WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Monday strengthened the rights of the millions of parents who have children with disabilities, ruling they can go to court on their own to fight a school district’s choice of a special-education program.
The unanimous decision opens a door that had been closed to these parents in many parts of the nation, where judges had ruled that they could not go to court unless they hired a lawyer to represent them.
But as the parents of a child with autism – Jeff and Sandee Winkelman of Parma, Ohio – said in their appeal to the high court, private lawyers “are often too expensive for the average ‘unrich’ American.”
The justices said a private lawyer is not required because the federal law that gives children with disabilities a right to a “free appropriate public education” also gives their parents a right to fight for them in court.
“We conclude the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act grants parents independent, enforceable rights,” Justice Anthony Kennedy said. He noted the law empowers parents at each step of the process in deciding on the proper education program for their child.
Moreover, “the potential for injustice,” Kennedy added, would be great if wealthy parents could fight for their children in court while poorer parents were barred because they could not pay for a lawyer.
About 7 million of the nation’s children have physical or mental disabilities that bring them under the protection of the federal law.
The Winkelmans enrolled their son, Jacob, in kindergarten in the private Monarch School, where tuition was $56,000 a year.
They paid for the first year, but as their family income was less than $40,000, they could not continue to pay the cost on their own. They wanted the school district to pay for the private school and reimburse them for the first year’s tuition.
The district refused, and when they tried to challenge the district in court, a federal judge in Cleveland and the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati threw out their case on the grounds that they did not have a lawyer.
Monday’s ruling does not mean that Jacob will be enrolled in the private school or that the Winkelmans will be reimbursed for what they have spent in tuition. It does, however, give them a chance to plead their case in court.
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