Issue: Whether the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act of 1986 commands exhaustion in a suit, brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act that seeks damages – a remedy that is not available under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Yesterday the Supreme Court of the United States issued a unanimous decision stating that exhaustion of administrative remedies under IDEA is not necessary when plaintiff’s suit is something other than based on IDEA’s core guarantee of a free and appropriate education. Therefore, a student who files a claim that the school discriminated against them because of his or her disability does not need to file administrative proceedings as required by IDEA because the alleged discrimination happened at school.
SPECIAL EDUCATION LEGAL JOURNEY 