The mother of a 14-year-old girl has filed a federal lawsuit against the School Committee seeking "reasonable attorney's fees and costs" — up to $52,000 — after claiming the school district didn't provide the proper special education services for her daughter.
The names of the girl and her mother have been redacted from the complaint filed in U.S. District Court at the end of last month by their attorney Jeffrey M. Sankey, who works at Dolan Connly, P.C., a Boston-based law firm.
The lawsuit only considers the "reasonable attorney fees and costs" based on previous litigation between the mother and school district, which has already been settled.
The mother claims the school district failed to provide adequate special education services during her daughter's eighth grade year and disagreed with her daughter's placement at Andover High School for the 2011-2012 school year.
She requested a hearing before the Bureau of Special Education Appeals concerning her daughter's special education program and placement on July 13, according to the documents. The girl has a specific diagnosis of language-based learning disability manifested by particular difficulties in reading comprehension, written expression and mathematics.
The mother requested "compensatory services" for the 2010-2011 school year and that her daughter be placed at the Landmark School in Beverly for the 2011-2012 school year at the district's expense. Landmark School is a private school specializing in language-based learning disabilities, according to the documents.
The hearing, which took place over a three-day period in October, ruled in favor of the parent "in all respects." The school district was ordered to pay for the out-of-district placement at Landmark School and provide compensatory services in reading, speech and language, according to the documents.
Sankey said he spent about 149 hours representing the plaintiffs, at a rate of $350 an hour. This amounts to $52,115, according to a court affidavit.
Other expenses, such as mailings and parking fees, add up to about $200, according to the affidavit.
A judge will determine the final amount if the complaint is granted, Sankey said.
The lawsuit argues that the 14-year-old would not have been provided the proper services if it wasn't for the "litigation of the issues before the BSEA."
As the prevailing party before the appeals board, the plaintiffs have the right to seek the "reasonable attorney's fees and costs" in court, Sankey said. The BSEA doesn't have the authority to grant such relief, Sankey said.
An invoice has been presented to the School Committee for $52,315, but it has refused to pay, according to the lawsuit.
School Committee Chairwoman Annie Gilbert declined comment.
It is the school district's responsibility to provide a "free appropriate public education" to all school-age children with disabilities residing in Andover, according to the documents.
The mother said her daughter has been "denied FAPE through the district's delayed or non-response to parental requests for evaluation, services and accommodations," according to court documents.
Her daughter's freshman year placement at Andover High School for the 2011-2012 school year further denied her an appropriate education, "because it fails to deliver the curriculum in an classroom environment setting with appropriate language-based methodology designed to address her learning disabilities," according to the documents.
