Forest Grove School District v. T.A.

Special Education: Tuition Reimbursement

Whether the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act permits an award of private-school tuition reimbursement as “appropriate relief” for a child with a disability who had been enrolled in public school but had not “previously received special education and related services under the authority of a public agency,” 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(10)©(ii), when the reason the child had not previously received such services was that the school district wrongly determined that the child was ineligible for special education services and thus failed to make a free appropriate public education available to the child.

Bonnie Robin-Vergeer of Public Citizen was co-counsel for the respondent at the cert stage. The Supreme Court granted certiorari and decided in the respondent’s favor.