G. v. Cranston School ( 1997 )

USCA1 Opinion

                           United States Court of Appeals

                                For the First Circuit

                                ____________________


       No. 97-1785


                                 KEVIN G., A MINOR,

               BY JO-ANN AND ROBERT G., HIS PARENTS AND NEXT FRIENDS,


                               Plaintiffs, Appellants,


                                         v.


                  CRANSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE AND KATHLEEN F. DELUCA

           IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS TREASURER FOR THE CITY OF CRANSTON,


                               Defendants, Appellees.


                                ____________________


                    APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT


                          FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND


                    [Hon. Francis J. Boyle, U.S. District Judge]


                                ____________________


                                       Before


                                Stahl, Circuit Judge,


                     Aldrich and Coffin, Senior Circuit Judges.


                                ____________________



            Richard J. Savage for appellants.

            William F. Holt, Assistant City Solicitor, for appellees.


                                ____________________


                                  November 17, 1997

                                ____________________












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               Per Curiam.  Kevin G. is an eleven year-old boy who  suffers


          from several medical  conditions, including respiratory  problems


          requiring use of a tracheal  tube for breathing.  He appeals  the


          decision by the Cranston school district, upheld by the  district


          court, to  place him  in  the Gladstone  school rather  than  his


          neighborhood school, the Waterman school.   We affirm.


               Kevin
G.'s
medical conditions require that he receive medical


          care
at
school,
including a full-time nurse.  Gladstone is the only


          elementary
school in the Cranston school district with a full-time


          nurse.   Kevin G. acknowledges this,  but argues that the  school


          district  has the  responsibility  to  move a  nurse  teacher  to


          Waterman.
In
a
thorough
opinion, the district court explained that


          while
the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("the Act"),


          20 U.S.C. SS 1411-1415, requires the school district to provide a


          free
appropriate education for children with disabilities, it does


          not
require
optimal
results.  See Kevin G. by Jo-Ann G. v. Cranston


          School
Committee, 965 F. Supp. 261 (D. R.I. 1997).  Thus, while it


          may be preferable for Kevin G. to attend a school located minutes


          from  his  home,  placement  in  Gladstone  satisfies  the   Act.


          Gladstone,
which is located only three miles from Kevin G.'s home,


          meets all his  educational and medical requirements.  The  school


          district has an  obligation to provide  a school placement  which


          includes a  nurse on duty  full-time, but it  is not required  to


          change the district's placement of nurses when, as in this  case,


          care is readily available at another easily accessible school.





                                         -2-





               Accordingly, we  agree  with  the district  court  that  the


          Gladstone placement satisfies the requirements of the Act.


               Affirmed.





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