Education Law Commons^™

The Idea Of Inclusivity: The Fallacy Of School Choice, Harleigh Summerville

Arkansas Law Notes

As calls for reform in public education grow, students with disabilities have become the poster children for a failing system that is not equipped to handle students’ varying needs. With the number of children receiving services for learning disabilities growing, some argue that the current system not only is failing to provide students with appropriate education but is actively causing harm. Issues gaining adequate funding, disparities in educational access to racial minorities, and failure to adhere to federal mandates have made it difficult for public schools to meet the individualized needs of all students, particularly students with disabilities. One example …

An Analysis Of Due Process Hearing Decisions For “§ 504-Only” Students, Perry A. Zirkel

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

Many empirical analyses have tracked the trends for both the frequency and outcomes of due process hearing decisions under the IDEA. However, the literature entirely lacks any such analysis of due process hearing decisions under § 504. This gap in the literature is largely attributable to two overlapping factors: these decisions are much less numerous than those under the IDEA, and they are not publicly available. The purpose of this article is to address this gap in the professional literature through an exploratory analysis of the frequency and outcomes of due process hearings for § 504-only students. Part I of …

A New Hope: Perez V. Sturgis Public Schools Opens The Courthouse Doors To Children With Disabilities, Richard Marsico

Belmont Law Review

This article addresses what happens when the exhaustion

requirement for IDEA claims intersects with the exhaustion requirement for

related federal laws. Specifically, compensatory monetary damages are

not available for IDEA violations but are available for violations of

related federal laws. This raises a question: if a plaintiff wants to file a

complaint pursuant only to the related federal laws alleging disability

discrimination and seeking monetary damages for actions that also arguably

violate the IDEA, must the plaintiff exhaust the IDEA administrative

process first?

From Suspension To Mass Incarceration: Punishment Of Student With Special Needs And The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Bailey Ellicott

Law Student Publications

Since their inception in the late 1980s, zero-tolerance policies have been a cornerstone of American school discipline. Passed by legislators with the intent of protecting school children, these policies have disparately upended the education of marginalized students. School discipline of vulnerable students often paves the way to juvenile incarceration, which in turn exponentially increases the likelihood of adult incarceration. Moreover, students with disabilities, especially students of color with learning disabilities, are often physically pushed out of their classrooms through suspensions and other harsh disciplinary policies. This is only made worse by the presence of law enforcement in schools, who treat …

The Outcomes Of Fully Adjudicated Impartial Hearings Under The Idea: A Nationally Representative Analysis With And Without New York, Perry A. Zirkel, Diane M. Holben

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides eligible students with the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) as specified in an individualized education program (IEP). An unusual feature of the IDEA is providing the parents of students with disabilities and their school districts with the right to a binding “impartial due process hearing” at the administrative level, subject to appeal. This mechanism for administrative adjudication has been the subject of continuing policy debate and occasional statutory refinements. One of the ongoing concerns in this policy consideration has been the win-loss rate of due process hearings (DPHs). Similarly, …

Brief Of Amicus Curiae California Catholic Conference In Support Of Plaintiffs-Appellants, John A. Meiser, Meredith Holland Kessler

Court Briefs

No. 23-55714
Chaya Loffman v. California Department of Education

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Honorable Josephine L. Staton (No. 2:23-cv-01832-JLS-MRW)

From the Argument

California’s exclusion of “sectarian” schools reflects a long history of efforts to suppress and demean disfavored religious groups in the United States.

Congress's Empty Promises: The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act In The Midst Of Education Crisis, Sarah Jana

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Impartial Hearings Under The Idea: Updated Legal Issues And Answers, Perry A. Zirkel

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This updated question-and-answer document is specific to impartial hearing officers (IHOs) and the hearings that they conduct under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The coverage does not extend to the alternate third-party dispute decisional mechanism under the IDEA, the complaint resolution process (CRP) except to the extent that this alternative mechanism intersects with IHO issues. Similarly, the scope only extends secondarily to the IHO’s remedial authority, which is the subject of separate comprehensive coverage. The sources are largely limited to the pertinent IDEA legislation and regulations, court decisions, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education’s …

The Proactive Model: How To Better Protect The Right To Special Education For Incarcerated Youth, John Bignotti

Indiana Law Journal

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees access to a specialized, appropriate public education for youth with disabilities in the United States. While progress has been made and this right to education extends to incarcerated youth as well as those outside the juvenile justice system, there is nonetheless a fundamental limitation on how this federal requirement is imposed in the carceral context: it is enforced through primarily reactive mechanisms. Lawsuits, state compliance regimes, and consent decrees can hold states and juvenile facilities accountable after systemic failures to comply with the IDEA; however, the inherent inconsistency and slow pace of …

The Missing Piece Of The Puzzle: The Intersection Of Race And Special Education, Tsega Zewdneh Shiferaw

