Earlier this year, a court dismissed two parents’ claims that their autistic daughter didn’t receive appropriate educational services from Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
The parents sued the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education in March 2010, but their claims were dismissed by courts Sept. 30 after the court found the family did not exhaust most administrative remedies. The board went into closed session during both of its meetings this month to discuss the outcome.
Board Chairwoman Michelle Brownstein refused to comment on the case.
E.L., an eight-year-old autistic girl, qualifies as a child with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, or IDEA, according to the court documents. Because she is a child, E.L.‘s full name was not disclosed in the documents.
Representatives from Tharrington Smith LLP, the district’s attorneys, also would not comment on the case.
E.L.’s parents claimed she was denied a free, appropriate public education by the school district under the IDEA.
Lindsay Jones, director of public policy and advocacy at the National Center for Learning Disabilities, said all students who qualify under one of its 13 eligibility categories, which include a wide range of mental and physical disabilities, are covered by IDEA.
“It requires schools and parents to work together to develop individual education plans (IEPs) that outline student needs and services,” Jones said.
Typically, autistic students’ IEPs entitle them to one-on-one services.
