Unnamed case

Because of a case that cost the school district $125,000, the Hyde Park Board of Education has promised better special education assessments. For more on this story, click here.

Stay Put!

The Third Circuit has held that the stay-put provision of IDEA required the school district to continue to provide certain educational benefits while the dispute as to the appropriateness of such benefits was resolved. The child in this case was a three-year old, transitioning from an Individualized Family Service Plan to an Individualized Education Program. Under the Family Service Plan, the child was getting conductive education, an educational approach for children with central nervous system disabilities. The decision in Pardini v. Allegheny Intermediate Unit can be found here.

Thanks to C.E. Petit of Scrivener's Error for advising me of this decision (which came down yesterday).

The Derry case lives!

I had been quite about the Derry case from Manatee County in Florida. But the case, in which the parent claims her son needs a special education plan to maximize his learning potential and the school district claiming that the student is doing well enough without a special education plan, is still winding its way through the district court. Final arguments have been made, and a decision is now being awaited (and will be reported here when it comes down). For more info on the current status of the case, click here.

Expert Fees

The DC Circuit has decided that a prevailing party in an IDEA litigation cannot recover expert fees. This is in accord with decisions from the Seventh and Eighth Circuits, but in conflict with decisions of the Second and Third Circuits. The decision in Goldring v. District of Columbia can be found here.