independently reviewing the files, records, and proceeding herein, together with the memoranda provided by the parties, the Court concurs with the reasoning and conclusions reached by the Magistrate Judge and will not reiterate those reasons in response to S.D.’s Objections. The Court will note, however, that S.D.’s contention that the record was not sufficiently developed to permit the Magistrate Judge to grant summary judgment on several claims alleged in S.D.’s counterclaim and cross-claim misconstrues the nature of the Magistrate Judge’s decision. Having reviewed the hearing transcript regarding this issue and the R & R, the Court is satisfied that the Magistrate Judge correctly applied principles of collateral estoppel to S.D.’s claims in concluding that “no viable claim can exist ... in the absence of a claim which, factually and legally, is distinct from those that have already been resolved.” (R & R at 58-59.) Based upon that conclusion, dismissal of S.D.’s counterclaims and cross-claims is appropriate. Based on the foregoing, the Court ADOPTS the March 13, 1995 Report and Recommendation (Doc. No. 81) and IT IS ORDERED that: (1) Plaintiffs Motion for Judgment on the Record (Doc. No. 14) is GRANTED; (2) Defendant Commissioners’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 6) is GRANTED; (3) Defendant KS.’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 13) is GRANTED; (4) Defendant Commissioners’ Motion to Dismiss S.D.’s Cross-Claim (Doc. No. 21) is DENIED AS MOOT; (5) Plaintiffs Motion to Dismiss S.D.’s Counterclaims (Doe. No. 29) is GRANTED; and (6) Defendant Commissioners’ Motion to Dismiss the Amended Cross-Claim (Doc. No. 39) is GRANTED. LET JUDGMENT BE ENTERED ACCORDINGLY. ORDER and REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ERICKSON, United States Magistrate Judge. At Duluth, in the District of Minnesota, this 13th day of March, 1995. I. Introduction This matter came before the undersigned United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to a special assignment, made in accordance with the provisions of Title 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A) and (B), upon a cavalcade of Motions by the various parties. Of these Motions, our analysis has been largely preoccupied by two: 1) The Motion by S.D., and her parents, for leave to present additional evidence; and, 2) the Plaintiffs Motion for Judgment on the Record. Given our recommended disposition of the Motion for Judgment on the Record, our discussion of the remaining Motions will be somewhat truncated. A Hearing on the first wave of the parties’ Motions was conducted on March 18, 1994, at which time the Plaintiff Independent School District No. 283 (“School District”) appeared by Susan E. Torgerson and Charles E. Long, Esqs.; the Defendants S.D., J.D. and N.D. (at times, collectively referred to as “S.D.”) appeared by Sonya D. Kerr and Dee Alpert, Esqs.; the Defendants Linda Powell, Gene Mammenga and Robert Wedl (“the Defendant Commissioners”) appeared by Bernard E. Johnson, Assistant Minnesota Attorney General; and the Defendant K.S. appeared by Lewis A. Remele, Jr., Esq. Thereafter, a Hearing on K.M.’s Motion to Intervene was conducted on May 26, 1994, at which time the Movant appeared by Margaret O’Sullivan Kane, Esq., and Stephen B. Liss, Assistant Minnesota Attorney General, made an additional appearance on behalf of the Defendant Commissioners. During the pendency of these Motions, our ability to responsibly consider the parties’ arguments was effectively precluded by the absence of a complete and verified Administrative Record. Accordingly, after informal attempts to secure such a Record proved ineffectual, we instructed the parties, by Order dated April 14, 1994, to confer and to agree upon a verified Record, or to submit any contested portions of the Record for our resolution. Thereafter, on June 14, 1994, this Court directed that the Certified Inventory, which had been submitted by the Defendant Commissioners and which constitutes the Administrative Record in this matter, be filed with the Clerk of Court. Upon that filing, the Administrative Record in this matter was provisionally closed, making the present Motions ready for decision. For reasons which follow, we deny S.D.’s Motion to augment the Record, and we recommend that the School District’s Motion for Judgment on the Record be granted. As a consequence, we further recommend that the District’s Motion to dismiss the Counterclaims of S.D. be granted, that the Motion to Intervene be denied, and that S.D.’s Motion for Attorney’s fees be granted. II. Procedural and Factual Background A. Procedural Posture. Consistent with our obligations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Title 20 U.S.C. § 1400, et seq. (“IDEA”), we have independently and painstakingly reviewed the Administrative Record, and have accorded such weight to the factual findings of the Administrative Officers below as is warranted by the circumstances. Hendrick Hudson Dist. Bd. of Ed. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 206, 102 S.Ct. 3034, 3050, 73 L.Ed.2d 690 (1982) (Section 1415(e) of the IDEA carries implied requirement that “due weight” be given to the underlying administrative proceedings). Here, in accordance with Minnesota law, two levels of administrative review were completed. See, Minnesota Statutes Sections 120.17, Subdivision 3b(a) and 120.17, Subdivision 3b(g). At the first level of the administrative process, a Hearing Officer (“HO”), who was appointed by the Minnesota Commissioner of Education, heard twelve days of testimony and concluded that the School District properly provided S.D. with a “free appropriate public education,” as required by the IDEA. See, Title 20 U.S.C. § H01(a)(18). Subsequently, a Hearing Review Officer (“HRO”), who was also appointed by Minnesota’s Commissioner of Education, conducted an administrative review, considered additional evidence, and reversed the decision of the HO. While, in large measure, the factual findings of the [¶] were adopted by the HRO, some differences have emerged in the findings that each drew from a common Record. Given these layers of administrative processing, we wish to make clear that, on matters of fact, we have afforded greater weight to the factfindings of the [¶] in view of his opportunity to observe the demeanor of the witnesses and to render believability determinations. Doyle v. Arlington County School Bd., 953 F.2d 100, 104 (4th Cir.1991) (Court adopts factual findings of administrative officer who physically heard witness’ testimony in preference to those of administrative review officer); Combs v. School Board of Rockingham County, 15 F.3d 357, 361 (4th Cir.1994); and cf., Delaware County Intermediate Unit #25 v. Martin K, 831 F.Supp. 1206, 1220 n. 17 (E.D.Pa.1993). As a consequence, based upon our thorough assessment of the entire Record before us, we expressly adopt the factual findings of the [¶] as amply supported by the preponderance of the evidence. Petersen v. Hastings Public Schools, 31 F.3d 705, 707 (8th Cir.1994). However, in order to furnish a succinctly stated factual context for the discussion which follows, we briefly summarize the Administrative Record before us. B. Factual Background. S.D., who was born on March 24, 1983, suffers from a condition of severe dyslexia — an impairment which has had a grave impact upon her ability to perform in the