Cde

MEMORANDUM

The California Department of Education appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Irvine Unified School District (IUSD), K.G., and the Orange County Department of Education. K.G. was a ward of the state of California who was placed at an out-of-state residential treatment facility due to his exceptional emotional needs. The district court held that the California Department of Education was responsible for providing a free and public education (F.A.P.E.) to K.G., reasoning that K.G. was “parentless” for purposes of the California school residency statute, Cal. Educ.Code § 48200. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . In light of our recent decision in Orange County Department of Education v. California Department of Education, 668 F.3d 1052 (9th Cir.2011), which had not been decided at the time summary judgment was granted, we must reverse.

In Orange County, we held that the 2007 version of Cal. Educ.Code § 56028 supplied the definition of “parent” for Cal. Educ.Code § 48200. Orange County, 668 F.3d at 1058 . The definition of “parent” in § 56028 includes “[a] guardian ... authorized to make educational decisions for [a]…