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 Supreme
Court Rules In Favor of Parents in IDEA Case
On May 21, the United States
Supreme Court ruled in the case Winkelman v. Parma City School District that parents
have "independent, enforceable rights" in achieving a free and
appropriate public education for their children under IDEA. As
such, the Supreme Court ruled that parents can represent their children,
without a lawyer, in federal court in addition to administrative
appeals.
The case originated when the
Winkelmans, whose son Jacob has an autism spectrum disorder, disagreed
with their school district's IEP and went through the administrative
procedures under IDEA. After the Winkelmans lost their appeal,
they went on to federal court where the U.S., Court of Appeals for the
6th Circuit ruled that
non-lawyers could not litigate under IDEA. The Winkelmans then
appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in
February.
Supporters of the Winkelmans
believe parents should not be hindered by their financial ability to
hire a lawyer to represent their child in federal court under IDEA and
should have every opportunity to advocate on behalf of their child.
Supporters of the school district claim that rights granted under IDEA
extend to the child and are very limited in what is applicable to
parents and that non-lawyer parents may not be knowledgeable of the law
or the legal process.
Read the Supreme Court
Opinion
Read CEC's Summary of the
Oral Arguments
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