classroom and, particularly, in areas that involve reading and mathematics. S.D. entered the kindergarten in the 1988-89 school year at Peter Hobart Primary Center, which is one of the elementary educational facilities that is located in the School District. S.D. did not request or receive any special education services during that school year, although her kindergarten teacher did notice that she was having difficulty in letter recognition. During the period from 1989 through 1992, S.D. continued to attend regular education classes for her first, second and third grades at Peter Hobart. In each of these grades, her classes were divided into student groupings that remained together from year-to-year as a result of the school’s participation in a program called VITAL. There was also a continuity in the teaching teams for these classes, and S.D.’s classroom instructor, during these three years, was Paula Keenan (“Keenan”). Shortly after S.D. started in the first grade, Keenan and the other teachers in the VITAL program noted that S.D. was experiencing difficulty in her reading assignments. In an effort to remedy these difficulties, peer tutors and adult volunteers were asked to work directly with S.D. in her classroom instruction. Later, however, in November of 1989, Keenan initiated discussions concerning an initial special education assessment for S.D., which was conducted with the approval of S.D.’s parents. This assessment disclosed that S.D. was above average in her verbal and performance intelligence, but that there were notable discrepancies in her mathematical computations, and in her listening comprehension, written expression, and reading skills. Based upon this assessment, an Individualized Education Program (“IEP”) was developed on February 14, 1990. Under that IEP, S.D. continued in her regular classes for the remainder of her first grade year, and she received additional, special education services, on a weekly basis, under the direction of Barbara Goldberg (“Goldberg”), who served as S.D.’s first grade special education teacher. In addition to holding a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education and being licensed in teaching children who have learning disabilities, remedial reading and emotionally and behaviorally dysfunctional children, Goldberg has had 28 years of experience in teaching special education. In addition to these special education services, S.D. also received weekly Chapter One instruction in math. Goldberg extended her tutoring sessions with S.D. through the Summer of 1990, but at the personal expense of S.D.’s parents. In her professional judgment, Goldberg concluded that S.D. had made satisfactory educational progress in the first grade and, more particularly, in her special educational efforts. After S.D. commenced her second grade year, a renewed IEP was developed on October 17, 1990. Again, S.D. received weekly special education services, as well as Chapter One instruction in mathematics. S.D.’s IEP was reviewed, again, in April of 1991, at which time it was concluded that her IEP from October should remain in effect for the remainder of her second grade year. During her second and third grades, S.D.’s special education teacher for her reading and writing instruction was Faye Hogenson (“Hogenson”). Hogenson holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology and is licensed to teach the mentally handicapped, the learning disabled and the emotionally and behaviorally disordered. She has been involved in teaching special education courses for over 26 years. When S.D.’s parents requested tutoring for the Summer of 1991, they were informed that it was not available through the School District, but they were successful in independently hiring Keenan as S.D.’s tutor — again, however, at their own expense. At the close of S.D.’s second grade year, Hogenson was concerned that S.D. was exhibiting a frustrating amount of inconsistency in her ability to read and to write. Nevertheless, she felt that S.D. was making progress in her educational accomplishments and, by the end of her third grade year, Hogenson was satisfied that S.D. was demonstrating an acceptable degree of consistency in her reading and writing abilities, and that she had mastered the educational objectives that had been set for her. During the Spring of 1991, S.D. began seeing a licensed consulting psychologist, Dr. Mary Ann Versteeg-Halbert (“Halbert”). This consultation resulted from S.D.’s disruptive and self-abusive conduct at home — conduct that was not replicated during her attendance at school. In the course of her therapy sessions, Halbert suggested that further neuropsychological testing be conducted by Dr. Carmen Gutterman. In August of 1991, Dr. Gutterman concluded that S.D.’s learning problems were severe, and she strongly recommended that S.D. be considered for placement at the Groves Learning Center (“Groves”), a specialized school for children with learning and language difficulties which is located within the boundaries of the School District. In September of 1991, S.D. returned to Peter Hobart to start her third grade year. She continued to receive special education assistance, as well as Chapter One- assistance in math. At that time, standardized testing of her basic skills documented that S.D. had a composite score at the 2nd percentile, a reading score at the 23rd percentile, a language score at the 8th percentile, and a math score at the 1st percentile. In late September of 1991, Dr. Susan Storti, a psychological consultant in educational disabilities, evaluated S.D. and concluded that she exhibited the characteristics of a visually-based dyslexic. During this period of time, S.D. was also evaluated for an attention deficit disorder (“ADD”), by a neurologist, Dr. Reno Backus, and by her pediatrician, Dr. James R. Moore. In a controlled test that was conducted by Dr. Storti, S.D. favorably responded to the administration of Ritalin, which is a commonly prescribed medication for ADD. Physicians’ Desk Reference, at p. 835 (48th Ed.1994). Despite the opinion of S.D.’s physicians, that she had treatable ADD which would benefit from daily drag therapy, the prescribed course of Ritalin was short-lived as S.D. complained about its administration and it was discontinued without any investigation as to whether a substitute medication, having similar therapeutic worth, could be prescribed. ..After some delay, during which the- reports and evaluations of the examining physicians were gathered, an IEP was developed on December 13, 1991. This IEP prescribed a continuation of the regular classroom instruction, with a resource room being available for assistance in social studies and science, and with Chapter One assistance in mathematics. About this same time, however, the level of cooperation between S.D.’s parents and the School District began to deteriorate. For the first time, S.D.’s parents inquired about S.D.’s possible placement at Groves, but the School District expressed a refusal to pay for such a placement. On December 18, 1991, S.D.’s mother wrote to the School District, advising that she considered S.D.’s most recent IEP to be inadequate, but that S.D. would, nonetheless, remain at Peter Hobart for the time being. On January 30, 1992, a conciliation conference was conducted in order to address the issues which surrounded S.D.’s most recent IEP, and Dr. Storti’s potential involvement