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U.S. District Court Judge J. Garvin Murtha recently reaffirmed that in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, non-attorney parents may not represent their children. Although parents may represent themselves in federal court, the Second Circuit does not permit the interests of minor children to be represented by their parents; the child must be represented by an attorney. As a result, Judge Murtha indicated that the claims against the Springfield School District for or on behalf of the student would be dismissed without prejudice unless an attorney entered an appearance for the student.

Federal courts in the Third, Sixth, Seventh and Eleventh Circuits, like the Second Circuit, have held that non-lawyer parents may not represent their child in an action brought under the IDEA. It is worth noting, however, that there is presently pending in the U.S. Supreme Court a petition for certiorari in a case dealing with this issue, Winkelman v. Parma City School Dist., Case No. 05-3886, so there may another chapter written.

Judge Murtha also granted the Vermont Department of Education judgment and dismissed it as a party defendant, finding that the VDOE could not be held liable for the actions of the independent hearing officer.

This case is reported at DeMerchant, et al v. Springfield School Dist., et al, 46 IDELR 98 (Vt. 2006) (Docket 1:05-CV-316).