Schools Still Winning Most Special Ed Disputes, Even After Endrew F.
May. 7, 2018
School districts continued to win most disputes over individualized education programs in the year since a U.S. Supreme Court decision affirmed a more ambitious standard for setting goals for students with disabilities, according to a new analysis.
Perry Zirkel, professor emeritus of education and law at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, analyzed 49 appeals of hearing officer decisions, which were predominantly in favor of school districts, to see if Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District had changed legal outcomes.
Zirkel found that in cases where the school district won before the high court ruling, 90 percent of those decisions were upheld in the 12 months since the March 2017 Supreme Court decision. The analysis was published in the April edition of West’s Education Law Reporter.