in planning goals and objectives for S.D.’s future education. Placement at Groves was not discussed during this conference. The School District concluded that Dr. Storti would have the opportunity to evaluate S.D. and to monitor her progress to some degree, but that she would not be permitted to assess the success of an IEP, since that evaluatory function was the sole responsibility of the District. On March 12, 1992, a mathematics addendum was added to the IEP, with special education prescribed which would replace the Chapter One services in addressing S.D.’s numeration skills, number fact skills, and problem-solving and measurement abilities. On that same date, extended school year services were discussed at a meeting between Dr. Storti and the School District’s special education staff. As well, around this same period of time, S.D.’s parents requested the School District to subsidize a summer program for S.D. at Groves. On March 27, 1992, what ultimately became the final IEP for S.D. was formulated. This IEP would remain in force through the balance of S.D.’s third grade year, and it prescribed weekly special education services in the regular classroom setting, and an extended school year from June 15 through July 2, 1992, as well as homebound instruction in August of 1992 — all of which would be provided and paid for by the School District. In April of 1992, S.D.’s parents requested Keenan to retain S.D. in the third grade and, in particular, both S.D. and her parents wanted her to continue under the tutelage of Keenan. Keenan referred the parents to School Principal Linda Wood (“Wood”), who advised that retention of S.D. at Peter Hobart would not be recommended. Wood proposed that S.D. attend fourth grade at the Susan Lindgren Intermediate School, which was also within the School District or, if her parents were insistent upon S.D.’s retention in the third grade, that S.D. attend the third grade at Susan Lindgren where the only remaining third grade assignments could be arranged within the District. On May 8, 1992, S.D.’s mother expressed her dissatisfaction with the IEP and with the District’s proposed summer program, and she requested a conciliation conference in an effort to resolve the problem. On May 28, 1992, a conference was held and it was agreed that the District would provide services, in a group setting, for the summer periods that S.D. was able to attend and, thereafter, to provide private services. Nevertheless, the District would not agree to fund summer attendance at Groves. During the Summer of 1992, S.D. participated in a District program for three weeks, and also attended Groves for a four-week tutorial, at a cost of $780. S.D.’s mother, who was able to observe S.D. in both settings, concluded that the Groves program was more beneficial to her daughter. After her completion of these programs and her attendance at a summer camp, S.D. received the additional home tutoring that the District had agreed to provide, and that occurred in August of 1992. On September 8, 1992, S.D. began to attend the fourth grade at Susan Lindgren. Her IEP was not formally implemented during the first two weeks of that school year, although S.D. was being observed by a special education teacher, Susan Host (“Host”). Host worked with S.D. to a limited extent during this same period of time since the process of adjusting to a new environment, rather than academics, was the highest order of priority in these first few weeks of the fourth grade. On September 14, 1992, S.D.’s parents requested that she be reassessed before the IEP was implemented, but this request was denied by the School District because she had been recently reevaluated and would again be evaluated later that Winter. On September 21 and 22, 1992, S.D. did not attend school, but was a visitor at Groves, where she and her parents agreed that she would attend on a trial basis. On September 28, 1992, S.D. went to Groves and, after a few days there, she made the adjustment to the new environment and she decided to stay enrolled there, rather than to return to Susan Lindgren. Unlike her largely “mainstreamed” classwork at the School District, at Groves, S.D. was assigned to a classroom that was solely reserved for students who suffered from learning disabilities. Following their unilateral placement of S.D. at Groves, her parents notified the School District, after-the-fact, of their decision to withdraw S.D. from Susan Lindgren. In a letter of notification to the Minnesota Department of Education, S.D.’s attorney requested a Due Process' Hearing under the provisions of the IDEA. See, Title 20 U.S.C. § 1400, et seq. As noted, the IDEA protects the educational rights of handicapped children in the following manner: In order for a State to qualify, under the IDEA, for Federal assistance in meeting the educational needs of handicapped children, it must, inter alia, have in effect a policy that assures all handicapped children the right to a “free appropriate public education,” and establish procedural safeguards as required by Section 1415 of the Act. See, Title 20 U.S.C. § 1412(1) and (5). Among the procedural safeguards that are mandated by the IDEA, Section 1415(b)(2) requires an independent Due Process Hearing to be conducted by a State educational agency, so as to insure that the parents of handicapped children will be afforded an opportunity to register their complaints concerning a public school’s evaluation or the educational placement of their child. Pursuant to the Act, the State of Minnesota has promulgated Rules which create a procedure for the conduct of such Hearings, and S.D.’s request for a Hearing was pursuant to these Rules. See, Minnesota Statutes Section 120.17, Subdivision 3b(e), and Minnesota Rule 3525.4000. In response to the request of S.D.’s parents, on October 8, 1992, the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education appointed Steve M. Mihalchick, a State Administrative Law Judge, to act as the HO, and scheduled a Hearing to be conducted on November 13, 1992. However, the Hearing was delayed, and was not convened until February of 1993, at which time testimony was presented for a period of twelve days. On June 2, 1993, the [¶] issued a decision which concluded that S.D.’s IEPs substantially satisfied the School District’s obligation to provide S.D. with a “free appropriate public education,” and that the District was not obligated to reimburse S.D.’s parents for the costs of her attendance or her evaluations at Groves, or to otherwise provide her with compensatory educational services. On June 17, 1993, S.D. filed an appeal from the HO’s decision, as authorized by Minnesota Statutes Section 120.17, subdivision 2(g), and, on June 18, 1993, the Minnesota Commissioner of Education appointed Marilyn Roberts as the HRO. Thereafter, on July 16, 1993, S.D. challenged the qualifications of Roberts and, although S.D.’s challenge was denied by the Commissioner, Roberts later resigned from any further participation in the case. Subsequently, on August 11, 1993, the Commissioner appointed K.S. as the HRO to fill the vacancy created by Roberts’ resignation. On August 24, 1993, S.D. filed a Motion to recuse K.S. as the HRO, but that Motion was denied. The HRO heard and considered additional evidence and, on September 13, 1993, issued her decision. In that decision, the HRO concluded that the [¶] had erred in reaching a critical