The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) supports the Individual with Disabilities Act (IDEA) Fairness Restoration Act bill proposed in both the House and the Senate. This bill will allow parents to recover expert witness fees in due process hearings and litigation under the IDEA. Too many parents pay for their own expert witness after successfully prevailing against their school districts. The current rule is an unfair financial burden thatdiscourages parents from rightfully fighting for the education their children deserve under the IDEA.
Under the current Supreme Court interpretation of the IDEA, parents who win their cases cannot be compensated for the cost of expert fees (Arlington Central School District v. Murphy, 2006). Parents are able to recover attorneys’ fees.
The IDEA Fairness Restoration Act was introduced in the Senate (S.613) by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chair of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee; Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT); and introduced in the House of Representatives (H.R. 1208) by Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX).
The NAD fully supports the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act and encourages you to write to your representatives in congress to express your support for this bill.