The Blog: Simply Said
Court Finds Short Delay in Providing AT Does Not Deny FAPE
A short delay in assistive technology and disputes over accommodations did not amount to a denial of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in Pfershy v. O’Fallon Twp. High Sch. Dist. 203, No. 23-CV-3515-RJD, 2026 WL 2253444 (S.D. Ill. Aug. 5, 2026). The case...
When Parents Should Know: The Ninth Circuit on IDEA Accrual
Child-find, identification, and evaluation issues are a steady part of an impartial hearing officer’s caseload. Limitations questions involving those claims are less common, but hardly unknown. J.R. v. Ventura Unified Sch. Dist., 173 F.4th 1039 (9th Cir. Apr. 22,...
Seventh Circuit: A More Restrictive Placement Needs a Cogent Explanation
A new Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision takes a close look at the least restrictive environment (LRE) requirement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and applies the Supreme Court’s statement that school districts should be expected to...
Fifth Circuit Finds IEP Lacked Individualization in ESY Duration
An Individualized Education Program (IEP) must be individualized to the student. In North East Independent School District v. I.M., 163 F.4th 193, 125 LRP 34991 (5th Cir. Dec. 23, 2025), vacating and superseding 160 F.4th 630, 125 LRP 31441 (Nov. 21, 2025), the Fifth...
Court Finds Requested Assessments Were One IEE, Not Multiple IEEs
R.C. v. Garden City Union Free School District, No. 2:24-CV-8328 (LGD), 2026 WL 1674597, --- F.Supp.3d --- (E.D.N.Y. April 14, 2026), involved significant disagreements between an impartial hearing officer (IHO) and a state review officer (SRO). The district court...
Fifth Circuit Says Stay-Put Ends When ALJ Finds No Jurisdiction
Herbert v. St. James Parish Sch. Bd., 177 F.4th 630 (5th Cir. June 2, 2026), involved eligibility for special education based on residency and also addressed maintenance of placement, or stay-put, during the pendency of proceedings. The case began on August 7, 2024,...
Court Rejects Residential Placement Despite Behavior Impeding Progress
Residential placement is among the educational settings contemplated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). But in many cases parents and school districts disagree over whether residential placement is needed. J.M. v. Genesee Intermediate School...
When the District Must Initiate Due Process
Figueroa-Rivera v. Puerto Rico, No. CV 24-1357 (ADC), 2025 WL 2793079 (D.P.R., Sept. 30, 2025), tells a long story of conflict over services for a student with disabilities. At the center of the opinion is a narrower question about who must invoke due process when...
No FAPE Denial Where Parent Had Already Walked Away
A lot of what lands in front of impartial hearing officers (IHOs) boils down to two questions: did the school district trip over the procedural rules, and did the student actually get a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities...
Class-Size Options, Not Class-Size Add-Ons
Last June, this blog covered Cruz v. Banks, 134 F.4th 687, 125 LRP 12165 (2d Cir. Apr. 15, 2025), certified question accepted, No. 64, 2025 WL 1439661 (N.Y. May 20, 2025) – a fight over whether the New York City Education Department offered a free, appropriate public...
No Carve-Out: Religious Instruction as Part of FAPE
Whether public money can flow to religious instruction is a question the Supreme Court has answered in very different ways over time. Longstanding constitutional doctrine and federal regulations say the government must not contribute to the establishment of religion...
The Building Moved, the Program Didn’t
When a family moves across town and the school district reassigns their child to a different building, is that a change of educational placement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)? That is the question at the heart of Fofanah v. Board of...
A Reduced Fee Award and a Rejection of AI-Generated Support
In S.C. v. New York City Dep’t of Educ., No. 23 CIV. 1266 (LGS), 2024 WL 3518522, 124 LRP 28367 (S.D.N.Y. July 24, 2024), the court adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation that attorneys’ fees be awarded to a prevailing parent in a reduced amount following...
Pendency Payments After the School Year Ends
Payment disputes under the maintenance of placement provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) continue to generate federal litigation in New York. In Chaperon v. Banks, No. 24-CV-05135 (JAV), 2025 WL 2207908, 125 LRP 22657 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 4,...
Exhaustion Did Not Bar Challenge to Age-21 Service Cutoff
In J.M. v. New York City Department of Education, 161 F.4th 149, 125 LRP 32414 (2d Cir. Dec. 9, 2025), the Second Circuit vacated the dismissal of a class action challenging New York City’s alleged policy of discontinuing Individuals with Disabilities Education Act...
Absenteeism Alone Did Not Trigger Child Find
In A.P. v. Pearland Independent School District, 158 F.4th 672, 125 LRP 30747 (5th Cir. Nov. 10, 2025), the Fifth Circuit rejected parents’ claims that a school district violated its child find obligations and improperly denied eligibility for special education under...
An IEP Must Prevent Regression, Not Just Show Effort
In North East Independent School District v. I.M., No. 24-50833, 2025 WL 3251027, ___ F.4th ___, 125 LRP 31441 (5th Cir. Nov. 21, 2025), the Fifth Circuit affirmed the decisions of an impartial hearing officer and district court concluding that the district denied a...
Misuse of Generative AI by Educational Advocate Prompted Judicial Warning
In Powhatan County School Board v. Skinger, No. 3:24cv874, 125 LRP 17324 (E.D. Va. June 2, 2025), motion to vacate denied, 2025 WL 1842621 (E.D. Va. July 2, 2025), the district court addressed improper filings submitted by a pro se defendant who acted as an advocate...
IEP Was Not “Mathematically Impossible” to Implement
In Ogunleye v. Banks, No. 23-cv-9524, 2025 WL 2050973, 125 LRP 21674 (S.D.N.Y. July 21, 2025), appeal filed, No. 25-1994 (2d Cir. Aug. 18, 2025), the district court upheld a proposed public school program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)...
Likelihood of Regression, Not Past Regression, Drives ESY
In T.F. v. District of Columbia, No. 1:23-cv-03612, 2025 WL 947524, 125 LRP 9183 (D.D.C. Mar. 8, 2025), the district court addressed challenges to individualized education programs (IEPs) involving extended school year (ESY) services, post-secondary transition...