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Farmers Insurance Exchange v. South Lyon Community Schools8/17/1999
Plaintiff Farmers Insurance Exchange brought the instant action seeking a declaration that defendant is responsible for paying for nursing services provided to one of its special education students, Benjamin Smith, during school hours and during Benjamin's transportation to and from school. Plaintiff also sought reimbursement for money it has paid for such nursing services since Benjamin returned to school in February 1994, after the accident that left him disabled. The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association intervened as a plaintiff. The parties agreed to waive their right to a jury and submit the case to the trial court on a stipulated set of facts and evidentiary record. Defendant appeals as of right from the circuit court's order entering judgment in favor of plaintiffs. We affirm.
Benjamin Smith was injured in a bicycle-automobile accident in July 1993. As a result of the accident, Benjamin is quadriplegic, has a tracheostomy, and requires a ventilator to breathe. He requires 24 hour-a-day nursing care and must be monitored continuously. Benjamin's nurse must continuously monitor Benjamin's alignment in his wheelchair and the settings and operation of his ventilator, must periodically give him antibiotics and spasm medication, feed him, catheterize him every few hours, and suction phlegm from his tracheostomy as needed, usually three to five times per day. During the suctioning of phlegm, the ventilator must be detached, and an "Ambu bag" must be placed on the tracheostomy and manually squeezed to enable Benjamin to breathe, and a suction catheter must be carefully inserted through his tracheostomy into his throat. These services take place during school hours and while Benjamin is being transported to and from school. The services need not be performed by a medical doctor. After his accident, Benjamin returned to defendant's school as a special education student. Benjamin is a child with a disability within the meaning of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 USC 1400 et seq. See 20 USC ยง 1401(a)(1)(A).
Plaintiff is Benjamin's no-fault insurance carrier and has paid all expenses for his nursing services since the time of his accident at the rate of $32 per hour for school-time nursing services. In December 1994, plaintiff requested that defendant pay for Benjamin's nursing services during school hours and during the time Benjamin was transported to and from school, asserting that the IDEA required defendant to provide the nursing services. The IDEA authorizes federal financial assistance to states that fulfill certain conditions regarding the education of disabled children. See 20 USC 1412; Jenkins v Carney Nadeau Public Sch, 201 Mich App 142, 144; 505 NW2d 893 (1993). To qualify for the federal funds, a state must have in effect "a policy that assures all children with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education." 20 USC 1412(1); Jenkins, supra. A "free appropriate education" is defined as "special education and related services," as defined in 20 USC 1401(17). Plaintiff requested that defendant pay for the nursing services on the basis that the nursing services were "related services." After defendant refused the request, plaintiff filed the instant action.
Defendant argues that the circuit court erred in concluding that it had jurisdiction over plaintiff's claim because plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies provided by the IDEA before bringing suit to determine whether the IDEA requires the school district to pay for the nursing services required by Benjamin during school hours and during his transportation to and from school. We disagree. Whether the circuit court had subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law t
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