On Monday, Feb. 26, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Board of Education of the City School District of New York v. Tom F. ex rel. Gilbert F., No. 06-637 (U.S. 02/26/07, cert. granted). This case involves the question of whether a student who receives special education services from a private school is eligible for tuition reimbursement if he never obtained such services from a public school district.
Beyond the potential ramifications of the case itself, the granting
of review in this case seems to signal the Supreme Court’s greater
willingness to take up IDEA cases. In the last 2 years the court has
reviewed Shaffer, Arlington Central and oral argument on Winkelman
is set for today. Four cases in just a 2 year period represents a
significant increase in the number of cases going before the Court for
review. Considering that Shaffer and Arlington Central went against
parents, and the decidedly more conservative bend to the Court with
Justices Alito and Roberts on the bench, we can only hope that this sudden attention is not to our detriment. Perhaps Winkelman will tell us if there is negative trend in IDEA cases or not.
If the Court is in fact signaling a hostility towards IDEA claims
the effects could be felt both in terms of school districts being
emboldened even at the level of IEP meetings, and in due process and
court litigation. Nevertheless, anything the Court does in its
interpretation of IDEA can be undone if Congress has the political will
to amend the law to override negative judicial decisions. So ultimately
the power equation comes back to all of us in terms of what we demand
from our elected officials. Hillary, Barack, John, Mitt, Rudy etc. where do you stand on issues effecting our children with special needs ? These are questions that need clear and decisive answers beyond party loyalty. We should start a letter writing campaign now to Mr. Lehrer, as he has been the moderator at the Presidential debates the last few years.