Supreme Court Update

May 26, 2020

The first case was McMillen v. New Caney Independent School District, (5th Cir. 2019), had similarities to the Fry case from three years ago. In McMillan the 5th Circuit ruled the exhaustion provision, which requires a parent to seek relief in a due process hearing before suing a district in court, applies to any claim alleging a denial of FAPE — regardless of the remedy sought.

Today the US Supreme Court declined to review the only cases that have currently been appealed to it.

The second case, Bruno v. Northside Independent School District,(5th Cir. 2019), sought to address the provision of comparable services to transfer students. The parents of a student with autism argued a Texas district violated the IDEA when it temporarily placed their son in a half-day special education program instead of a full-day program like the one he attended in Florida before they moved.

There are no other special education cases pending before the Court.