Ohio parents do not need a lawyer to sue public school districts

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I just got this email! The Winkelman family have won not only for their family but for all of us! Thank you The Arc was also a “friend of the court” supporting the parents: Supreme Court decides that Ohio parents do not need a lawyer to sue public school districts (This article is available on the Ohio Legal Rights Service website at http://olrs.ohio.gov/asp/winkelmandecision.asp) On May 21, 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ohio parents who choose to sue a school district over their children's special education needs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Court held that parents do not need to be represented by a lawyer. Instead parents have independent, enforceable rights under IDEA and that they may represent themselves in court to vindicate those rights. This decision came from the Supreme Court's review of the Winkelman v. Parma City School District case. The Winkelmans originally sued the Parma City School District under IDEA seeking an appropriate educational placement for their son with autism. The Winkelmans, who are not lawyers, acted as their son's attorney during the administrative proceedings and in the district court. However, the parents were told that they were entitled to represent their child in administrative proceedings, but not in federal court. The parents argued that because they could not afford to pay for an attorney, they were denied access to the courts. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the

parents could not proceed without a lawyer to represent their child. The federal courts of appeals were split on the issue of whether a parent can proceed on IDEA issues without a lawyer in federal court, and the Supreme Court accepted the case to resolve this issue. In ruling that the parents may represent their own interests, the Supreme Court said that it need not reach the parents' alternative argument, which concerns whether IDEA entitles parents to litigate their child's claims without legal representation. So long as parents can represent their own interests, they can most likely represent their child's interests too. In December 2006, the Ohio Legal Rights Service (OLRS) joined with the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation and the Equal Justice Foundation in filing a "Friend of the Court Brief" in the Winkelman case, supporting the parents' right to advance their IDEA claims on behalf of their minor child with a disability in federal court without a lawyer. (See OLRS Files a Friend of the Court Brief in the Winkelman Case - http://olrs.ohio.gov/asp/winkelmanamicus.asp) Read the decision:

Supreme Court of the United States, WINKELMAN, a minor, by and through his parents and legal guardians, WINKELMAN et ux., et al. v. PARMA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT - http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/06pdf/05-983.pdf Becky Mother to , 16, Autism, Epilepsy, Cerebal Palsy, MR, ADHD Check Out Make a Dream Come True Entry http://www.4pawsforability.org/dream.htm Everybody has barriers and obstacles. If you look at them as containing fences that don't allow you to advance, then you're going to be a failure. If you look at them as hurdles that strengthen you each time you go over one, then you're going to be a success. Carson Surgeon

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