Law & Courts

Justices Decline to Hear 2nd IDEA Case on Tuition

By Mark Walsh — October 23, 2007 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The U.S. Supreme Court won’t be resolving an important question about private school placements under federal special education law in its current term.

The justices announced last week that they would not take up an appeal from a school district in New York state, which could have served essentially as a substitute for a case on which the court tied earlier this month.

Both cases raised the question of whether federal law requires parents to give the public schools a try before they can place their children with disabilities in private schools and seek tuition reimbursement from the public system.

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, parents may remove their children from what they consider to be an inappropriate public school placement and enroll the child in a private school “unilaterally.” If a court later finds that the proper conditions have been met, it can award tuition reimbursement to the parents at public expense.

The court heard arguments Oct. 1 in an appeal from the New York City school system, which maintained that a 1997 amendment to the IDEA required that parents enroll their children in the public school placement worked out for them under the law’s procedures before the parents could be eligible for reimbursement for a private school placement.

But just days after the arguments, the justices deadlocked 4-4 in that case, Board of Education of New York City v. Tom F. (Case No. 06-637). Justice Anthony M. Kennedy had removed himself from participation. (“Justices Weigh IDEA Private Placements,” Oct. 10, 2007, and “Court Is Split on IDEA Private-Placement Case,” Oct. 17, 2007.)

The tie means the ruling in favor of a parent by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, in New York City, was affirmed without an opinion and without setting a national precedent.

While it was considering the merits of the Tom F. case, the court was holding on to an appeal from another district that raised the same legal issue about private school placements under the IDEA. As it turned out, Justice Kennedy apparently had a conflict of interest in that case as well, so granting review would have likely led to another 4-4 tie.

Appellate Ruling

The court on Oct. 15 declined to hear the appeal in Board of Education of the Hyde Park Central School District v. Frank G. (No. 06-580). Justice Kennedy took no part in the consideration of that case, the court said in a brief order.

The 4,600-student Hyde Park district had sought review of a ruling that upheld reimbursement to the parents of a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. According to court papers, the parents had never enrolled their son in the public school system. After a disagreement over the district’s proposed education plan for the boy, the parents sought reimbursement for enrolling him in a Christian private school.

The 2nd Circuit appeals court upheld tuition reimbursement to the parents of $3,660 for the 2001-02 school year. The court unanimously rejected the district’s arguments that the 1997 amendments to the IDEA categorically barred tuition reimbursement if the parents didn’t first try the public school system’s proposed placement.

The reasoning of the Frank G. case’s panel was applied to the Tom F. case by a different panel of 2nd Circuit judges in a 2006 opinion.

It’s possible that Justice Kennedy’s conflict in the two cases stems from some aspect of the 2nd Circuit court’s handling of it. But the reason is likely to remain a mystery. The justices do not disclose the reasons they decline to participate in a case.

A version of this article appeared in the October 24, 2007 edition of Education Week as Justices Decline to Hear 2nd IDEA Case on Tuition

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Law & Courts When Blocking Social Media Critics, School Officials Have Protections, Supreme Court Says
The court said public officials' own pages may be "state action," but only when they are exercising government authority.
6 min read
An American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 2, 2020.
An American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 2, 2020.
Patrick Semansky/AP
Law & Courts Oklahoma Nonbinary Student's Death Shines a Light on Families' Legal Recourse for Bullying
Students facing bullying and harassment from their peers face legal roadblocks in suing districts, but settlements appear to be on the rise
11 min read
A photograph of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died a day after a fight in a high school bathroom, is projected during a candlelight service at Point A Gallery, on Feb. 24, 2024, in Oklahoma City. Federal officials will investigate the Oklahoma school district where Benedict died, according to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education on March 1, 2024.
A photograph of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died a day after a fight in a high school restroom, is projected during a candlelight service at Point A Gallery, on Feb. 24, 2024, in Oklahoma City. Federal officials will investigate the Oklahoma school district where Benedict died, according to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education on March 1, 2024.
Nate Billings/The Oklahoman via AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Declines Case on Selective High School Aiming to Boost Racial Diversity
Some advocates saw the K-12 case as the logical next step after last year's decision against affirmative action in college admissions
7 min read
Rising seniors at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gather on the campus in Alexandria, Va., Aug. 10, 2020. From left in front are, Dinan Elsyad, Sean Nguyen, and Tiffany Ji. From left at rear are Jordan Lee and Shibli Nomani. A federal appeals court’s ruling in May 2023 about the admissions policy at the elite public high school in Virginia may provide a vehicle for the U.S. Supreme Court to flesh out the intended scope of its ruling Thursday, June 29, 2023, banning affirmative action in college admissions.
A group of rising seniors at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gather on the campus in Alexandria, Va., in August 2020. From left in front are, Dinan Elsyad, Sean Nguyen, and Tiffany Ji. From left at rear are Jordan Lee and Shibli Nomani. The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 20 declined to hear a challenge to an admissions plan for the selective high school that was facially race neutral but designed to boost the enrollment of Black and Hispanic students.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Law & Courts School District Lawsuits Against Social Media Companies Are Piling Up
More than 200 school districts are now suing the major social media companies over the youth mental health crisis.
7 min read
A close up of a statue of the blindfolded lady justice against a light blue background with a ghosted image of a hands holding a cellphone with Facebook "Like" and "Love" icons hovering above it.
iStock/Getty