Opinion ID: 2461643
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies under IDEA and Its Washington Counterpart

Text: ¶ 17 IDEA explicitly requires a party to have exhausted the administrative remedies available through the IDEA due-process hearing before filing a civil action under certain federal laws. As 20 U.S.C. § 1415( l ) states: Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to restrict or limit the rights, procedures, and remedies available under the Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or other Federal laws protecting the rights of children with disabilities, except that before the filing of a civil action under such laws seeking relief that is also available under this subchapter, the procedures under subsections (f) and (g) shall be exhausted to the same extent as would be required had the action been brought under this subchapter. (Emphasis added) (citations omitted); see also 20 U.S.C. § 1415(i)(2); WAC 392-172A-05115(1)-(3). Subsections (f) and (g) of 20 U.S.C. § 1415 refer to the IDEA due-process hearing and administrative-appeal process referred to above. ¶ 18 In Washington, IDEA is implemented by OSPI according to the authority delegated to it by the legislature through chapter 28A.155 RCW. In accordance with RCW 28A.155.090(7), OSPI has promulgated administrative regulations governing the implementation of IDEA in Washington. WAC 392-172A-01000. These regulations mimic the statutory language found in IDEA. See ch. 392-172A WAC. In particular, WAC 392-172A-05115(5) mimics the exhaustion of administrative remedies provision found in 20 U.S.C. § 1415( l ): Nothing in this part restricts or limits the rights, procedures, and remedies available under the Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or other federal laws protecting the rights of students with disabilities, except that before the filing of a civil action under these laws seeking relief that is also available under section 615 of the act, the due process procedures under WAC 392-172A-05085 and 392-172A-05165 must be exhausted to the same extent as would be required had the action been brought under section 615 of the act. WAC 392-172A-05115(5) (emphasis added). Section 615 of the act refers to what is now 20 U.S.C. § 1415. See 20 U.S.C. § 1415; WAC 392-172A-01020. ¶ 19 In sum, both 20 U.S.C. § 1415( l ) and WAC 392-172A-05115(5) require a party to exhaust the administrative remedies available to them through the IDEA due-process hearing before filing a civil action under certain federal laws. To trigger the IDEA due-process hearing, the action must pertain to any matter relating to the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or the provision of an appropriate public education to such child, or to the placement of a child in an alternative-educational setting.