Orange Cty. Dept. of Educ. v. Cal. Dept. of Educ.

Marsha A. Bedwell, General Counsel, Amy Bisson Holloway, Assistant General Counsel, Michael E. Hersher, Deputy General Counsel, Edmundo Aguilar (argued), Deputy General Counsel, and Len Garfinkel, Deputy General Counsel, California Department of Education, Sacramento, CA, for the respondent-appellant.

Karen Van Dijk (argued) and Jennifer C. Brown, Best Best & Krieger, LLP, Irvine, CA, for the petitioner-appellee.

Kathleen M. Loyer (argued), Law Offices of Kathleen M. Loyer, San Clemente, CA, for respondent A.S., a minor.

Before: RAYMOND C. FISHER and JAY S. BYBEE, Circuit Judges, and EDWARD F. SHEA, District Judge. [*]

Opinion by Judge FISHER, Partial Concurrence and Partial Dissent by Judge BYBEE.

FISHER, Circuit Judge:

We hold as a matter of California law that the California agency responsible for funding a special education student's education at an out-of-state residential treatment facility is the school district in which the student's parent, as defined by California Education Code section 56028, resides. We hold that A.S., the student whose education is at issue, had no "parent" under the 2005 version of section 56028. Thus, from July 28, 2006, when A.S. was placed…