Inclusion Daily Express -- Supreme Court: Parents Don't Need Lawyers To Sue Schools

Inclusion Daily Express Logo

International Disability Rights News Service
Click here for today's headlines & home page

Keeping advocates informed, inspired and connected since 1999.
Click here for daily or weekly delivery . . . OR
Try Inclusion Daily Express for ten days FREE . . .

Supreme Court: Parents Don't Need Lawyers To Sue Schools
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
May 21, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC--Parents can act without an attorney to sue a public school if they believe the school has failed to accommodate their child's disabilities under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The case, Jacob Winkelman v. Parma City School District 05-983, involves Ohio parents Jeff and Sandee Winkelman, who say they cannot afford an attorney to represent them in their suit against the district. They sent their 9-year-old son, Jacob, to a specialized private school that caters to students with autism after disagreeing with the individualized education program that the district proposed. The couple then sued the Parma district, asking it to reimburse them for the annual tuition of about $56,000.

The Supreme Court did not decide whether the school must pay the tuition. The Justices focused instead on the parents' right to sue without an attorney. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Winkelmans had to hire a lawyer, but the Supreme Court's ruling overturned that lower court's decision.

In the court's opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote: "Parents enjoy rights under IDEA; and they are, as a result, entitled to prosecute IDEA claims on their own behalf."

The Bush administration and the National Council on Disability had supported the Winkelmans' position in the case.

Related:
Winkelman v. Parma City School District, 05-983 (U.S. Supreme Court)
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/06pdf/05-983.pdf

Copyright © 2007 Inonit Publishing
Please do not reprint, forward, or post without permission.

Click here for top of this page

Purchase this story for your website or newsletter . . .

Here's what subscribers say about Inclusion Daily Express. . .

Keeping advocates informed, inspired and connected since 1999.
Click here for daily or weekly delivery . . . OR
Try Inclusion Daily Express for ten days FREE . . .

Get your news here!