The Problem
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) provides for the recovery of attorneys fees for parents who are successful in due process hearings and/or litigation against their school district to achieve a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for their child, whose disability significantly impacts a major life activity, can recover legal fees, if they are successful. Unfortunately, many families are still reluctant to front these legal costs on the hope that they will be successful, in some cases years down the road. Moreover, in 2006, the US Supreme Court ruled in the case of Arlington v. Murphy, that, while the statute provides for attorneys’ fees, it does not specifically authorize other litigation costs, more specifically, the costs of expert witnesses. This decision presented an additional obstacle for many parents who were already reluctant to bear the costs of litigation. Moreover, the fact that the school districts have unlimited access to attorneys and expert witnesses at the taxpayers expense, underscored a playing field that was already far from level.

The Solution
In order to address this problem, Congressmen Chris Van Holland of Maryland and Pete Sessions of Texas have introduced the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act (H.R. 4188). This bipartisan bill authorizes the reimbursement to prevailing parents, the cost of expert witness fees in litigation and due process hearings. This is an important bill to address the alleged deficiency in the current manifestation of IDEA and to ensure that families will be able to recover the cost of expert witness fees in addition to attorneys’ fees. Congress should allow parents in IDEA cases to recover expert fees just like prevailing plaintiffs in ADA, Title VII, and other civil rights cases. Both the chilling effect of the decision in Arlington and the prospect of this legislation have significant impact to families of children with special needs who might not otherwise be able to afford to assert the rights of their children under the law.

What You Can Do
Contact your local representative and urge them to put their full support behind H.R. 4188. Also contact your US Senators and urge them to support a Senate version of this bill. Tell them about your concerns and the struggles you face as parents of children with special needs. Never forget the power of your personal story. Also, it is important to spread the word about this legislation and band together with other parents of children with special needs. Inform the other parents in your local Special Education PTA (SEPTA) about this legislation and its impact on your children. Organize letters and petitions that can be sent to your representative to urge the importance of this bill.