Connecticut Special Education Student Awarded $93,827 in Fees
by
Joseph C. Maya on Mar. 22, 2017
Other Education Criminal Juvenile Law
Summary: Article on a special education student receiving an award in a case brought under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
If you have a question or concern about special education law, school administration, federal standards, or the overall rights of a student, please feel free to call the expert education law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at (203) 221-3100.
A court awarded the plaintiff in an Individuals With Disabilities Education Act suit $93,827 in legal fees. The minor plaintiff, C, received special education services from second grade to 10th grade. Tests administered when C was in seventh or eighth grade variously indicated he had a reading level at almost a second-grade level or that he was capable of reading seventh- and eighth-grade level materials independently. C's parents asked the board of education to pay for 240 hours of instruction at the Lindamood-Bell center in Stamford. Eventually, the board of education consented to 12 weeks of instruction. C's parents asked for another 12 weeks, which the board's planning and placement team rejected. A hearing officer concluded that the board of education did not provide C. a free, appropriate public education under the IDEA during the 2004 to 2005 year and ordered the board to pay for another 12 weeks of instruction at Lindamood-Bell, plus transportation. C's parents asked the Connecticut Department of Education to enforce the hearing officer's order. The District Court found that C qualified as a prevailing party and was entitled to attorneys' fees under 20 U.S.C. 1415(i)(3)(B). The District Court approved an hourly rate for C's attorney, David C. Shaw, of $315 per hour and an hourly rate of Shaw's paralegal of $75 per hour, for $93,827 in legal fees. The District Court denied the plaintiff's motion to enforce the hearing officer's order, because the plaintiff has not exhausted his administrative remedy with the Department of Education.
If you have a child with a disability and have questions about special education law, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.
For continuous access to the legal world, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. We offer the latest updates on caselaw and legal news. In addition, informational videos are available for your convenience on our YouTube channel.
Source- SPECIAL ED PLAINTIFFS WON EXTRA HELP INREADING AND $93K IN FEES; ATTORNEYS' FEES, (Oct 16, 2006), Conn. Law Tribune
