Government Liability Update

Supreme Court Permits Reimbursement for Private School Special Education if School Fails to Provide It

In Forest Grove School District v. T.A., published today, the U.S. Supreme Court held that where a school district fails to provide a special education student any special education services, and the parent therefore enrolls the child in private special education, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act permits a hearing officer or court to order the school district to reimburse the parent for private education.  This decision expands upon previous decisions allowing reimbursement for private education where a school district first provides special education services that are inadequate. 

School Districts May Owe Duty to Children Getting Off School Bus

In Eric M. v. Cajon Valley Union Sch. Dist., published May 27, 2009, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One, held that a school district that adopted a transportation plan for students might owe a duty of care under Education Code 44808 to a six-year-old who exited a school bus -- because he thought he saw his father's car at the school yard to pick him up -- and was hit by a car.  Whether a duty existed, and whether it was breached, depended on disputed facts.  The court therefore reversed summary adjudication for the school district.

Title IX Does Not Preclude Section 1983 Suits

In Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee, the U.S. Supreme Court holds that Title IX's remedy for sex discrimination in schools does not preclude 42 U.S.C. section 1983 suits against schools for violation of students' equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution.

New 9th Circuit Decision Limits Secondary Causes of Action for Special Education Students' Parents

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. sections 1400-1482, is one of the most litigated set of federal statutes on the books.  It deals with the obligation of public schools to provide a free and appropriate public education to students with special needs.  Sometimes the parents of those students will sue for their own mental distress sustained in the process of obtaining IDEA benefits for their children.  Blanchard v. Morton School District, published by the 9th Circuit on September 20, 2007, limits their ability to do so.  In a terse six-page opinion, the court ruled that:

-- 42 U.S.C. section 1983 does not create a cause of action for damages for suffering or wage loss by such parents; and

-- unless the parent himself or herslef is disabled, neither section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 nor Title II of the ADA create a cause of action for the parent's suffering or wage loss.

*****Update******

On December 3, 2007, the 9th Circuit amended its decision in Blanchard.  The amended decision states that the Court does not reach a parent's right to seek emotional distress damages under section 504 or Title II of the ADA, because the plaintiff in Blanchard failed to preserve the issue for appeal.  The Court has therefore left that issue open.