Section 13.12. [Reserved]  

Out-of-State Placement

Where substantial evidence indicates that an appropriate educational or training facility exists within the Commonwealth, an appeal for placement in an out-of-State program will be denied. Murphy v. Department of Education, 504 A.2d 382 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1986).

Where it is conceivable that there is no school within the Commonwealth offering an appropriate program of education for an exceptional student, the Secretary must consider and select out-of-State schools as well as those in-State. Murphy v. Department of Education, 460 A.2d 398 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1983); affirmed 504 A.2d 382 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1989).

Regardless of whether a child was or was not multihandicapped, the Department was liable for out-of-State tuition reimbursement since the parents had tried to obtain a Department ruling on the matter but were unable to get such a ruling until 14 months later. Krawitz v. Department of Education, 408 A.2d 1202 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1979).

Since the parents of a socially and emotionally disturbed child would not agree to placement other than in a specific out-of-State school and would not make their child available so that it could be determined whether there was an appropriate in-State program, the Secretary of Education may not be compelled to approve the out-of-State placement and tuition reimbursement by the Commonwealth. Welsch v. Department of Education, 400 A.2d 234 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1979).