Special Education News in Brief

Supreme Court Rejects Case on Spec. Ed. ‘Burden of Proof’

By Mark Walsh — October 28, 2008 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The U.S. Supreme Court last week refused to hear the appeal of a Minnesota family in a case about the burden of proof in legal disputes over special education.

The appeal came from the parent of a child with multiple disabilities who ended up in administrative proceedings over the child’s services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

At issue was whether the parent or the state of Minnesota would have the burden of proof in the proceedings. In a 2005 opinion known as Schaffer v. Weast, the Supreme Court held that where state law was silent on the issue, the burden of persuasion in special education cases lies with the party who brought the case. But the justices stopped short of deciding which rule would apply in states that assign the burden of proof in such proceedings by law, such as Minnesota, which places the burden on school districts in most instances.

In the Minnesota case, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, in St. Louis, ruled in February that notwithstanding the Minnesota law, the burden of proof in the case should be on the moving party, which was the family.

The justices on Oct. 20 denied without comment the family’s appeal of that ruling in M.M. v. Special School District No. 1 (Case No. 07-1559).

A version of this article appeared in the October 29, 2008 edition of Education Week

Events

Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Boosting Student and Staff Mental Health: What Schools Can Do
Join this free virtual event based on recent reporting on student and staff mental health challenges and how schools have responded.
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
Curriculum Webinar
Practical Methods for Integrating Computer Science into Core Curriculum
Dive into insights on integrating computer science into core curricula with expert tips and practical strategies to empower students at every grade level.
Content provided by Learning.com

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

Special Education What We Know About Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS), in Charts
More districts and schools are using a tiered system of supports for students, with a focus on social-emotional learning, a survey found.
5 min read
Vector illustration of diverse children, students climbing up on a top of a stack of staggered books.
iStock/Getty
Special Education New AI-Powered Sensors Could Tell Teachers What’s Really Going on With Students
Researchers are testing wearable sensors that track movement and body language of kids with autism and other conditions.
5 min read
Boy raises his hand to answer a question in a classroom; he is sitting on the floor with other kids and the teacher is sitting in front of the class.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Special Education Explainer MTSS: What Is a Multi-Tiered System of Supports?
MTSS, or multi-tiered system of supports, is a widely used framework meant to offer students personalized education that meets their needs.
7 min read
Illustration of people climbing stacks of books. There are 3 stacks of books at different heights with people helping people climb up.
iStock/Getty
Special Education 3 Reasons Why More Students Are in Special Education
Over the past 40 years, the number of students in special education has doubled due to better identification and less stigma, experts said.
5 min read
Elementary math teacher Margie Howells teaches a fifth grade class at Wheeling Country Day School in Wheeling, WV, on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. Howells said that she turned to the science of math after wondering why there weren't as many resources for dyscalculia as there were for dyslexia. The share of students in special education have been increasing over the past 46 years.
Elementary math teacher Margie Howells teaches a 5th grade class at Wheeling Country Day School in Wheeling, W.Va., on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. Howells said that she turned to the science of math after wondering why there weren't as many resources for dyscalculia as there were for dyslexia. The share of students in special education has been increasing over the past 46 years.
Gene J. Puskar/AP