The Blog: Simply Said
FAPE Does Not Include Religious and Cultural Instruction
The Supreme Court just denied certiorari in a case from last summer that has received considerable attention around the country. M.L. ex rel. Leiman v. Smith, 867 F.3d 487, 70 IDELR 142 (4th Cir. Aug. 14, 2017), cert. denied, 86 U.S.L.W. 3354, 86 U.S.L.W. 3356 (U.S....
USDOE Rejects NYS’s ESSA Waiver
On January 16, 2018, the U.S. Department of Education rejected New York’s application for a waiver of sections 1111(b)(1)(B) and (b)(2)(B)(i) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), 20 U.S.C. §...
Child Find, Functional Behavioral Assessment, Tuition Reimbursement
Board of Educ. of Wappingers Cent. Sch. Dist. v. M.N., No. 16-CV-09448(TPG), 2017 WL 4641219, 71 IDELR 9 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 13, 2017), appeal filed, No. 17-3707 (2d Cir. Nov. 14, 2017), is a recent case of interest with regard to the IDEA child-find requirement, the...
Federal Guidance on Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District Re-1
Free, appropriate public education, behavioral interventions and supports, placement On December 7, 2017, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) released a document entitled Questions and Answers (Q&A) on...
DIR/Floortime, Accommodations for Allergies and Sensory Needs, Student-Teacher Ratio
On October 10, 2017, the Second Circuit summarily affirmed NB v. New York City Department of Education, No. 15 Civ. 4948, 2016 WL 5816925, 68 IDELR 228 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 29, 2017), aff’d sub nom. N.B. v. New York City Department of Education, No. 16-3652-cv, 2017 WL...
Limitations, Behavior, Free Appropriate Public Education
A recent federal case of interest is W.M. ex rel. V.M. v. Board of Education of the Harrison Central School District, No. 16-CV-8732, 2017 WL 5157768, 117 LRP 46513 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 6, 2017). The student, identified as V., who was born in 2002 and spent his first years...
Deference to Administrative Decisions
S.B. v. New York City Department of Education, No. 15-CV-1869, 2017 WL 4326502, 70 IDELR 221 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2017), is a recent case that merits attention for its treatment of issues of deference to administrative decision makers, and evaluation and IEP...
Update: R.E.B. v. Hawaii Department of Education
In R.E.B. v. Hawaii Dep’t of Educ., No. 14-15895, 2017 WL 4018395, --- F.3d ----, 117 LRP 38439 (9th Cir. Sept. 13, 2017) (per curiam, before Kozinski, Hawkins, and Bea), the parent of a child with autism contested a proposed IEP that called for the child to make the...
What Fry Means to You
Of the two 2017 Supreme Court cases interpreting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the importance of Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1, 137 S. Ct. 988, 69 IDELR 116 (Mar. 22, 2017), to Impartial Hearing Officers and State Review Officers...
Applying Endrew F.
Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1, 137 S. Ct. 988, 69 IDELR 116 (Mar. 22, 2017) is old news by now. Decided on March 22, it overturned the Tenth Circuit’s “merely more than de minimis” standard for the educational benefit guaranteed by the Individuals...
Endrew F.: Preliminary Observations and Practical Considerations
I. DECISION SUMMARY In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1, No. 15-827, 2017 WL 1066260, 137 S. Ct. 988, 69 IDELR 174 (U.S. Mar. 22, 2017), the Supreme Court overturned a decision of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals that had applied a “merely more than...