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

The privileges allotted to Americans cannot be compared to any other country’s citizens. Americans have the liberty of saying what they want, thinking what they want, and acting freely in public. Nebiyat Shiferaw (“Nebiyat”) is a thirty-year-old African American man who is unable to speak and live independently because he has autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (“ASD”). Nebiyat does not experience the same liberties as most Americans; he has gone through special education programs and has overcome discrimination, not because of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), but because of his parents advocating for him. As a …

Everything Is Bigger In Texas: Including The Horrendously Inadequate Attempts At Providing Special Education And Related Services To All Children With Disabilities, Alexandria R. Booterbaugh

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Without immediate action, the “corrections” made by the Texas legislature to meet the appropriateness requirement for special education will result in imminent peril for students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as well as their parents. Tens of thousands of children fall between the cracks as a result of Texas’ illegalities and the lack of responsibility Texas’ lawmakers and Texas Education Agency (TEA) have for special education. If Texas does not fully devote itself to a significant overhaul of its special education practices, students will continue to be left behind.

Congress enacted the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) because …

State Laws For Due Process Hearings Under The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Iv: Expedited Hearings, Andrew M.I. Lee, Perry A. Zirkel

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This article is a follow-up to a triad of analyses of state law additions to the basic requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for due process hearings (DPHs). The former three articles covered the pre-hearing, hearing, and post-hearing stages of IDEA DPHs. The present article focuses on expedited DPHs, canvassing state law provisions specific to this more rapid, specialized proceeding in the IDEA. This article covers IDEA foundational requirements for expedited DPHs, and then summarizes and codes the state law provisions that supplement the federal template. Additionally, this article provides a discussion of federal preemption of state …

State Laws For Due Process Hearings Under The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Iii: The Pre-Hearing Stage, Andrew M.I. Lee, Perry A. Zirkel

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This article is the third in a triad of analyses of state law additions to the basic requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for due process hearings (DPHs). The first two articles of this series covered the hearing and post-hearing stages of IDEA DPHs. The purpose of this follow-up analysis is to supplement the earlier articles by canvassing state law provisions specific to the pre-hearing stage. After an introduction and overview of the literature, this article covers IDEA foundational requirements for DPHs, and then summarizes and codes the state law provisions that supplement the federal template. As …

Improving The Legal And Regulatory Framework Of Restraint And Seclusion In D.C. Public Schools, James Gallagher

Upper Level Writing Requirement Research Papers

No abstract provided.

How Increased Legal Representation Can Close The Gap In Special Education Discrepancies, Todd Carney

Touro Law Review

This piece looks at how the existing education regime has led to disparities between white and minority students. The paper finds that the disparity gets even worse when special education is factored in. The reason so many low-income and minority students with disabilities receive such a poor education is that they do not have the proper legal representation to demand the rights that they are guaran- teed under US law. This paper looks at how low-income and minority families have been cheated out of proper legal representation in other areas and how receiving the necessary legal representation can lead to …

Special Education No Man's Land, Adrián E. Alvarez

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Since 2014, unaccompanied immigrant children have migrated to the United States in staggering numbers. The vast majority come from the Northern Triangle countries of Central America—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—and many are fleeing some of the highest homicide rates in the world. Immigration lawyers have highlighted many problems with the federal regime that cares for these children before they are released to family members or other adults living in the United States while their immigration cases move forward. Yet there is one group of unaccompanied minors that is not even on the radar of many advocates: unaccompanied children with …

State Laws For Due Process Hearings Under The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Ii: The Post-Hearing Stage, Perry A. Zirkel

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

A recent issue of this journal contained an article that canvassed state laws that added to the basic requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for due process hearings (DPHs). The purpose of this follow-up analysis is to supplement the earlier article by canvassing state law provisions specific to the post-hearing stage of IDEA DPHs. The length is relatively brief because (1) the springboard article on the hearing stage provided the detailed foundation, (2) the scope of the post-hearing stage is much more limited, and (3) the previous literature has largely unexplored this stage. Otherwise in accordance with …

Mediation In Education For Foster Care, Anelise Powers

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

There are well over 400,000 children in foster care. Education can improve the well-being of foster children in critical development stages of life and support their economic success in adulthood. In recent years, the law has given greater priority to the education of foster children, and foster children are often eligible for additional services. However, a common trend in foster care research is that foster children, though eligible, do not always receive the services created to assist them. This paper will explore how improving mediation related to education and foster care can help maximize the impact of efforts to improve …

Safeguarding Procedures Under The Idea: Restoring The Balance In The Adjudication Of Fape, Perry A. Zirkel

