Congress enacted the IDEA "to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education [or 'FAPE'] that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living." Mark H. v. Lemahieu, 513 F.3d 922, 928 (9th Cir. 2008) (quoting 20 U.S.C. § 1400(d)(1)(A)). The IDEA focuses on making a FAPE available to disabled students through development of Individualized Education Programs ("IEPs"). [Footnote omitted.] Id.; 20 U.S.C. § 1401(9) (defining FAPE in part as "special education and related services that . . . are provided in conformity with the individualized education program required under section 1414(d)"). States receiving federal financial assistance under the IDEA must have in place "policies and procedures" to properly develop IEPs for qualifying children. Id. The IDEA creates a cause of action for children and parents to pursue injunctive or other prospective relief through a civil action following an administrative due process hearing in order to compel compliance with the Act and proper implementation or modification of the child's IEP. See 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2)(C)(iii); Lemahieu, 513 F.3d at 928-29. AG v. Paradise Valley Unified School District, (9th Cir. 2016).
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) creates a federal grant program to assist states in educating children with disabilities. See 20 U.S.C. § 1411 (2012). To receive federal funding, states must provide each student with a disability a "free appropriate public education" (FAPE). Id. § 1412(a)(1). States, through local educational agencies, achieve this by developing an "individualized education program" (IEP) for each child who has a disability. Id. § 1412(a)(4). The IEP documents the student's current level of achievement, sets annual goals, states how to measure progress, and specifies special education services. See id. § 1414(d)(1)(A). Educators work with the student's parents as part of an "IEP team" to develop the IEP. Id. § 1414(d)(1)(B), (d)(3)(A). At least annually, that team must review the IEP and revise it as appropriate. Id. § 1414(d)(4). OS v. Fairfax County School Bd., 804 F. 3d 354 (4th Cir. 2015).
In practice, this means that States have an affirmative obligation to provide a basic floor of opportunity for all children with disabilities or, [ ] an education "likely to produce progress, not regression," and one that "afford[s] the student with an opportunity greater than mere trivial advancement." M.O. v. N.Y.C. Dep't of Educ., 793 F.3d 236, 239 (2d Cir. 2015). TK Ex Rel. LK v. New York City Department of Education, (2nd Cir. 2016).
Nevertheless, the IDEA does not entitle a disabled child to an educational program that "maximizes" her potential. Michael F., 118 F.3d at 247. "[R]ather, it need only be an education that is specifically designed to meet the child's unique needs, supported by services that will permit him 'to benefit' from the instruction." Id. at 247-48. "Still, the educational benefit cannot be a mere modicum or de minimus; rather, an IEP must be likely to produce progress, not regression or trivial educational advancement." Michael Z, 580 F.3d at 292 (internal quotation marks omitted). "In short, the educational benefit that an IEP is designed to achieve must be 'meaningful.'" Michael F., 118 F.3d at 248. Rockwall Independent School District v. MC, (5th Cir. 2016).
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act aims to ensure that every child has a meaningful opportunity to benefit from public education. [ ] It also requires that school systems promptly "identif[y], locate[ ], and evaluate[ ]" every "child[ ] with disabilities residing in the [district] . . . who [is] in need of special education and related services" — a requirement known as "child find." 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(3)(A). Once such a child is identified, located, and evaluated, the school system must develop an "individualized education plan," or IEP, for the child. Id. §§ 1412(a)(4), 1414(d). Boose v. District of Columbia, 786 F. 3d 1054 (DC Cir. 2015).
The "centerpiece" of the IDEA and its principal mechanism for achieving this goal is the IEP. Murphy v. Arlington Cent. Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 297 F.3d 195, 197 (2d Cir. 2002) (quoting Honig v. Doe, 484 U.S. 305, 311 (1988)). The IEP is a written document that must include the child's present level of performance, goals for her improvement, and a plan about how to achieve that improvement. see 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d); R.E. v. N.Y.C. Dep't of Educ., 694 F.3d 167, 175 (2d Cir. 2012). Where the IEP is substantively deficient, parents may unilaterally reject it in favor of sending their child to private school and seek tuition reimbursement from the State. see 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(10)(C)(ii); Frank G. v. Bd. of Educ. of Hyde Park, 459 F.3d 356, 363 (2d Cir. 2006). TK Ex Rel. LK v. New York City Department of Education, ibid.
