Tri-County Special Education Local Plan Area v. County of Tuolumne

This is an appeal from judgment entered after the trial court sustained respondents’ demurrer to appellants’ complaint; the court denied appellants leave to amend. The case involves the duty to provide mental health services to handicapped students; the appeal involves somewhat novel questions of exhaustion of administrative remedies in the context of disputes between governmental agencies. We will conclude that both appellants and respondents have failed to exhaust administrative remedies. Accordingly, we will affirm the judgment but disagree with one of the trial court’s grounds for sustaining the demurrer.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Because judgment was entered upon the granting of demurrer, our summary of facts is limited to those pled in the complaint, together with facts judicially noticeable. (Crowley v. Katleman (1994) 8 Cal.4th 666, 672 [ 34 Cal.Rptr.2d 386 , 881 P.2d 1083 ].)

A. The Parties

Appellant Tri-County Special Education Local Plan Area is a public entity organized pursuant to Education Code section 56195 et seq. It is alleged to be “responsible for assuring access to special education and related services for individuals with exceptional needs who…