Leaders in the field of education have called on the Supreme Court of the United States to examine longstanding special education rules that protect the placement of students with disabilities during the course of litigation.
Under the provision in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) known as “stay-put,” a student with disabilities may remain in his or her special educational placement at the expense of the local school district while legal disputes are underway. The local school district is responsible for the cost of those services, regardless of the final outcome of the court proceedings.
This summer, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, the National School Boards Association, and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association argued that schools should be relieved of the responsibility to pay for a private school placement if the court finds in a district’s favor. They asked SCOTUS to review a decision in M.R. v. Ridley School District. Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia determined that a suburban Philadelphia school district was responsible for private school tuition, even though a lower court ruled in favor of the district.
In a friend-of-the-court brief filed this week, the education groups are asking the Supreme Court to review the case, arguing that the obligation of districts to keep paying tuition “creates a perverse incentive for parents to prolong appeals simply to reap the benefit of private school tuition funded by public dollars.”
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