Even when an IEP itself is not deficient, parents may seek reimbursement for a unilateral placement if the State fails to afford them certain procedural safeguards. Of particular importance here, the IDEA requires States to provide parents with the "opportunity to participate in the decisionmaking process regarding the provision of a [FAPE] to the parents' child." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(f)(3)(E)(ii). Not every violation of these procedural safeguards rises to the level of the denial of a FAPE. Rather, the violations must "significantly impede[]" the parents' participation rights, "impede[] the child's right to a [FAPE]," or "cause[] a deprivation of educational benefits." Id. Nor will every denial of a FAPE based on the violation of procedural safeguards or the substantive inadequacy of the IEP necessarily support a claim for tuition reimbursement. In each case, after determining that a FAPE has been denied, we look to "whether the parents' private placement is appropriate to the child's needs[] and . . . [to] the equities." C.F., 746 F.3d at 73; see also Florence Cty. Sch. Dist. Four v. Carter ex rel. Carter, 510 U.S. 7, 13-16 (1993); Sch. Comm. of the Town of Burlington, Mass. v. Dep't of Educ. of Mass., 471 U.S. 359, 369-70 (1985). Under New York law, "the Department bears the burden of establishing the validity of the IEP, while the parents bear the burden of establishing the appropriateness of the private placement." C.F., 746 F.3d at 76 (citing N.Y. Educ. Law § 4404(1)(c)). TK Ex Rel. LK v. New York City Department of Education, ibid.
If a school district fails to satisfy its "child-find" duty or to offer the student an appropriate IEP, and if that failure affects the child's education, then the district has necessarily denied the student a free appropriate public education. See Lesesne ex rel. B.F. v. District of Columbia, 447 F.3d 828, 834 (D.C.Cir.2006) (a FAPE denial is actionable if it "affect[s] the student's substantive rights") (emphasis omitted). And when a school district denies a child a FAPE, the courts have "broad discretion" to fashion an appropriate remedy. See Florence County School District Four v. Carter, 510 U.S. 7, 15-16, 114 S.Ct. 361, 126 L.Ed.2d 284 (1993). That equitable authority, [ ] must include the power to order "compensatory education" — that is, education services designed to make up for past deficiencies in a child's program. Reid ex rel. Reid v. District of Columbia, 401 F.3d 516, 522-23 (D.C.Cir.2005). If compensatory education were unavailable, after all, a child's access to appropriate education could depend on his parents' ability to pull him out of the deficient public program and front the cost of private instruction — a result "manifestly incompatible with IDEA's purpose of 'ensur[ing] that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education.'" Id. at 522-23 (quoting 20 U.S.C. § 1400(d)(1)(A)); see also School Committee of the Town of Burlington, Massachusetts v. Department of Education of Massachusetts, 471 U.S. 359, 105 S.Ct. 1996, 85 L.Ed.2d 385 (1985) (compelling reimbursement for private instruction to avoid the same harm). Worse yet, "students who remained in public school [without an appropriate plan] would lack any effective redress for FAPE denials, even those extending over many years." Reid, 401 F.3d at 523. To be sure, such students could seek a satisfactory IEP. But because the Supreme Court has held that IEPs need do no more than provide "some educational benefit" going forward, Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District, Westchester County v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 200, 102 S.Ct. 3034, 73 L.Ed.2d 690 (1982), an education plan conforming to that standard will speak only to "the child's present abilities," Reid, 401 F.3d at 523. Unlike compensatory education, therefore, an IEP "carries no guarantee of undoing damage done by prior violations," id., and that plan alone cannot take the place of adequate compensatory education. Boose v. District of Columbia, ibid.
[P]rocedural safeguards for students and their parents [ ] include the right to an impartial due process hearing if the local educational agency and parents disagree on the appropriate IEP. Id. § 1415(b)(6), (f). After the hearing officer makes a decision, any unsatisfied party may bring a civil action in federal court. Id. § 1415(i)(2). OS v. Fairfax County School Bd., ibid.
A party challenging whether a FAPE has been provided may file an administrative complaint, which entitles him to receive an impartial due process hearing before a local or state educational agency. Id. §§ 1415(b)(6), 1415(f). Federal regulations provide parents with the rights to (1) have the child who is the subject of the hearing present; (2) open the hearing to the public; and (3) have the record of the hearing and the findings of fact and decisions provided at no cost to parents. 34 C.F.R. § 300.512(c). Beyond these requirements, the IDEA relies on the states to develop their own hearing procedures. BS Ex Rel. KS v. Anoka Hennepin Public Schools, 799 F. 3d 1217 (8th Cir. 2015).
THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of 132 U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that analyze, discuss and interpret provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The selection of decisions spans from 2002 to the date of publication.