TENTH CIRCUIT RULES FOR THOMPSON SCHOOL DISTRICT

 

In a case that has drawn national attention, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the Thompson School District did offer a free appropriate public education to a child with autism, and therefore was not required to reimburse the family for the child's education at a private residential school. 

 

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, school districts must make a "free appropriate public education" available to children with qualifying disabilities.  If a school district fails to do so, the child's parents may enroll the child in a private school and seek reimbursement from the school district by proving that the school district's proposed educational program was insufficient.  Three lower decision-makers including a federal district court had found that the child was making progress in the school environment, but was not making progress in the home and community settings.  The lower decision-makers ruled that this failure to progress outside the school setting demonstrated that the school district's proposed program was not appropriate. 

 

The Tenth Circuit reversed, holding that the fact that the child had been progressing at school demonstrated that the school district's proposal met the requirements of the Act, and that the School District was not responsible for insuring the student's performance in noneducational settings where resources are available from other agencies. The Tenth Circuit's ruling provides clarity to a difficult area of law and more flexibility to educators in determining how to best allocate educational resources among competing needs. 

 

The case was litigated by Caplan and Earnest attorneys Stu Stuller and Alyssa Burghart