From the Chicago Tribune:

As kids across the nation go back to class, school officials worry about the financial impact of last June’s Supreme Court decision on special education. The ruling allows the parents of students with disabilities to seek reimbursement from their districts for private school tuition, even if they did not first try their public school’s special education programs.

Some educators fear the ruling will strain tight school budgets and pit parents against each other in pursuit of scarce resources. But experts don’t expect a wave of parents seeking to exit public schools, and say the promise of big legal bills and lengthy delays would deter them.

Illinois is already spending more than $180 million annually on private schooling for students with disabilities — a number that does not include students from the Chicago Public Schools.

Parents and disability advocates say the ruling gives parents leverage when districts drag their feet in serving students with disabilities or use overly narrow criteria to determine eligibility.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 4:51 pm and is filed under IDEA, education, law, parents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.