Bishop

The issue presented in this case is whether the district court erred in finding that Lionel B. Poolaw III, a profoundly deaf Native American child, could not receive an appropriate education in a mainstream school environment. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the Parker Unified School District and the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction in an action brought by Lionel’s parents under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) challenging the Superintendent’s decision to place Lionel in a school for the deaf located 280 miles from his home. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

Lionel Poolaw is a thirteen-year-old Native American boy who is profoundly deaf. In 1985, when Lionel was four years old, his parents sought to enroll him in school. At that time Lionel resided on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in Arizona, part of the Parker Unified School District (“Parker”). He was enrolled in the Head Start preschool program in Parker. At Parker’s request, Heidi Gray, a certified teacher of the hearing impaired, evaluated Lionel. Based on her review of his academic record, her observation of Lionel, and interviews with his parents and his…