Justices Weigh Whether Parents May Represent Their Children in IDEA Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments today in a case testing whether parents who are not lawyers have a right to represent themselves, or their child, in federal court in disputes with school districts over the child’s educational placement under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The case was brought by a Cleveland family, who sued the Parma City School District after they could not resolve a disagreement over the individual educational program for their nine-year-old son, who has autism.
The parents, Jeff and Sandee Winkelman, who are not lawyers, want to represent their son, Jacob, in federal district court. Common law federal court rules traditionally bar non-lawyers from representing anyone other than themselves in the courts. But the Winkelmans contend that the special education law allows them to argue for their son and advocate for their own...
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