Smith (2002) the parents of Jonathan Hanson, a student with multiple special needs, wanted their son to remain at the Summit School, a private school in Anne Arundel County that serviced his needs since 1997. In the spring of 2001, Anne Arundel Public Schools developed a new special education public program housed at its Severna Park Middle School known as the Learning Academy. The IEP team determined Jonathan’s needs could be met at the Learning Academy and decided this placement was the least restricted environment. The Hanson family disagreed with that placement and wanted him to remain at the Summit School and filed a cased stating that placing Jonathan in the public school setting breached the least restricted environment and free appropriate public education