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

The article’s purpose is to stimulate IDEA adjudicators, starting with the specialized and significant level of impartial hearing officers, and to restore the enforceable meaning of the procedural requirements of the IDEA. Doing so will provide a more coherent balance with not only the substantive dimension, but also the other decisional dispute resolution mechanisms of the Act. Part I provides an overview of the procedural structure of the IDEA and the Supreme Court’s framework interpretation. Part II traces the subsequent interpretation of the procedural dimension of FAPE, culminating in the codification of the two-part test in the latest IDEA amendments. …

Land Of The Free (Appropriate Public Education), Home Of The Deprived: How Vocational Services Can Remedy Education Deprivations For Former Students With Disabilities, Maria N. Liberopoulos

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

This Note explores the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s requirement that all children between the ages of three and twenty-one are provided a free and appropriate public education. This Note focuses on the relief available for students who are either older than twenty-one or who received a high school diploma, but who did not receive a free and appropriate public education. After delving into the remedy of compensatory education, this Note proposes the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the Department of Education promulgate a new regulation that includes vocational training and services as a specific remedy under …

Special Education By Zip Code: Creating Equitable Child Find Policies, Crystal Grant

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

It is estimated that more than 1.3 million youth in the United States have a disability. One in four American adults have a disability that impacts major life activities. With disability rates this high, our nation must prioritize efforts to ensure that all children with disabilities and in need of special education are identified and receive the support they need in school. Congress, through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), mandated that all public schools locate, identify and evaluate all students suspected of having a disability. The special education community refers to this affirmative duty as “child find.” Unfortunately, …

Impartial Hearings Under The Idea: Legal Issues And Answers, Perry A. Zirkel

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Free Appropriate Public Education After Endrew F. V. Douglas County School District (2017), Terrye Conroy, Mitchell L. Yell

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Why America Is Better Off Because Of The Americans With Disabilities Act And The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, Peter Blanck

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Laws For Due Process Hearings Under The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, Perry A. Zirkel

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

The Fallacy Of Choice: The Destructive Effect Of School Vouchers On Students With Disabilities, Ian Farrell, Cheslea Marx

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This Article addresses the impact of school voucher programs on students with disabilities. We show that for children with disabilities, the price of admission into so-called “school choice” programs is so high that it is effectively no real choice at all. School voucher programs require students with disabilities to sign away their robust federal rights and protections in the public school system. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)—the preeminent legislative safeguard for students with disabilities—these rights include the right to a “free and appropriate public education” delivered through an “individualized education plan.” By giving up these protections, children …

The Rowley Enigma: How Much Weight Is Due To Idea State Administrative Proceedings In Federal Court?, Daniel W. Morton-Bentley

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

In this article, I argue that the phrase "due weight" incorporates a deferential review standard equivalent to the clear error or substantial evidence standard, a conclusion reached by a minority of the circuit courts of appeal. I further argue that, consistent with Rowley, federal courts must afford due weight to administrative officers' substantive or educational conclusions, but no weight to their procedural or non-educational conclusions. Part II offers a general outline of the IDEA, giving special attention to its judicial review provisions. In Part III, I provide a general discussion of judicial review of administrative adjudication. Part IV is devoted …

The Third Dimension Of Fape Under The Idea: Iep Implementation, Perry A. Zirkel, Edward T. Bauer

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This article provides a synthesis of the three approaches to IEP implementation cases. More specifically, Part I summarizes the materiality/benefit approach, which-like the two-step approach for procedural violations but on a more intertwined basis-requires both a substantial non-implementation and an insufficient benefit. Part II summarizes the materiality-alone approach, which requires only a substantial failure. Part III summarizes the per se approach, which results in a denial of FAPE for any failure to implement beyond one that is clearly de minimis. Finally, Part IV provides conclusions and recommendations for IHOs in light of the incomplete precedential pattern to date. The overall …

A Few Words Of Caution As The Supreme Court Considers Fry V. Napoleon Community Schools, Kevin Golembiewski

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

This term, the Supreme Court will consider Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools. Fry implicates a circuit split on the proper scope of the exhaustion requirement in 20 U.S.C. § 1415(l) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). That section requires parents of students with disabilities to exhaust state administrative remedies “before the filing of a civil action . . . seeking relief that is also available under” the IDEA. Two different approaches to this requirement have emerged among the courts of appeals: an “injury-centered” approach and a “relief-centered” approach. Under the injury-centered approach, exhaustion is required when a …

Of Mouseholes And Elephants: The Statute Oflimitations For Impartial Hearings Under Theindividuals With Disabilities Education Act, Perry A. Zirkel

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

The purpose of this article, in light of the practical significance and the limited literature addressing the IDEA’s hearing level SOL, is to provide a current and concise overview of the case law addressing this specific issue. Part I provides the basic nature and purpose of SOL generally, and specifically how SOL applies to the IDEA’s impartial hearings. Parts II–IV addresses the elements of the SOL statutory provisions in terms of the triggering date, the exceptions, and the duration and effect of the SOL, including the importance of G.L. v. Ligonier Valley School District Authority. Part V provides practice pointers …