Opinion ID: 771862
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Relief under the IDEA

Text: 26 The IDEA provides a process through which parents who disagree with the appropriateness of an IEP can seek relief. The process begins with a complaint to the school district, followed by a due process hearing at which parents are able to voice their concerns to an IHO of the state educational agency, as determined by state law. See 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b). Any party may appeal the result of this hearing to an SLRO. See 20 U.S.C. § 1415(c). Finally, any party aggrieved by the result of the hearing held before the SLRO may bring suit in the appropriate state court or federal district court. See 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(2). 27 During the course of such proceedings, parents and the school are required to continue the then-current educational placement of the child as set forth in the current IEP. See 20 U.S.C. §1415(e)(3)(A). If, however, parents opt not to comply with this so-called stay-put provision, they are not necessarily barred from recovering the costs of private placement. Rather, parents who elect to remove their child from public school prior to completion of the IDEA review process, and pay for appropriate specialized education themselves, may seek reimbursement for the amounts expended. See Burlington, 471 U.S. at 370. Parents are entitled to such retroactive reimbursement only if a federal court concludes both that the public placement violated the IDEA, and that the private school placement was proper under the Act. Florence County, 510 U.S. at 15. Thus, parents who unilaterally remove their child from public school prior to completion of the IDEA review process do so at their own financial risk. Id. (citing Burlington, 471 U.S. at 373-74). 28 When parents challenge the appropriateness of a program or placement offered to their disabled child by a school district under the IDEA, a reviewing court must undertake a twofold inquiry. See Bd. of Educ. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 206-07 (1982). First, the court must ask whether the school district has complied with the procedures set forth in the IDEA. See id. Second, the court must determine whether the IEP, developed through the IDEA's procedures, is reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits. See id. There is no violation of the IDEA so long as the school district has satisfied both requirements. See id.