Recent Articles

Important development regarding attorney fees in special education cases

H. Jeffrey Marcus
February 18, 2012 18:27

In 2007, the 2nd Circuit decided Millea v. Metro-North Railroad Co. essentially abandoned Arbor Hill and reverted back to the lodestar approach. For an excellent discussion of the relevant cases and the policy issues underlying the decisions, see Attorney Fees: The Death of Arbor Hill.

District failure to satisfy burden of proof results in SRO decision in favor of the parent

H. Jeffrey Marcus
February 14, 2012 06:03

SRO 12-006: In this case where the Parent was represented by the Law Offices of H. Jeffrey Marcus, the Parent alleged, inter alia, that the student required the services of a 1:1 aide during adapted physical education (APE). The IHO did not rule on the issue. The District offered no evidence on the...

8th Circuit upholds discipline for off campus speech

H. Jeffrey Marcus
February 03, 2012 13:47

D.J.M. v. Hannibal Pub. Sch. Dist., ___F.3d____(8th Cir. Aug. 1, 2011): Student sent off-campus instant messages to a classmate in which “he talked about getting a gun and shooting some other students at school.” School authorities notified the police and subsequently suspended the student for the...

NYC fails to provide special education services to over 70,000 students

H. Jeffrey Marcus
January 29, 2012 20:34

NYC Controller John Liu concluded after reviewing a recent audit that the New York City Department of Education failed to provide services to over one fourth of the students eligible to receive such services in the 2009-2010 school year (see article). If you are a parent of a child who has been...

Failure to offer particular placement is a denial of FAPE

H. Jeffrey Marcus
January 20, 2012 03:48

SRO 11-149: This arose in the context of a reimbursement case. The school district recommended a residential placement and sent out packets, but failed to follow up and failed to secure a placement prior to the start of the school year. The SRO made a point of noting that the school year starts on...

Timeline to appeal IHO decision runs from date of decision

H. Jeffrey Marcus
January 20, 2012 03:26

SRO 11-151: Pracitioners take note. The IHO sent the decision to the attorneys and the parties two days after the date of the decision. The SRO held that the 35 day timeline for filing an appeal commenced on the date of the decision, not the date of receipt of the decision.

NY State Ed. proposes regulatory changes to impartial hearing process

H. Jeffrey Marcus
January 12, 2012 13:37

This is a must read for New York State special education attorneys. As practitioners of special ed law are aware, State Ed. has heightened enforcement efforts with respect to timeline requirements for the conduct of impartial hearings. Most recently, the SRO has come down hard on a number of IHOs...

WDNY reaffirms 3 year statute of limitations on Attorney fee claims

H. Jeffrey Marcus
January 12, 2012 04:28

P.M. v. EVANS-BRANT CEN. SCH. DIST. (W.D.N.Y. 1-9-2012): In what might be the first case post–2007 amendments to the IDEA to closely consider this issue, the Court determined that the statute of limitations for an attorney fee claim in a special education matter is 3 years.

NY Court of Appeals addresses responsibility for costs of educating kids living in child care institution

H. Jeffrey Marcus
January 06, 2012 02:43

Board of Education of the Garrison Union Free School District v. St. Basil (decided January 5, 2012): The New York Court of Appeals addressed the question of whether a school district is obligated to pay for the educational costs of the children living in a child care institution located within...

SRO upholds award of reimbursement

H. Jeffrey Marcus
December 29, 2011 14:20

SRO 11-126: Parent placed student at a private school and sought reimbursement. IHO ruled in parent’s favor. SRO affirmed the decision. Of note, the SRO found that the parent’s 10 day notice of intent to seek reimbursement was timely because it was submitted more than 10 days prior to when the...