Which case affirmed that public schools are not obligated to provide special education services if parents choose to place their child in private school?

Which case affirmed that public schools are not obligated to provide special education services if parents choose to place their child in private school?

• A. Forest Grove School District v. T.A. (2009)
• B. Endrew F. v. Douglas County (2017)
• C. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
• D. Foley v. Special School District of St. Louis County (1998)

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that when a parent privately places a child with a disability in a private school and pays for it themselves, the public school district is not required to fund that private placement or provide the full set of special education services there. Foley v. Special School District of St. Louis County (1998) established this principle: IDEA’s private school placement provisions do not obligate a district to reimburse private school tuition or to replicate an IEP in a private setting simply because the parent chose private schooling. The district’s duties are limited to evaluating and providing services to the child as appropriate, but not to underwriting the private school itself. In practice, the district may offer some equitable services if feasible, but it is not mandated to cover private school tuition or deliver the entire private placement IEP.

The key idea is that when a parent privately places a child with a disability in a private school and pays for it themselves, the public school district is not required to fund that private placement or provide the full set of special education services there. Foley v. Special School District of St. Louis County (1998) established this principle: IDEA’s private school placement provisions do not obligate a district to reimburse private school tuition or to replicate an IEP in a private setting simply because the parent chose private schooling. The district’s duties are limited to evaluating and providing services to the child as appropriate, but not to underwriting the private school itself. In practice, the district may offer some equitable services if feasible, but it is not mandated to cover private school tuition or deliver the entire private placement IEP.