Richardson v. District of Columbia, 50 IDELR 6, 541 F. Supp.2d 246 (D. D.C. 2008)

In her presentation at the 19th Annual CASE (Counsel for Administrators in Special Education), Julie Weatherly mentioned a case involving a situation whereby a school district made repeated efforts to obtain a student's psychiatric records from a private psychiatrist; however, the parent's refused to release the existing psychiatric records. This amounted to a failure to cooperate with the IEP process. The school district had no obligation to conduct its own evaluation when the information it needed to determine eligibility was available from the private psychiatrist. Furthermore, it was determined there was no fault in the district's decision that the student was not eligible under the IDEA without the private evaluative information.

Schools and parents must work together on behalf of children for the provision of special education and related services. They are worth it.