United States Tenth Circuit

In a suit arising out of an administrative action seeking reimbursement for the costs of tuition in a private program for an autistic child, judgment that plaintiff-school district must reimburse costs is reversed and remanded where the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act does not require that states do whatever is necessary to ensure that all students achieve a particular standardized level of ability and knowledge, but rather calls only for the creation of individualized programs reasonably calculated to enable the student to make some progress towards the goals within that program.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/29/2008
• Published 08/29/2008

Judges

• GORSUCH, Circuit Judge., Before BRISCOE, GORSUCH, Circuit Judges, and PARKER, Senior District Judge.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• W. Stuart Stuller (Alyssa C. Burghardt with him on the briefs), of Caplan and Earnest LLC, Boulder, CO, for Plaintiff-Appellant., Kathleen Sullivan, Colorado Association of School Boards, Francisco M. Negrón, Jr., National School Boards Association, Alexandria, VA, and Darryl Farrington, Semple, Miller, Mooney & Farrington, P.C., Denver, CO, filed an amici curiae brief in support of Plaintiff-Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Jack D. Robinson of Spies, Powers & Robinson, P.C., Denver, CO, for Defendants-Appellees., Gary S. Mayerson, Director, Autism Speaks, Federal Legal Appeals Project, Mayerson & Associates, New York, NY, filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Defendants-Appellees.