legal conclusion, for the HRO determined that S.D. had, indeed, been denied a “free appropriate public education” by the School District. As a result, the HRO sustained the HO’s award of reimbursements, concluded that the School District was not obligated to reimburse S.D.’s parents for the costs of her evaluations or of her summer instruction at Groves, but would be required to reimburse her parents for the tuition paid at Groves from September 28, 1992, through the end of the 1993-94 school year. Further, the HRO directed the parties to develop an IEP for S.D., which would remedy the deficiencies in her last plan, so as to ensure S.D.’s smooth return to the School District in the Fall of 1994. Lastly, the HRO retained jurisdiction in order “to review and/or approve the IEP if either of the parties so requests.” On October 7, 1993, the School District filed this civil action as an aggrieved party under the judicial review provisions of the IDEA, and named S.D. and her parents as Defendants. See, Title 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(2). Shortly thereafter, on October 12, 1993, the School District filed an Amended Complaint in order to name the HRO and the Commissioners as additional Defendants. In conjunction with her filing of an Answer and an Amended Answer, S.D. served a Counterclaim against the School District, and Cross-claims against the Defendant Commissioners and the HRO. In her Counterclaim, S.D. alleges that the conduct of the School District violated the provisions of the IDEA; the protections of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title 29 U.S.C. § 706 et seq.; the guarantees of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title 42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq.; the tenets of Title 42 U.S.C. § 1983; the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; the provisions of Minnesota Statutes Sections 120.0111, 120.03, and 120.17; the protections of the Minnesota Human Rights Act, Minnesota Statutes Section 363.03, Subdivision 5; the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, Minnesota Statutes Section 13 et seq.; and the common law of negligence. As a result of these purported violations, the Plaintiffs claim both actual and punitive damages against the School District. With respect to her Cross-claims, S.D. asserts violations of the IDEA; of Title 42 U.S.C. § 1983; of Minnesota Statutes Section 120.17, Subdivision 3b and Minnesota Rule 3525.3300(Q); and of the common law of negligence. The School District, the HRO, and the Defendant Commissioners deny any wrongdoing, and each has moved for a dismissal of S.D.’s claims. III. Discussion We preface our discussion of the issues with three general observations that we believe to be particularly warranted. First, while the HO, the HRO and the parties have viewed S.D.’s complaints as a continuum that has extended throughout her years at the School District, we center our-attention — we think necessarily — upon the period of time at which S.D. and her parents decided to abandon her educational choices at Susan Lindgren. To do otherwise, would be to undermine the “cooperative approach” that the IDEA fosters and embodies. As a practical matter, if the participants in the formulation of an IEP resolve their differences through conciliation and yet are able to preserve those same disputes for presentation at a Due Process Hearing, then the prospects for combativeness eclipse any conciliatory promise the IDEA might otherwise provide. We think the better view was expressed by the Court in Town of Burlington v. Dept. of Educ., Com. of Mass., supra at 788: The ultimate question for a court under the [IDEA] is whether a proposed IEP is adequate and appropriate for a particular child at a given point in time. See also, Lenn v. Portland School Committee, 998 F.2d 1083, 1086 (1st Cir.1993); Roland M. v. Concord School Committee, 910 F.2d 983, 990 (1st Cir.1990), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 912, 111 S.Ct. 1122, 113 L.Ed.2d 230 (1991). We do not suggest that the chronology of successive IEPs is not of relevance, or that a cumulative failure of school authorities to properly address a student’s learning disabilities is extraneous to a challenge of that student’s educational placement. Rather, we underscore that the “actions of school systems cannot be * * * judged exclusively in hindsight,” that “[a]n IEP is a snapshot, not a retrospective,” and that, “[i]n striving for ‘appropriateness,’ an IEP must take into account what was, and was not, objectively reasonable when the snapshot was taken, that is, at the time the IEP was promulgated.” Roland M. v. Concord School Committee, supra at 992. Second, inasmuch as the IDEA is a two-headed master, with both procedural and substantive considerations playing prominent roles, there is an inevitable tendency — as was the case here — for the educational forest to be lost in a grove of technocratic trees. We do not minimize the importance which the Courts have attached to the procedural preconditions of an acceptable IEP, but we underscore that an IEP need not have the paradigmatic' precision of a military “close order drill” in order to pass muster. As the Court observed in Lenn v. Portland School Committee, supra at 1086: The IDEA does not promise perfect solutions to the vexing problems posed by the existence of learning disabilities in children and adolescents. The Act sets more modest goals: it emphasizes an appropriate, rather than an ideal education; it requires an adequate, rather than an optimal, IEP. Appropriateness and adequacy are terms of moderation. It follows that, although an IEP must afford some educational benefit to the handicapped child, the benefit conferred need not reach the highest attainable level or even the level needed to maximize the child’s potential. We, therefore, examine the issues before us with a recognition that education is a social science, and that parents, teachers, school administrators, classmates and students do not lend themselves well to unyielding standards of human interplay. Lastly, we think that the Record before us eloquently attests to the existence of more than one roadway that has been paved with good intentions. The course of S.D.’s educational progress has been generously strewn with the good will, dedication and seemingly indefatigable perseverance of her teachers, of her parents and of her school administrators. Given the crippling effects of her severe cognitive impairment, it would seem inevitable that the frustration and anguish, which has attended her instruction, would polarize her familial and professional backers as one educational approach or another achieved less than enduring success. In short, in neither her schooling nor in her upbringing, has S.D. been the victim of any benign neglect or deliberate disregard. While not determinative of any of the issues before us, these generalized remarks should lend some context and perspective to what follows, and should limn the peripheries of our analysis. With this backdrop, we turn to the Motions before us. A. S.D.’s Motion for Leave to Submit Additional Evidence. 