<-- return to SP&F Recent Developments Archive Index

In a recent decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) gives parents independent, enforceable, substantive rights in lawsuits over a childís entitlement to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Winkelman ex rel. Winkelman v. Parma City School Dist., 127 S.Ct. 1994 (2007). The Court specifically rejected the argument that parents are vested only with procedural, and not substantive, rights under the IDEA.

The Winkelmans, dissatisfied with the individualized education program (IEP) developed for their child, challenged the IEP in a state administrative proceeding. Then, without an attorney, they filed a complaint in the federal court on their own behalf AND on behalf of their child. The court ruled in favor of the School District, after which the Winkelmans appealed. The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ordered dismissal unless the Winkelmans obtained counsel to represent the student.

On appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, a majority of the Court held that parents have their own substantive rights under IDEA:

IDEA, through its text and structure, creates in parents an independent stake not only in the procedures and costs implicated by this process but also in the substantive decisions to be made. We therefore conclude that IDEA does not differentiate, through isolated references to various procedures and remedies, between the rights accorded to children and the rights accorded to parents. Ö The status of parents as parties is not limited to matters that relate to procedure and cost recovery.