Anna Hood Lynn Hood Richard Hood v. Encinitas Union School District and Does 1-10

Anna Hood and her parents (hereinafter “appellants” or “the Hoods”) brought this claim alleging that the Encinitas Union School District (hereinafter “appellee” or “the school district”) violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1419 (2000), by refusing to provide Anna with special education services. This claim seeks reimbursement for private school education that the Hoods obtained for Anna after withdrawing her from the public school system. A California special education hearing officer denied the Hoods relief, and the district court affirmed.

On appeal, the Hoods offer two grounds under which Anna should be categorized as a child with a disability per 20 U.S.C. § 1401 (3) and is therefore entitled to special education. First, they assert that Anna has a “specific learning disability” because she exhibits a severe discrepancy between her achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of the academic areas enumerated in Cal. Educ.Code § 56337 (2002), as calculated per the formula provided in CaLCode Regs. tit. 5, § 3030(j)(4)(A) (2002), and the discrepancy cannot be corrected through other regular or categorical services offered…