1. Standard of Review. In delineating the Record upon judicial review, the language of the IDEA makes clear that “the court shall receive the records of the administrative proceedings, shall hear additional evidence at the request of a party, and, basing its decision on the preponderance of the evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines is appropriate.” Title 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(2). Although phrased in a mandatory tone, the Courts have, with near uniformity, recognized the broad discretion that the reviewing Court wields in allowing any augmentation of the Administrative Record. As the Court expressed in the landmark case of Town of Burlington v. Dept. of Educ., Com. of Mass., supra at 790: We construe “additional” in the ordinary sense of the word, Perrin v. United States, 444 U.S. 37, 42, 100 S.Ct. 311, 314, 62 LJEd.2d 199 (1980), to mean supplemental. Thus construed, this clause does not authorize witnesses at trial to repeat or embellish their prior administrative hearing testimony; this would be entirely inconsistent with the usual meaning of “additional.” We are fortified in this interpretation because it structurally assists in giving due weight to the administrative proceeding, as Rowley requires. Rowley 458 U.S. at 206, 102 S.Ct. at 3051. A trial court must make an independent ruling based on the preponderance of the evidence, but the Act contemplates that the source of the evidence generally will be the administrative hearing, with some supplementation at trial. The reasons for supplementation will vary; they might include gaps in the administrative transcript owing to mechanical failure, unavailability of a witness, an improper exclusion of evidence by the administrative agency, and evidence concerning relevant events occurring subsequent to the administrative hearing. The starting point for determining what additional evidence should be received, however, is the record of the administrative proceeding. In the absence of “solid justification”' for the submission of additional evidence upon judicial review, the administrative hearing process would be undermined and would render meaningless Congress’ admonition that the Courts ascribe “due weight” to those underlying proceedings. Roland M. v. Concord School Committee, supra at 996. In order to preserve the integrity of the administrative process, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit suggested the following gatetending approach: The determination of what is “additional” evidence must be left to the discretion of the trial court which must be carefiil not to allow such evidence to change the character of the hearing from one of review to a trial de novo. A practicable approach, we believe, is that an administrative hearing witness is rebuttably presumed to be foreclosed from testifying at trial. A motion may then be made to allow such a witness to testify within specified limits stating the justification for the testimony. In ruling on motions for witnesses to testify, a court should weigh heavily the important concerns of not allowing a party to undercut the statutory role of administrative expertise, the unfairness involved in one party’s reserving its best evidence for trial, the reason the witness did not testify at the administrative hearing, and the conservation of judicial resources. Town of Burlington v. Dept, of Educ., Com of Mass., supra at 791. Although our Court of Appeals has yet to rule upon the meaning of “additional evidence,” as that phrase has been employed in the context of the IDEA, we are satisfied that the indicia of Congress’ intent, in promulgating the language of Section 1415(e)(2), would persuade the Court to adopt the reasoning and the holding of the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, see, e.g., Bernardsville Board of Education v. J.H., 42 F.3d 149, 161 (3rd Cir.1994); Hunger v. Leininger, 15 F.3d 664, 669-70 (7th Cir.1994), cert. denied,—U.S.-, 115 S.Ct. 123, 130 L.Ed.2d 67 (1994); Ojai Unified School Dist. v. Jackson, 4 F.3d 1467, 1473 (9th Cir.1993), cert. denied,—U.S.-, 115 S.Ct. 90, 130 L.Ed.2d 41 (1994), and that is the standard of review that we deploy here. 2. Legal Analysis. While espousing an interest in presenting additional evidence during the proceedings on appeal, S.D. has not advanced a solid justification for the receipt of such a supplemental record. No proposed witnesses were identified, and those exhibits which S.D. proffered as “Documents Offered to Supplement the Record,” are merely cumulative of the content of an already vastly extended Administrative Record. In an abundance of caution, however, at the Hearing in this matter, we requested counsel for S.D. to make an offer of proof as to the evidence that should properly supplement the Record below. In response, counsel obliquely suggested that the Court might wish to employ an expert witness, and that the emotional stability of S.D. might be an appropriate subject of further testimony. We find no justifiable need for the services of a Court-appointed expert witness, and we reject such an ill-defined proffer of further evidence, concerning S.D.’s emotional state, as unavailing. By Order dated August 20, 1993, the HRO authorized the following supplementation of the Administrative Record: Additional written evidencé'may be presented by both parties. This evidence will be limited to [S.D.’s] performance and progress at Groves during the 1992-3 school year, her emotional and psychological health since her enrollment at Groves, the district’s plans, if any, for [S.D.] should she enroll in the district again this fall, and results of any tests performed on [S.D.] since the due process hearing. Each of the parties elected to provide such additional information as then seemed appropriate. Given the pendency of the District’s Motion for Judgment on the Record, we view the obscurity of S.D.’s identification of proposed new testimony to belie its indispensability. As the Court reasoned in Roland M. v. Concord School Committee, supra at 996: As a means of assuring that the administrative process is accorded its due weight and that judicial review does not become a trial de novo, thereby rendering the administrative hearing nugatory, a party seeking to introduce additional evidence at the district court level must provide some solid justification for doing so. Such justification is entirely wanting here and, despite the passage of sufficient time, S.D.’s proffer of a justification for any supplementation has not been forthcoming. Given the expansiveness of the Record before us, as it relates to the appropriateness of the District’s education at the time that S.D. transferred to Groves, we are persuaded that a fully informed decision may be drawn as to that ultimate question without a further augmentation of the Record. Accordingly, S.D.’s Motion to Supplement the Record is denied. B. The District’s Motion for Judgment on the Record,. In reviewing an administrative determination under the IDEA, the Court must address two questions which are aimed at the School District’s paralleling responsibilities to comply with the procedural and substantive requirements of the Act: First, has the State complied with the procedures set forth in the Act? And second, is the individualized educational program developed through the Act’s procedures reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits? If these requirements are met, the State has complied with the obligations imposed by Congress and the courts can require no more. Petersen v. Hastings Public Schools, supra at 707, quoting Hendrick Hudson Dist. Bd. of Ed. v. Rowley, supra at 206-207, 102 S.Ct. at 3050-51. Here, S.D. challenges both the procedural and substantive underpinnings of the District’s promulgation of her IEP and, accordingly, our analysis addresses each category of error. 