NDRN - Press Room

April 3, 2009

Press Contact:
Curt Decker Executive Director, NDRN
(202) 408-9514
curt.decker@ndrn.org

In support of the proposition that parents should be reimbursed when a school district utterly fails to meet the needs of a child with a disability, the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) and others filed an amicus brief in Forest Grove v. TA, No. 08-305. The case is important because it has the potential for shaping how the Supreme Court interprets the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law that guarantees that children with disabilities will receive an appropriate education from the public school system. The Department of Justice has also filed an amicus on behalf of the parents. The case will be argued on April 28th.

In this particular case, a school in Oregon decided that a student was not eligible for special education services and refused to provide him with a free appropriate public education. His parents then unilaterally placed him in a private residential therapeutic school and sought reimbursement. The school district is attempting to avoid paying the parents on the grounds that an amendment to the IDEA only allows parents to be reimbursed if the child had already been receiving special education services from the district before making the unilateral placement.

The specific issue before the Court deals with the circumstances under which school districts must reimburse parents who are forced to make a unilateral placement for their child when the district does not meet its obligation to provide an appropriate education for a student. If the Court rules against the parents, it will apply to all parents who are forced to choose a private day school or even an individual service, such as tutoring or speech therapy when the school district fails to provide such service.

It is essential that students receive appropriate evaluations early on and the special education and related services to which they are entitled under federal law. When schools fail to comply with the law, parents are forced to take matters into their own hands and seek other placements. The Court is not being asked to determine whether the placement in the Forest Grove case was appropriate.

Concerns have been raised that the student’s placement may not have been in the least restrictive environment. In addition, questions have arisen about conditions at the therapeutic boarding school. NDRN is committed to ensuring that students with disabilities are educated in the least restrictive environment and free from abuse and neglect. At present, P&A agencies in several states, including Oregon, are actively investigating allegations of abuse and neglect in many different settings for children, including private residential placements.

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The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Collectively, the Network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.