The Blog: Simply Said
FERPA Did Not Bar Discovery of Classroom Video
In G.B. v. Woods County Board of Education, No. 2:24-cv-00220, 2025 WL 1922471, 125 LRP 17318 (S.D. W. Va. June 2, 2025), the district court addressed discovery disputes concerning classroom video recordings in litigation arising from the restraint of a six-year-old...
Categorical Placement Policies Are Suspect Under IDEA’s Individualization Requirement
In Jacobs v. Salt Lake City School District, No. 23-4058, 2025 WL 2858650, --- F.4th ---, 125 LRP 29753 (10th Cir. Oct. 9, 2025), the Tenth Circuit reversed dismissal of claims alleging that a school district violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act...
Failure to Give Ten-Day Notice Defeated Reimbursement
In Landsman v. Banks, No. 24-2303, 2025 WL 2155553, 125 LRP 22327 (2d Cir. July 31, 2025) (unpublished), the Second Circuit affirmed denial of tuition reimbursement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) where the parent failed to provide the...
Good-Faith Rejection Preserved Attorneys’ Fees
In N.G.B. v. New York City Department of Education, 146 F.4th 195, 125 LRP 21666 (2d Cir. July 24, 2025), the Second Circuit applied the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s (IDEA) fee-shifting provisions to affirm an award of attorneys’ fees incurred after a...
Comparable Services Did Not Require Identical Personnel
In Panicacci v. West Ada School District No. 2, No. 1:21-CV-00329 WBS, 2025 WL 1518812, 125 LRP 16127 (D. Idaho May 28, 2025), motion for new trial denied, 2025 WL 2256881 (D. Idaho Aug. 7, 2025), the district court addressed the Individuals with Disabilities...
Failure to Implement a Favorable Due Process Decision Was Not Actionable
In R.W. v. Clear Creek Independent School District, No. 24-40141, 2025 WL 801360, 125 LRP 7881 (5th Cir. Mar. 13, 2025) (unpublished), the Fifth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a federal court action alleging that a school district failed to implement a favorable...
Concern Alone Does Not Necessarily Trigger the IDEA Limitations Clock
In Peter G. v. Derry Township School District, No. 1:23-CV-00043, 2025 WL 270057, 125 LRP 2346 (M.D. Pa. Jan. 22, 2025), the district court addressed the application of the statute of limitations for due process hearing requests under the Individuals with Disabilities...
IDEA Does Not Require Morning, Home Aides
In S.M. v. Freehold Regional High School District Board of Education, No. 24-1299, 2025 WL 1565359, 125 LRP 16316 (3d Cir. June 3, 2025) (unpublished), the Third Circuit affirmed administrative and district court decisions rejecting a compensatory education claim...
Class Size Disputes Sent to New York’s Highest Court
In 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), the Second Circuit addressed whether an individualized education program (IEP) offering a 12:1:4 classroom satisfied the...
When Accommodations Mask, Rather Than Remediate, Disability
In William A. v. Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, 127 F.4th 656, 125 LRP 3627 (6th Cir. Feb. 3, 2025), the Sixth Circuit affirmed a determination that a school district denied a student a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with...
When Program Closure Is Not a Change in Placement
In A.M-G. v. Salem Keizer Public Schools, Nos. 6:24-cv-01517-MC, 6:24-cv-01575-MK, 2024 WL 4867060, 124 LRP 40061 (D. Or. Nov. 22, 2024), the district court denied motions for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions seeking to require a school...
Residential Placement Ordered Where Day Programs Failed
In S.M. v. Chichester School District, No. 2:21-cv-04266, 2024 WL 4438472, 124 LRP 35901, aff’d, No. 24-2727, 2025 WL 649894, 125 LRP 6255 (3d Cir. Feb. 28, 2025) (unpublished), the district court ordered, and the Third Circuit affirmed, injunctive relief requiring a...
Asynchronous Learning Triggered IDEA Notice Obligations
In In re Complaint Decision File 24-043C, No. A24-0229, 2024 WL 4664194, 124 LRP 38498 (Minn. Ct. App. Nov. 4, 2024) (not precedential), the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed a state education department decision requiring corrective action after a school district...
Extended Eligibility Is Extraordinary Relief
In Perez v. Banks, No. 1:23-CV-02966, 2024 WL 4307934, 124 LRP 28851 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 26, 2024), aff’d, 125 LRP 22327 (2d Cir. July 31, 2025), the district court addressed whether extended eligibility under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was an...
IDEA Exhaustion Required, but Not for Every Claim
In Hawai‘i Disability Center v. Kishimoto, 122 F.4th 353, 124 LRP 40099 (9th Cir. Nov. 26, 2024), the Ninth Circuit addressed whether a federally funded protection and advocacy agency was required to exhaust administrative remedies under the Individuals with...
Unaddressed Behavioral Needs Can Drive FAPE Denials
In Upper Darby School District v. K.W., Nos. 23-2650, 23-265, 2024 WL 3811990, 124 LRP 30821 (3d Cir. Aug. 14, 2024) (unpublished), the Third Circuit affirmed a district court’s determination that a school district denied a student a free appropriate public education...
Direct Payment or Reimbursement Requires a Developed Record
In Moonsammy v. Banks, No. 23 Civ. 10491 (PAE), 2024 WL 4277521, 124 LRP 35077 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 23, 2024), the district court reviewed an administrative decision that found a denial of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities...
Surreptitious Audio Recordings May Be Admissible
In G.L. v. Verona Borough Board of Education, No. 2:23-cv-00938, 2024 WL 3549060, 124 LRP 28443 (D.N.J. July 26, 2024) (unpublished), the district court addressed disputes concerning the appropriate placement of a young student with multiple disabilities and, more...
Placement Objections Cannot Rest on Speculation
In Rivas v. Banks, No. 22-CV-10007 (LJL), 2023 WL 8188069, 123 LRP 34269 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 27, 2023), reconsideration denied, 2024 WL 292276 (Jan. 25, 2024), aff’d, No. 24-268, 2024 WL 5244849 (2d Cir. Dec. 30, 2024), the district court affirmed administrative decisions...
A Private Placement Can Be Appropriate Without Mirroring the IEP
In M.M. v. New York City Department of Education, No. 21-cv-3693 (BMC), 2024 WL 3904771, 124 LRP 31321 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 22, 2024), the court addressed a situation in which a school district failed over multiple years to offer an appropriate placement under the...