1. The Claimed Procedural Errors. a. Standard of Review. The Supreme Court has unmistakably recognized that the adequacy of an IEP is to be judged by whether the procedural requirements of the IDEA have been satisfied. In pertinent part, the Court stated: When the elaborate and highly specific procedural safeguards embodied in § 1415 are contrasted with the general and somewhat imprecise substantive admonitions contained in the Act, we think that the importance Congress attached to these procedural safeguards cannot be gainsaid. It seems to us no exaggeration to say that Congress placed every bit as much emphasis upon compliance with procedures giving parents and guardians a large measure of participation at every stage of the administrative process, see, e.g., §§ 1415(a)-(d), as it did upon the measurement of the resulting IEP against a substantive standard. Hendrick Hudson Dist. Bd. of Ed. v. Rowley, supra at 205-06, 102 S.Ct. at 3050. Nevertheless, not every technical violation of the procedural prerequisites of an IEP will invalidate its legitimacy. The settled rule has been expressed as follows: Courts must strictly scrutinize IEPs to ensure their procedural integrity. * * * Strictness, however, must be tempered by considerations of fairness and practicality: procedural flaws do not automatically render an IEP légally defective. * * * Before an IEP is set aside, there must be some rational basis to believe that procedural inadequacies compromised the pupil’s right to an appropriate education, seriously hampered the parents’ opportunity to participate in the formulation process, or caused a deprivation of educational benefits. Roland M. v. Concord School Committee, supra at 994; see also, Murphy v. Timberlane Regional School Dist., 22 F.3d 1186, 1196 (1st Cir.1994); Hampton School Dist. v. Dobrowolski, 976 F.2d 48, 64 (1st Cir.1992); Burke County Bd. of Ed. v. Denton, 895 F.2d 973, 982 (4th Cir.1990); Doe By and Through Doe v. Defendant I, 898 F.2d 1186, 1190-91 (6th Cir.1990). As a consequence, a challenge to the validity of an IEP, based upon a “laundry listing” which details a “myriad of technical” deficiencies, may well be insufficient to discredit the appropriateness of the education that was shouldered by that IEP. Doe By and Through Doe v. Defendant I, supra at 1190, 1191; Evans v. District No. 17 of Douglas County, Neb., 841 F.2d 824, 828-31 (8th Cir.1988). b. Legal Analysis. Both the [¶] and the HRO found technical deficiencies in the IEPs that the parties had jointly prepared for S.D.’s instructional program. Although the [¶] concluded that the deficiencies were harmless, the HRO took exception to that conclusion as follows: Though the Hearing Officer concluded the Student’s IEPs were lacking he nonetheless concluded that she received an appropriate education. I cannot agree. The IEPs did not contain the specificity required by federal and state law, they were deficient in providing her with math services (until the end of the third grade), did not address her emotional needs and did not provide a learning environment that addressed her ADD. I find these deficiencies went beyond harmless error and constitute a failure to provide an appropriate education. Unfortunately, the HRO did not attempt to explain how any of the purported deficiencies had impacted upon the appropriateness of S.D.’s educational experience.' Furthermore, by gathering her litany of asserted deficiencies into a broadly expressed flaw, the HRO holds the District accountable for IEPs which received the unconditional acceptance of S.D.’s parents, and blurs the standard by which SJD.’s IEP, that prompted her decision to leave the School District, was adjudged. Accordingly, we find reversible error. In our view, with but inconsequential exception, the School District properly assured that S.D.’s parents were active participants in the development and implementation of her IEPs. The repeated intimations of her parents, that they were not entirely acclimated to the prospect of any discord in the promulgation of S.D.’s IEPs, is not substantiated by this Record. See, Chuhran v. Walled Lake Consol. Schools, 839 F.Supp. 465, 471 (E.D.Mich.1993) (“[Technical defects are not sufficient to render the IEP inappropriate if the parents and district are aware of the relevant information.”). To the contrary, the educational growth of S.D. has clearly benefited from the aggressively participative role that her parents played in the formulation of her instructional agenda. Their expressions of concern and their requests for contemporaneous reports on S.D.’s accomplishments did not fall upon deaf ears. Indeed, as events progressed to the ultimate point of irreconcilability, S.D.’s parents — and particularly her mother — assumed a greater responsibility for assuring the presence of those consultants, who they felt would be instrumental in realigning S.D.’s educational program, alt the IEP consultative and conciliatory conferences. It was by no accident that the health care professionals, who were treating S.D.’s emotional and educational complications, were present when S.D.’s final IEP was subjected to intense reconsideration. Accordingly, insofar as assuring adequate parental involvement and participation in formulating S.D.’s IEP, we find no appreciable procedural deficiency on the District’s part. See, Doe By and Through Doe v. Defendant I, supra at 1190-91 (Procedural safeguards emphasized by Rowley pertain to the process by which the IEP is produced, “rather than the myriad of technical items that must be included in the written document”). Moreover, unlike a chemical formula, which will produce the same reaction so long as the laws of science endure, an IEP will not produce a perfect, predictable result with the same inevitability. While the HRO takes the District to task for failing to address, in the confines of the IEP, S.D.’s emotional needs or the impact of ADD upon her educational program, we think the complaint is grossly overstated. At no time did S.D. exhibit disruptive, emotional misbehavior in her attendance at the District’s schools. As best as this Record would reflect, S.D.’s emotional disposition at school was remarkable only to the extent that she was pleasant in her exchanges with her instructors and enjoyed assisting her classmates. Whatever emotions may have been vented in her home environment, there is no suggestion that they were replicated in S.D.’s school activities, or adversely affected her instructional accomplishments at school. While we can accept that the District may bear some responsibility for school-related emotional distress irrespective of where it should be exhibited, we are at a loss to ascertain what more the District could do than consult with its own staff and with S.D.’s health care professionals in assessing the significance of S.D.’s psychological state. Here, there is no evidence that the District refused the request of either S.D.’s parents or of her psychologists for a prescribed course of emotional care. More importantly, we think the HRO clearly misapprehended the state of the evidence as it related to S.D.’s diagnosis of ADD. The only involvement of the District in the diagnosis and treatment of S.D.’s ADD