Independent School District No. 283 v. SD (1996)

Details:

Parents sought reimbursement for their child's enrollment in a private school for children with disabilities. The school district that had provided her with an Individual Education Plan (IEP) rejected the parents' claim to reimbursement, citing that the private school was not the least restrictive environment and that the public school was prepared to offer a sufficient free and appropriate public education for the student. The parents went through several levels of appeal until reaching the Eighth Circuit Court.

The Court determined that the parents were only entitled to reimbursement if the school had failed to meet the IDEA requirements in some way, which the district had not, or if the IEP could be legitimately set aside due to procedural fault on the part of the district. This had not happened.