NSBA submits amicus brief to Supreme Court in the case of Murphy v. Arlington Central School District Board of Education
NSBA, joined by the American Association of School Administrators, the New York State School Boards Association, and the New York State Council of School Superintendents, has submitted an
amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of
Murphy v. Arlington Central School District Board of Education, Docket No. 05-18. The brief, NSBA's press statement, and background on the case, including NSBA's summary of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit opinion under review, are linked below. At issue is whether a prevailing party can recover expert fees under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Second Circuit ruled that IDEA required the school board to reimburse parents for fees for an educational consultant who assisted them during the individualized education program (IEP) process. NSBA argues that the Second Circuit's decision is unsupported by either the statutory language of IDEA or Congress's underlying purpose and cites Congress's repeated efforts "to move IDEA beyond the adversarial paradigm with which its implementation has been plagued." The brief notes that IDEA safeguards the rights of parents in the development of IEPs, including by requiring an independent evaluation by an education expert, at district expense, should the parents disagree with the district's evaluation. COSA members Darcy Kriha, Julie Heuberger Yura, and Patricia Whitten of Franczek Sullivan PC in Chicago were lead authors on the brief. Oral arguments in the case have not yet been scheduled.
[NSBA amicus brief][NSBA press statement][NSBA's School Law pages on Murphy v. Arlington Central School District Board of Education]