was solicited by Dr. Storti, after her clinical tests revealed that the condition was treatable with a prescribed course of Ritalin. Dr. Storti enlisted the assistance of S.D.’s pediatrician in order to assure that the District would assist in administering a mid-day dosage of medications. Nothing in this Record would permit an inference that the state of S.D.’s ADD and her self-imposed refusal to treat that condition was attributable to any act on the District’s part. Unlike the HRO, we can not responsibly overlook the abandonment by S.D., and her parents, of a course of prescribed medical care for an impairment which, unquestionably, can adversely impact upon a child’s ability to learn. We are aware of no authority, and S.D. has cited none for our review, which would ascribe any responsibility to the School District for a student’s failure to adhere to prescribed clinical care for a treatable medical condition. Further, whatever may be said of S.D.’s prior IEPs, her IEP at the time she transferred to Groves included special education for her difficulties in mathematics. Accordingly, looking at the “snapshot” of S.D.’s relevant IEP, there was no deficiency in the subject area of mathematics as ascribed by the HRO. Of course, the HRO also concluded that the District had violated Federal law by utilizing Chapter One funding for S.D.’s instruction in math, but the HRO made no finding that the Chapter One instruction was deficient substantively, nor would the Record permit any such finding. As to the remainder of the technical deficiencies that the HRO recited in her Conclusions of Law, we find those equally harmless. As the HRO explained: Certain other procedural errors were made by the District as stated in my conclusions of law; While they are troublesome, I did not base my decision on these procedural errors. Were any of these purported deficiencies of substantial import; we are satisfied that the HRO would have explained their substance. On administrative review, more is demanded of an HRO than a mere litany of perceived imperfections in the content of an IEP. Unless, on a cogently rational basis, those imperfections are causatively related to a serious impairment of a parent’s opportunity to knowledgeably participate in the IEP procedure, or to the deprivation of educational benefits, they should not produce — as if by reflex action — an invalidation of the IEP process. In sum, we are satisfied, on the entirety of the Record before us, that the District satisfactorily complied with the procedural mandates of the IDEA. 2. The Claimed Substantive Errors. Where, as here, a student is transferred by her parents to a private school, the student’s School District would be responsible for the costs of that placement if the Court determines that the IEP, which called for the student’s instruction in a public school, was “inappropriate,” and that the private placement was proper under the Act. Burlington School Comm. v. Mass. Dept. of Ed., supra at 370, 105 S.Ct. at 2002. Since we have already concluded that the School District’s IEP for S.D. satisfied the procedural requirements of the Act, we need now only consider whether, substantively, the IEP was adequate, and whether S.D.’s placement at Groves was proper. Roland M. v. Concord School Committee, supra at 1000; see also, Florence County School Dist. Four v. Carter, supra at 8, 114 S.Ct. at 363 (Parents entitled to a reimbursement for a private placement “only if a federal court concludes both that the public placement violated IDEA, • and that the private school placement was proper under the Act.”- [Emphasis in original]). Our analysis, therefore, turns to these substantive issues. a. Standard of Review. In addition to its procedural requirements, the IDEA also mandates that a student’s IEP be “reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits.” Hendrick Hudson Dist. Bd. of Ed. v. Rowley, supra at 207, 102 S.Ct. at 3051. The Court has gone on to explain: Insofar as a State is required to provide a handicapped child with a “free appropriate public education,” we hold that it satisfies this requirement by providing personalized instruction with sufficient support services to permit the child to benefit educationally from that instruction. Such instruction and services must be provided at public expense, must meet the State’s educational standards, must approximate the grade levels used in the State’s regular education and must comport with the child’s IEP. .In addition, the IEP, and therefore the personalized instruction, should be formulated in accordance with the requirements of the Act and, if the child is being educated in the regular classrooms of the public education system, should be reasonably calculated to enable the child to achieve passing marks and advance from grade to grade. Id. at 203-04, 102 S.Ct. at 3049. As would seem obvious, while a State may not dimmish the educational criteria established under Federal law, “a state is free to exceed, both substantively and procedurally, the protection and services to be provided to its disabled children.” Town of Burlington v. Dept. of Educ., Com. of Mass., supra at 792. Some States have elected to exceed the substantive Federal criteria, but Minnesota is not one of them. Schuldt v. Mankato School Dist 77, 937 F.2d 1357, 1361 (8th Cir.1991); Bowman v. Independent School District No. 211, Case No. 50-2103-6686-3 (Mmn.Dept.Educ., October 16, 1992). “The objective of the federal floor, then, is the achievement of effective results — demonstrable improvement in the educational and personal skills identified as special needs — as a consequence of implementing the proposed IEP.” Town of Burlington v. Dept. of Educ., Com. of Mass., supra at 788. In addition, under the IDEA, mainstreaming is preferred and States must educate handicapped and non-handicapped children together “to the maximum extent appropriate,” and the special education must be provided in the “least restrictive environment.” Title 20 U.S.C. § 1112(5); 31 C.F.R. § 300.552(d). b. Legal Analysis. In weighing the feasibility of formulating a minimum Federal standard, by which to measure the adequacy of benefits provided under the IDEA, the Court recognized “that the benefits obtainable by children at one end of the spectrum [of handicapped students] [would] differ dramatically from those obtainable by children at the other end, with infinite variations in between.” Hendrick Hudson Dist. Bd. of Ed. v. Rowley, supra at 202, 102 S.Ct. at 3048. As a consequence, the Court settled upon a qualitative standard; namely, that “some benefit” would have to result from the educational process. Id. at 200, 102 S.Ct. at 3047. “The educational benefits do not have to maximize a child’s potential, but must only offer a ‘basic floor of opportunity’ which will allow the child to progress with his education.” Brown v. Wilson County School Bd., 747 F.Supp. 436, 442 (M.D.Tenn.1990), quoting Hendrick Hudson Dist. Bd. of Ed. v. Rowley, supra at 201, 102 S.Ct. at 3048; see also, Lenn v. Portland School Committee, supra at 1091; Gehman v. Prudential Property and Cas. Ins. Co., 702 F.Supp. 1192, 1194 (E.D.Pa.1989). Here, the HRO concluded that S.D. had received no such benefit since, in the HRO’s view, she was unable to read, write or perform math upon her entry into the fourth grade. Even if true, which we do not believe to be the case, there is nothing in this Record to