High Court Boosts Districts in IDEA Cases

Ruling puts legal burden on party seeking change in an IEP, usually parents.

Parents of children with disabilities may be less aggressive in formally challenging school districts over their children’s education plans under the main federal special education law, after a decision last month by the U.S. Supreme Court, several experts said.

The court, in a 6-2 decision on Nov. 14, made it harder for parents to prevail in such cases by holding that whichever party brings a challenge to an individualized education program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is the one that must prove its case.

School districts would bear the burden in cases in which they challenge an IEP. But Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who wrote the majority opinion, acknowledged that “as a practical matter, it appears that most hearing requests come from...