HACKENSACK DIVORCE LAWYER

The parents are contesting the adequacy of their 8-year-old autistic son's Individual Education Plan (IEP), designed by the local school district under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). Both the administrative hearing board and the federal district court that heard their claim approved the plan. The parents appealed the decision without a lawyer. The court of appeals dismissed their claim, holding that parents are barred from litigating IDEA claims pro se on behalf of their children. The parents argue that IDEA permits pro se litigation, while the school district claims that educational policy and precedent suggest otherwise. Courts of appeals are split on whether parents can litigate pro se their own procedural IDEA claims, their children's substantive IDEA claims, or neither. This case [to be argued before the United States Supreme Court on Feburary 26, 2007] will settle the split and define the scope of parental rights under IDEA and pro se litigation under federal law in general.   Winkelman v. Parma City School District, February 9, 2007;   http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cert/05-983.html