International Disability Rights News Service
Click here for today's headlines
Keeping advocates informed, inspired and connected since
1999.
Daily or
Weekly delivery . . .
Purchase this
story for your website or newsletter . . .
Supreme Court To Decide Who Pays For Expert Witnesses When Parents
Win IDEA Suits
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 6,
2006
WASHINGTON, DC--The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide
whether the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires schools to pay
for expert witnesses brought in by parents that win lawsuits regarding their
children's special education.
The case concerns Pearl and Theodore Murphy who successfully sued Arlington Central School District in Poughkeepsie, New York for the costs of sending their son, Joseph, to a private school for two years. They had argued that the school failed to provide Joseph with a "free appropriate public education".
After the Murphys won the case, they asked the district court to order Arlington to pay the $29,350 it cost them to hire educational consultant Marilyn Arons, M.S.
After determining that Arons did not have to be paid for interest or mileage, the court ordered the school district to pay $8,650 for Arons's fees.
The district appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, which in March 2004 agreed that the IDEA calls for parties who win such cases to be reimbursed for those costs.
According to the Associated Press, U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement urged the high court to hear the appeal in order to resolve a conflict among several appellate courts over whether the IDEA allows payment of expert fees to the winning side.
Related:
Murphy v. Arlington Central School District Board of
Education (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/0106a.htm
Click here for top of this page
Purchase this story for your website or newsletter . . .
Here's what subscribers say about Inclusion Daily Express. . .
Inclusion Daily Express
3231 W. Boone Ave., # 711
Spokane, Washington 99201 USA
Phone:
509-326-5811
News@InclusionDaily.com
Copyright © 2006 Inonit Publishing