Reimbursement of Private School Costs Is Available Under the EHCA

Abstract

One of the more controversial issues litigated in the courts under the Education for All Handicapped Children Act is whether the parents of a handicapped child who unilaterally place that child in a private school can be reimbursed for tuition costs if their choice in placement is later determined to be the appropriate one. For several years most of the federal courts held that they were not unless exceptional circumstances prompted the unilateral move. Controversy developed in 1983 when the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the parents were entitled to be reimbursed even if exceptional circumstances were not present to warrant the unilateral placement. The Supreme Court recently settled the controversy by agreeing with the First Circuit. In this article the author presents the factual background surrounding the controversy and discusses the implications of the Supreme Court decision.