Litigation and Students With Disabilities

Abstract

Special education is the most highly litigated area within the field of education. Therefore, the purpose of the current article is to highlight cases (court decisions, Office of Civil Rights rulings, and State Educational Agency hearings) involving students with disabilities in 2015. Highlights from the case law point to the need for school districts to ensure that students with disabilities are provided free appropriate public education, ensure timely and comprehensive evaluations once a suspected disability is of concern, ensure that students with autism have access to an range of services, provide evidence in factors considered when determining placement, remove students only when they present imminent threat to self or others, and appropriately address bullying/harassment instances.

Rethinking Shortages in Special Education: Making Good on the Promise of an Equal Opportunity for Students With Disabilities

“…Although most disputes do not involve judicial review, those that do tend to be protracted and costly, in terms of legal fees, personnel, and resources (Sack-Min, 2007). For example, in 2015, there were 384 judicial rulings involving SWDs (Katsiyannis, Counts, Popham, Ryan, & Butzer, 2016), many centering on failure to provide FAPE and its consequence, reimbursement for private school tuition.…”

Toward a Systematic Review of Legal Cases: Secondary Transition and Students With Disabilities Over the Last 5 Years

“…FAPE remains a fertile area of disagreement for special education (Katsiyannis et al, 2016). Based on our review, there is a need for districts to be responsive to litigation and provide comprehensive education and secondary transition services that give students the best chance at making educational progress, while also protecting themselves from costly legal proceedings.…”

“…In an increasingly litigious society wherein families file a broad range of claims against school systems, it is essential that educators have at least a basic understanding of school law (Russo, 2015). Students who receive special education services constitute 13% of the school-age population (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018); yet, special education is the most highly litigated area in the field of education (Katsiyannis, Counts, Popham, Ryan, & Butzer, 2016). Thus, a school's work to address the needs of students with disabilities and creating district policies according to school law can prove challenging.…”

See You in Court! How to Avoid IDEA Transition–Related Mediations and Due Process Hearings

“…Existing special education case law offers evidence of court rulings that school districts failed to properly implement the IDEA transition services requirements. Articles written by Eggert and Minutelli (2011), Katsiyannis, Losinski, and Prince (2012), and Prince, Plotner, and Yell (2014) discussed such special education court cases. A summary of the major transition-related issues presented by these authors include the following: inadequate transition assessment, planning, and services; insufficient transition services in IEPs, including Indicator 13 noncompliant postsecondary goals and IEP goals; parents not being notified of graduation requirements and expected graduation date of their child; and failure to invite state adult service agency representatives to IEP meetings.…”