The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that the main federal special education law authorizes reimbursement for private school tuition under the proper circumstances, even when a child has never previously received special education services in a public school.
The court’s 6-3 decision came in Forest Grove School District v. T.A. (Case No. 08-305).
I’ll have more on that decision shortly here on the blog. In a decision in another case of interest to school districts, the justices raised questions about the constitutionality of a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 but stopped short of invalidating it.
The issue in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder (No. 08-322) involves Section 5 of the voting-rights law, which requires states and local governments in the South and certain other areas of the country to get federal preclearance of any changes in voting procedure.