NY v. Tom F.: Impact on Special Ed
Supreme Court Deadlocks in Private School Tuition Reimbursement Case
While the vote means that NYC will have to pay Tom F.'s bills for the private education of his son, Gilbert, the issue remains unresolved for most Americans.
Private School Reimbursement
Gilbert F. has a disability. He lives in New York but has never attended the city's public school system. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), NYC paid for Gilbert's education anyway for a couple of years. But IDEA was amended in 1997 and the school system felt that the amendments meant that Gilbert's Dad, Tom Freston, had to at least try putting Gilbert in the city's school system before the city was obligated to pay any more of Gilbert's tuition at a private school.
Tom Freston Takes Legal Action
Tom Freston took legal action, and at an administrative hearing the school system was told to keep paying Gilbert's private school tuition. The school system appealed to the state's review board, which said the same thing. So the school system went to federal court (IDEA is a federal law). In federal district court the New York school system finally won relief; the district court ruled that they did not have to pay Gilbert's tuition any longer because he had never attended public school. Gilbert's father appealed to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
While Gilbert's case was pending, the Second Circuit ruled on a similar case. As Wayne Steedman puts it, "The Second Circuit ruled that the IDEA does not require a child to receive special education from a public school district before the child can receive tuition reimbursement for a private placement." The case involving Gilbert was sent back to the district court with an order for them to fix it, to enter a ruling consistent with the appeals verdict in the similar case.
Supreme Court Ruling
The New York City school system appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court heard Oral arguments on October 1st and ruled on Wednesday, October 10, 2007.
Because the case was one in which the school system was appealing to the Supreme Court, the Court's four-four tie effectively means that Tom Freston won. The appeals court had ruled in his favor and that appeals court verdict was not overturned by the Supreme Court. The four-four tie also means that the decision has no value as a precedent. If you happen to live in the Connecticut, Vermont, or New York, this ruling applies to you and to your school system. If you live in one of the other 47 states, the issue remains legally unresolved...
A Victory for Parents
There are some ironies in this case. Tom Freston is not exactly in any desperate need of financial relief over his son's private school tuition. ABCNews refers to his as a "media mogul." Freston is one of the founders of MTV and served as CEO of Viacom (owns MTV, BET, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, and both cable and satellite interests) until about a year ago. The tuition at Stephen Gaynor School, the private New York City school that Gilbert attends, is just under $22,000 a year. And Gilbert's rights in the case are not based on financial need.
Another irony is that Gilbert's disability involves attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD - one of the most common disabilities school systems face. Yet for whatever reason the courts have been unwilling to agree that New York City's school system could provide Gilbert with an education appropriate to his disability.
While the ruling may not technically have national significance, the National Association of Special Education Teachers still called it a victory for parents.
