Couture Ex Rel. M.C. v. Board of Education of the Albuquerque Public Schools

McCONNELL, Circuit Judge.

The plaintiff in this case, M.C., 1 is a young child who suffers from severe emotional and mental health problems. During the relevant time period these problems manifested themselves in repeated outbursts in which he threatened, and at times assaulted, teachers and students. In 2002, when he was six years old, he was placed in a special education program at the Governor Bent Elementary School. School officials worked with his mother, Jennifer Couture, to develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The plan included a “behavior management system” designed to teach…