Garcia

When a student between the ages of 18 and 22 who is eligible for special education services in California is incarcerated in a county jail, who pays the cost of those services? The school district of the student’s parent’s residence? The county in which the jail is located? The State of California? To find out, we certified a question of California law — -specifically, the interpretation of California Education Code section 56041 — to the Supreme Court of California. L.A. Unified Sch. Dist. v. Garcia, 669 F.3d 956 (9th Cir.2012).

On December 12, 2013, the California Supreme Court gave its answer: The cost of the student’s education is borne by the school district where the student’s parent resides. L.A. Unified Sch. Dist. v. Garcia, 58 Cal.4th 175 , 165 Cal.Rptr.3d 460 , 314 P.3d 767 (2013). The facts of the case are detailed in our order certifying the question to the California Supreme Court, 669 F.3d at 958-59 , and in the California Supreme Court’s opinion, which is attached as an appendix to this opinion. The district court had affirmed a 2009 decision of the California Office of Administrative Hearings that the Los Angeles Unified *923 School District was…