suggest that S.D.’s public education was at fault. The IDEA does not demand that the State cure the disabilities which impair a child’s ability to learn, but requires a program of remediation which would allow the child to learn notwithstanding her disability. The Record uniformly confirms that S.D.’s dyslexia will produce an inconsistency in reading and writing abilities, a tendency toward regression or recidivism upon the discontinuance of training, and a need for repetition, and reenforcement in her instructional tasks. Notably, the Record does not suggest, let alone persuasively demonstrate, that S.D.’s instructional regime at Groves was materially different than that employed in the School District, with the singular exception of her segregation, at Groves, in a student body that was exclusively for the learning disabled. Her educational milieu at Groves was not distinctive in its physical facilities, in its supportive services, or in its professional staff. Indeed, we wholly agree with the HO’s observation: It is interesting to note that the District generally assessed the same needs as did Groves and that it used virtually all of the ■same teaching techniques as are being applied at Groves. The District had computer programs that Sarah used to learn to tell time, just as she uses at Groves; the District used various manipulatives in teaching Sarah math, just as are used at Groves; the District used multisensory techniques in teaching reading such as tracing letters in sand or other material, just as used at Groves. The special educators at the District are generally better trained and more experienced than the special educators at Groves. The only real difference in the program provided at Groves is the small classroom setting of six to eight students and the presence in the school of only learning-disabled children. Moreover, the supplemental evidence which was adduced before the HRO demonstrated that S.D.’s objective achievements at Groves, particularly in the area of her language skills, were not appreciably different than at the School District' and, in fact, may have regressed somewhat. While her proficiency at mathematics may have improved to some degree at Groves, the substantiality of that evidence, and its academic significance, is disputed. We would merely note that, overall, S.D.’s educational experience at Groves does not discredit the adequacy of her educational accomplishments at the School District. See, Roland M. v. Concord School Committee, supra at 991-92 (recognizing that academic results of private placement is relevant as but one factor in determining the appropriateness of that placement). Indeed, we do not find the instructional regimen between the two schools to be meaningfully distinct. Accordingly, based upon the entirety of the Record before us, we find and conclude that S.D. received a “free appropriate public education” at the School District, that her learning and language skills improved from grade to grade, that she demonstrated greater consistency as her instructions progressed, and her exposure to a mainstreamed environment was beneficial to her socialization skills. Notably, S.D.’s comprehension in other areas of instruction was unaffected, or largely unaffected, by her dyslexic condition. ■ For instance, the [¶] found — and we concur— that S.D. presents no special educational needs in social studies, science, art or gym, and that she was a happy and participative student at the School District. As a consequence of the class composition and structure at Groves, S.D. has no occasion to participate with non-handicapped students in these areas of study — areas in which she has no need for special services. While finding S.D.’s association with her disabled classmates at Groves “troubling,” the HRO concluded, on an unspecified evidentiary basis, that “Groves’ environment is clearly superior for the Student’s emotional needs.” Of course, if the environment at Groves were, in fact, superior to that at the School District, then we would have no reason to believe that her placement at Groves should be “troubling” in any respect. Nor do we find any credible basis to believe that S.D.’s attendance at “Girl Scouts” or “YMCA activities” is a comparable experience to “mainstreaming,” or is adequate to develop what the HRO recognized as essential coping skills if S.D. is ever “to accept her disability and interact with children without disabilities.” In sum, we do not find S.D.’s placement at Groves to be proper, particularly with its wholly segregated class structure. While the HRO concluded that, at Groves, S.D. did not “miss science, social studies, or art,” the HRO provided no explanation as to why those courses should not be taught in a class in which S.D. would be associated with non-disabled children. Segregation for segregation’s sake is anathéma under the IDEA. We are satisfied that a preponderance of the evidence supports the HO’s finding that “[S.D.] is fully capable of attending regular education classrooms during content subjects such as health, social studies[,] science, art and gym.” The HRO regarded this finding to be flawed, but for reasons that are as imaginary as they are unfounded. First, the HRO felt that her belief, that S.D. had made “minimal or no progress in the basic skills [of] reading, writing and mathematics,” would inevitably cause her to “fall behind” because she could not read her “science and social studies textbooks.” While, undoubtedly, an inventive mind can structure an instructional format which would impair S.D.’s educational growth, our function is to review an Administrative Record and not to conjure worst-case scenarios. Here, consistent with the testimony of S.D.’s teachers, the [¶] properly found that “[S.D.] has never had a special education need or deficit in the areas of science, social studies, art gym or health,” and that, “[w]ith appropriate modifications, [S.D.] can and has fully participated and succeeded in regular education in these subjects.” In this finding, we find no error. Next, the HRO suggests that “there is no evidence that the progress made in [science and social studies] was the result of the District’s efforts.” She continues by noting that S.D. was removed from these classes in order that she could attend her individualized instruction in the resource room, and that she received instruction from her parents and from public educational television. Rather than contradicting the HO’s factual findings, as the HRO would appear to suggest, we think these observations underscore S.D.’s ability to progress in her education through means other than reading — means which the School District must have been providing, given the HO’s recognition of S.D.’s success in these studies. In this same respect, we note the abundance of evidence that the School District’s instructors were utilizing multisensory approaches with S.D. so as to promote her cognitive capabilities in ways which might otherwise be hindered by an educational process that was strictly confined to reading and writing. Lastly, the HRO asserts that there was “uncontroverted evidence that the program provided by the District was detrimental to the Student’s emotional well-being.” Of course, the HRO does not address the emotional consequences of untreated ADD — a circumstance over which the School District had no control — nor does she consider the obvious fact that, insofar as