Opinion ID: 773771
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Statutes of Limitations under the IDEA

Text: 6 The IDEA specifies no limitations period governing either a plaintiff's request for an administrative hearing or the filing of a civil action. Livingston Sch. Dist. Nos. 4 & 1 v. Keenan, 82 F.3d 912, 915 (9th Cir. 1996); Dreher v. Amphitheater Unified Sch. Dist., 22 F.3d 228, 231 (9th Cir. 1994). Therefore, we must determine the most closely analogous state statute of limitations and apply that statuteunless it would undermine the policies underlying the IDEA. Livingston Sch. Dist., 82 F.3d at 915. In order to assess which state statute of limitations is most analogous, the court must characterize the essence of the claim in the pending case, and decide which state statute provides the most appropriate limiting principle. Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 268 (1985). 7 We have never considered the appropriate limitations period governing a request for a due process hearing (as distinguished from the initiation of a civil action) on a claim arising under the IDEA. However, the First, Fourth, and Eighth Circuits have applied the analysis governing the determination of the limitations period for the filing of a civil action to the determination of the limitations period for the initial filing of an administrative claim under the IDEA. Strawn v. Missouri State Bd. of Educ, 210 F.3d 954, 957-58 (8th Cir. 2000); Manning v. Fairfax County Sch. Bd., 176 F.3d 235, 237-38 (4th Cir. 1999); Murphy v. Timberlane Reg'l Sch. Dist., 22 F.3d 1186, 1193-94 (1st Cir. 1994). Both the First and Fourth Circuits reasoned simply that, for the purpose of ensuring the timely pursuit of a claim, there is no reason to distinguish between a claim filed in an administrative body and one filed in court. Manning, 176 F.3d at 238; Murphy, 22 F.3d at 1193- 94. The Eighth Circuit did not acknowledge the distinction between administrative hearings and court proceedings. Strawn, 210 F.3d at 957-58. We see no good reason to depart from the approaches adopted by our sister circuits. 8 Twice we have addressed the appropriate limitations period for filing civil actions under the IDEA. Livingston Sch. Dist., 82 F.3d at 915; Dreher, 22 F.3d at 231. In Dreher, we held that the applicable statute of limitations for a claim of tuition reimbursement in Arizona was the statute providing the one- year period applicable to  `liabilit[ies] created by statute, other than penalty or forfeiture.'  22 F.3d at 232 (alteration in original) (quoting Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 12-541). We considered two statutes of limitations: one that governed appeals from agencies' decisions, and one that governed claims arising from liabilities created by statute. Id. We concluded that, because no administrative hearing had been granted on the plaintiff's claim, the action was not analogous to an appeal from an administrative decision. As a result, we characterized the plaintiff's claim as a liability created by statute and applied a one-year statute of limitations. Invoking a similar analysis, but reaching a different result, we held in Livingston School District that the appropriate limitations period in Montana for an action seeking review of a hearing officer's decision on an IDEA claim was the 60-day period for requests for judicial review of agency decisions. 82 F.3d at 916-17. 9