ISBE released a guidance document on residential placements, Guidance on PA 95-0844 and PA 95-0938. The document answers frequently asked questions related to residential placements of general education and special education...more
District Court dismisses IDEA claim because plaintiffs failed to exhaust administrative remedies under the IDEA for education-centric claim even though plaintiffs sought money damages....more
Governor Josh Shapiro recently announced that the proposed 2024-2025 budget for the Pennsylvania Department of Education includes a $1,436,815,000 special education appropriation....more
Third Circuit affirms lower court finding that a school district did not violate the IDEA or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Zachary J. through Jonathan and Jennifer J. of Lafayette Hill, PA v. Colonial Sch. Dist.,...more
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) makes public education available to children with disabilities ages 3 to 21. The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) reports that 7.3...more
New York’s State Education Department recently issued a recommendation that school districts provide special education services to some students with disabilities through age 22: an additional year that will likely impact...more
School aged children lost much in the pandemic, including critical learning time in the classroom, social development, mental health, extracurricular activities, and much more. According to a 2023 study published in the...more
As part of its ongoing efforts to increase inclusivity towards non-native English speakers in the academic setting, the Illinois State Board of Education amended its special education regulations to expand access to...more
The United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, No. 21-887, opening the door for future claims against schools for compensatory monetary damages. In its unanimous opinion, the Supreme...more
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of a deaf student in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 143 S. Ct. 81 (U.S. 2022), where the Court held that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) exhaustion...more
On March 21, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling that could significantly impact how special education claims against public school districts are litigated. In Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, the Court...more
Can public school children with disabilities sue their schools for violations of the federal antidiscrimination statutes and collect compensatory damages before exhausting their administrative remedies under the Individuals...more
Summary of the ruling (& its underlying alphabet soup): The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) requires school districts to provide their disabled students a Free Appropriate Public Education...more
A.N. v. Upper Merion Area School District, 2022 WL 3371612 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 16, 2022). The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania upheld a hearing officer’s award of 5.5 hours of compensatory...more
On July 19, 2022, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) released several guidance documents concerning the civil rights of students...more
In this third blog post in our series on the OSERS Question and Answer document on IDEA requirements related to returning to in-person instruction, we are focusing on an issue of special importance during and subsequent to...more
In this second blog post in our series on the OSERS Question and Answer document on IDEA requirements related to returning to in-person instruction, we are focusing on two questions relevant to this time of transition and...more
Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year. As the new year gets underway, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) within the Department of Education advised states and districts that it will be...more
On July 26, 2021, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) issued a Factsheet explaining the potential for students who have been infected with COVID-19 to...more
It is not uncommon for school districts and parents to disagree over what is to be included in a child’s individualized education program (“IEP”). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) provides a process...more
The American Rescue Plan Act signed by President Biden at the end of last week includes almost $130 billion in education funding. The vast majority of that money will be distributed to school districts based on the Title I...more
Revising its prior guidance, the Pennsylvania Office for Dispute Resolution (ODR) will permit attorney participation in special education mediations beginning March 1, 2021. Pennsylvania was one of only two states that...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented hardships for all students and school leaders, and it has been particularly challenging for students with disabilities and their IEP teams. Over the last nine months, districts and schools...more
While much of the talk about Biden’s education agenda has quickly turned to who he will appoint to replace Betsy DeVos and how he will manage the COVID-19 pandemic, both critical issues for sure, we wanted to highlight...more
OCR recently published a Q&A document providing expectations for compliance with civil rights laws during the pandemic. While OCR is not responsible for enforcing the IDEA, it is responsible for Section 504. Because students...more