I would like to sue the school district for the way my child’s special education was mishandled or ignored over the years, what are my chances of success?
Special education is ultimately controlled by federal law. The United States is divided into eleven appellate-level circuits of federal courts and a twelfth for the District of Columbia. The interpretation of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and other federal civil and disability rights laws differs somewhat among the various circuits. If you wish to obtain money damages for the school district’s substandard or nonexistent special education of your child, your chances of recovering anything are not good in most parts of the country, including California, which is in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Since initial passage of the IDEA, the federal courts have turned away lawsuits for money damages for what might be called “educational malpractice” when cases are brought only under the IDEA. [Mountain View-Los Altos Union H.S. Dist. v. Sharron B.H., 709 F.2d 28 (9th Cir. 1981); Colin K. v. Schmidt, 715 F..2d 1 (1st Cir. 1983); Anderson v. Thompson, 658 F.2d 1205 (7
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- I would like to sue the school district for the way my child’s special education was mishandled or ignored over the years, what are my chances of success?
