Hamden Public Schools/New Haven Magnet School 26-0135

Complaint Summary

Date Findings Report Sent

November 21, 2025

Case Number:

26-0135

Grade Level:

High school

Person filing complaint:

Parent

School District:

Hamden Public Schools/New Haven Magnet School

Allegation(s):

  • Issue 1: The Parent alleged that the District delayed responding to the Parent’s request for a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) to address the Student’s behaviors from March 11, 2025, until May 13, 2025, and that the FBA still had not been completed as of the filing of this complaint. The Parent further alleged that the Student continued to display behavior that impeded his learning and resulted in disciplinary actions following her request for the FBA. 34 CFR § 300.324(a)(2)(i)
  • Issue 2: The Parent alleged that the School did not implement the Student’s accommodations of access to breaks and use of headphones. 34 CFR §§ 300.323(c)(2) and 300.17(d) and RCSA § 10-76d-1(a)(1)

Conclusion(s):

  • Issue 1: While the IDEA requires the PPT to consider the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports and other strategies to address the behavior of a child whose behavior impedes the child’s learning or that of others, the IDEA does not require that an FBA be conducted to meet this requirement. However, the Student’s IEPs dated February 27, 2025, and May 13, 2025, both indicated that the Student exhibits behaviors that impede learning for self or others and the PPT agreed to conduct an FBA on May 13, 2025. When there is no articulated timeline, we must apply a standard of reasonableness. It is unreasonable for the Parent’s request for an FBA and the District’s recommendation of conducting an FBA to be pending for the amount of time that it been in this case. Even considering that the District was unable to initiate conducting the FBA between May 13, 2025, and June 11, 2025, when the Parent signed consent for the FBA, there was still a lengthy amount of time that passed between the Parent’s request and the PPT meeting to make the recommendation and the start of the 2025-2026 school year and the District’s attempts to obtain parental consent for ACES to conduct the FBA. While the Student’s behavior resulted in a one day in-school suspension in September 2025, he also received 14 office referrals/write-up with similar patterns of behavior between March 2025 and September 2025, in which an FBA could have potentially assisted in providing educational benefit. Therefore, it is determined that the District is in violation of 34 CFR § 300.324(a)(2)(i). Corrective action is required.
  • Issue 2: Although the teacher stated on January 8, 2025, that they would deny the Student’s request to use the bathroom in the future, the request to use the bathroom was never actually denied. Furthermore, the Student’s IEP accommodation provided access to a break and on January 8, 2025, the Student requested to use the bathroom and then remained out of the classroom for the majority of the class period. The Magnet School followed up with the teacher after the Parent expressed concerns and the Student’s request to use the bathroom as an attempt to take a break was clarified and documented in subsequent PPT meetings on January 21, 2025, and February 27, 2025. Therefore, the Magnet School was not in violation of 34 CFR §§ 300.323(c)(2) and 300.17(d) and RCSA § 10-76d-1(a)(1). No corrective action is required. Given the parameters established by the Student’s IEP accommodations and the Student’s social/emotional behavioral support plan as they relate to the Student’s use of headphones (Facts #20 and 21), it is determined that the Magnet School did not violate 34 CFR §§ 300.323(c)(2) and 300.17(d) and RCSA § 10-76d-1(a)(1) on September 29, 2025, when the teacher asked the Student to remove his headphones upon entering his homeroom/advisory class. If school administration was allowing the Student full access to headphones throughout the school day based on extenuating circumstances, it was outside of the PPT process and the teacher’s request did not result in a failure to implement the Student’s IEP as it related to his use of headphones accommodation. No corrective action is required. Through the course of this investigation, it was found that there were no progress reports on IEP goals and objectives for the spring 2025 and at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. 34 CFR § 300.320(a)(3) requires that the IEP must include a description of how the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals (such as through the use of quarterly or other periodic reports, concurrent with the issuance of report cards) will be measured; and when periodic reports on the progress the child is making toward meeting the annual goals will be provided. The Student’s IEPs state that progress reports on IEP goals and objectives must be provided to the Parent consistent with general education grade-level report cards. The Magnet School did not provide the Student with progress reports on IEP goals and objectives consistent with general education grade level report cards in accordance with the Student’s IEPs. Therefore, the Magnet School is in violation of 34 CFR § 300.320(a)(3). Corrective action is required. 

Corrective Action(s):

  • The District must review the requirements of 34 CFR § 300.324(a)(2)(i) with District staff members on the Student’s PPT for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years. The content of the review and staff signatures and date must be sent to this investigator on or before January 9, 2026. The District must provide this investigator with updates on the completion of the FBA, beginning on December 1, 2025, through the review of the FBA at a PPT meeting. Monthly updates are to be sent to this investigator. The Magnet School must provide training to special education case managers assigned to the Student in the documentation of Student progress on IEP goals and objectives in accordance with the Students’ IEPs. The content of the training and staff signatures and date must be sent to this investigator on or before January 9, 2026. Upon receipt of this letter, the Magnet School must provide the Parent with progress reports on IEP goals and objectives for the spring 2025 and the end of the 2024-2025 school year. Copies of these reports must be sent to this investigator.